Indiana and Oregon

[longtimer]

Teams just a level above the Hawks. Great teams make plays when game is on line and both went the distance with less than 2 minutes to win

Oregon just is a well financed quality program. Indiana is the biggest Anomaly I have seen in college football

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

I wouldn’t say a level above. We’re right there with them. Ball doesn’t come out during wetjens run it’s probably a whole different ballgame

 

[MikeyLikesIowa]

I wouldn’t say a level above. We’re right there with them. Ball doesn’t come out during wetjens run it’s probably a whole different ballgame

Or we don't give up a safety, knock down a long pass, convert the two point conversion. We simply made too many mistakes and beat ourselves tonight.

 

[eyekwah]

For me the good news was Indiana coming back to beat PSU. They have 2 games left with two teams with losing records. Ohio State has @Michigan and two easy games. Oregon won't be in the conference championship game and I am happy about that.

 

[kicker22]

For me the good news was Indiana coming back to beat PSU. They have 2 games left with two teams with losing records. Ohio State has @Michigan and two easy games. Oregon won't be in the conference championship game and I am happy about that.

Any team with the exception of maybe Nebby coming back to beat PSU and I'm a happy guy. Those are two programs that I will never get tired of seeing lose.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Teams just a level above the Hawks. Great teams make plays when game is on line and both went the distance with less than 2 minutes to win

Oregon just is a well financed quality program. Indiana is the biggest Anomaly I have seen in college football

Iowa is there. They are literally 3 plays and 10 pts away from being right there.

 

[NCHawker]

I don't know what you saw but I saw a huge talent disparity between Oregon and Iowa. They were stronger faster and more athletic. I didn't notice that vis PSU or IU.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

I don't know what you saw but I saw a huge talent disparity between Oregon and Iowa. They were stronger faster and more athletic. I didn't notice that vis PSU or IU.

You are not wrong. But that tells alot about our program and the coaching staff. This is nothing new for our program. Well known for taking 3 star kids and coaching them up. What it does do though, is makes our margin for error very slim in games like this.

 

[rschneider]

That was a game played Iowa's way. Of course Oregon has way more talent. But the fact they beat this Iowa team at their own game is impressive/sucks.

 

[HawkeyeTech]

Teams just a level above the Hawks. Great teams make plays when game is on line and both went the distance with less than 2 minutes to win

Oregon just is a well financed quality program. Indiana is the biggest Anomaly I have seen in college football

Indiana has Mark Cuban funding them now. That, plus catching lightning in a bottle with Cignetti, is how they turned it around so fast.

 

[kicker22]

I don't know what you saw but I saw a huge talent disparity between Oregon and Iowa. They were stronger faster and more athletic. I didn't notice that vis PSU or IU.

I think that talent disparity comes into play depending on how you look at things. Melrose commented that we're showing we can compete with anyone with 10 points being the difference in those 3 losses two of which to top 10 teams and a rival on the road early in the season. I totally agree that there is a huge talent disparity between Oregon and Iowa, however Oregon has consistently established themselves as a top 10 program with multiple playoff appearances. IMO it shouldn't be a shock that there's a talent gap as Oregon is one of the top teams in the country and a national brand. That said, when look at the results (albeit weather played a factor) we used Iowa football to bridge that gap and almost snuck away with a win. I don't see PSU or IU being at that level yet, whereas athleticism has always been a hallmark of the Oregon offense.
Are we there yet? No, but I think if our offense continues to improve if our defense and special teams don't fall off and we're able to rebuild our offensive line after this year I don't see why we're not a top 25 team despite the new landscape of college football.