ICYMI Monday: Top 10 Fry Era Players, Odds for this year's B1G East & West

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
ICYMI is internet acronym speak for 'In Case You Missed It'. There are Hawkeye related items you might have missed from over the weekend and we'll try to put them all together each Monday.

ODDS
: BetOnline.com has released their odds for the Big Ten West and East Divisions


EAST

Ohio State -750
Wisconsin +400
Purdue +1200
Illinois +1300
Indiana +1700


WEST

Michigan State +200
Nebraska +200
Michigan +250
Northwestern +400
Iowa +600
Minnesota +900


I am not a better so I am not certain as to exactly what those numbers represent, but I do know the lower the number, the more they like your team. Ohio State is the only team where if you wanted to wager on them, a $10 bet would yield less than $10 (I think). Also per the link, Michigan State is the favorite in the West from BetOnline.com. I find that a bit interesting as they have some retooling to do, but then I took a look at their conference schedule which includes games against Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. They host Michigan then travel to Nebraska and Northwestern while avoiding Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. This is a pretty good slate.


As it stands for Iowa, you say 'Hey, at least they are not picking the Hawkeyes last.' It's going to be an 'off the radar' year, not under it.


WE'RE BACK: This has been a saying on the message boards the last several months as it relates to the Iowa basketball program. It actually dates back to when Adam Woodbury verbally committed to Iowa in September of 2011. One of the our board users posted 'You Guys are Back' as the subject line for a post, saying he was on the train riding to work when an Illini fan friend of his learned of the Woodbury get and said 'You guys are back'.
Since then, we have seen 'We're Back' posts on the board once a week or so during the basketball season and it's become a bit of a running gag. However, someone over in the University of Iowa athletic department put together a nice photoshop of the past hoops season and underneath, it's titled 'We're Back'.

That may become the marketing slogan for this coming season. It would be a bold step for sure, but my guess is Fran McCaffery would green light something along those lines and embrace it. This team isn't going to sneak up on anyone next year. Iowa was 2-7 in games decided by four-points or less, and all seven of those losses came in Big Ten play. Two were against Michigan State, one each against Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue and Nebraska. Of those six teams, the first four made the NCAA tournament and one of the losses to MSU was a Ted Valentine special. Iowa returns all its players save Eric May and this team may be ranked to start the year. Go with it.



TOP 10 UNDER FRY: Pat Harty follows up his column last week about his Top Ten Ferentz era players with his top 10 Hayden Fry players. I just saw the headline and am linking it here but want to add my own comments before I read it since I began following Iowa football in 1981 as a ten year old so I recall all of the great Fry era players. If I were to make a list, my Top 10 would likely come from this list in no particular order:


Tim Dwight
Chuck Long
Ronnie Harmon
Larry Station
Andre Tippett
Marv Cook
Sedrick Shaw
Reggie Roby
Chuck Hartlieb
Jared Devries
Leroy Smith


I sort of stopped at 10 and then remembered Leroy Smith's 1991 season where he recorded 18 sacks for a 10 win team. I stopped typing here and then I read Pat's list and was a bit surprised to see that we had 9 of the 10 same names. He had Smith listed 11th on his list and had Dave Haight in his Top 10. What's yours look like?
 
Last edited:






Always easy to say, "How could you leave so-and-so off that list?!" The hard part is, who do you take off that list to make room for so-and-so?
 


Hard to argue with that list, but I would ignore the stats for a moment. If you needed to win a game against a big time opponent and gave me the option of Matt Rodgers or Hartlieb I'd take Rodgers, and the same for Nick Bell over Shaw. Shaw was obviously greatest running back in terms of yards, but I'd still take Bell.
 






One guy who doesnt get the credit as he was a fantastic back is Tony Stewart. He just never got the touches he needed. He was splitting carries with Nick Bell his jr and sr seasons. If he had another year and was the feature back in 91 after Bell left, he would have been remembered as an all time great at Iowa. Mike Saunders did a great job in 91, but Tony Stewart would have been fantastic as the guy. Just really never got the opportunity to be THE guy.
 


My Top 10:

1. Chuck Long
2. Ronnie Harmon
3. Larry Station
4. Matt Rodgers
5. Sedrick Shaw
6. Tim Dwight
7. Leroy Smith
8. Andre Tippet
9. Tom Knight
10. Tavian Banks
 




no matt sherman, this list is garbage!!! That's like leaving Jake Christensen off the All-Ferentz team
 


Nick Bell had a huge game against a Top 5 opponent on the road and was fun to watch. But no way would I take him over Shaw. Not a chance.
 




1. Chuck Long
2. Andre Tippett (dude is in the NFL HOF, he can't be any lower than this)
3. Tim Dwight
4. Larry Station
5. Ronnie Harmon
6. Reggie Roby
7. Chuck Hartlieb
8. Merton Hanks
9. Sedrick Shaw
10. LeRoy Smith (barely edges out Cook)
 




Hard to argue with Chuck Long at Number One...but both Roby and Tippet could be at Number One and the same would apply. Those three, to me, are the Triumvirate Inviolate. All those after them vie, at best, for Number Four.
 


This is a very interesting list and it comes down to 4 guys for #1 IMO. I tried to make a list a few times but can't decide.

Tippett was a great player for multiple years, still holds the record for TFL in a season I believe, and part of the team that was birth of modern Iowa football.

Long has fantastic numbers, started 4 years & finished 2nd in the Heisman. Fan favorite, won bowls games, played at the premium position. The thing that sticks out to me about Long was not even be worried when Iowa had 3rd and long(no pun intended) with 16 at QB. He could just get it done. Everything you need to be #1.

Dwight was homegrown, exciting player who put up great all around numbers even though Fry terribly misused him. He should have gotten a minimum of 15 touches a game as a JR & SR. Born 15 years too early. Would have been a killer in spread offense.

Harmon- the blacksheep of the Iowa program and quite frankly he's probably the most hated great player in program history for his alleged actions at the Rose Bowl. However you can make a strong argument that the guy is the best RB & WR in school history. No other player can even begin to touch that. When you watch him play you can see he is simply on another talent level than most other guys Iowa's had over the years. Anyone thinking with their head is going to have a hard time ranking anywhere but 1-3.

Fun list to debate. Still trying to decide.
 


Recently KFs top ten cane out as well. Both Fry and KF had some very very good players, players we all remember and still talk about to this day. My question is...which coach had a better top ten list? Fry or KF?
 


Recently KFs top ten cane out as well. Both Fry and KF had some very very good players, players we all remember and still talk about to this day. My question is...which coach had a better top ten list? Fry or KF?

Way too subjective, BUT...aside from Roby, Hayden didn't have long list of great punters, while KF has had some really good punters but not one who makes anyone forget Reggie.

For kickers, Hayden had some "old reliable" types, whereas KF has had a steady stream of really good ones, give or take a season.

My "personal" Hayden Top Ten:

--Long, Tippet, R. Harmon, Cook, C. Hartlieb, S. Shaw, Dwight, Roby, Station, J DeVries

KF:

--D Clark, B Sanders, C Greenway, A Hodge, D Tate, Roth, Clayborn, M. King, McNutt, Kaeding

Both could be debated and argued, but if I HAD to pick one Top Ten, I would probably pick Hayden's.
 




Top