Iowa by position / Rittenberg

E

Edgiscript

New Member
Adam Rittenberg has been breaking down the Big Ten by listing the top 5 teams according to each position. Here's the breakdown.

QB: Iowa (Yes, he picked Stanzi over Pryor :eek:) / OSU / MSU / Minn / tie Wisc-Mich
RB: Wisc / PSU / OSU / Ill / Iowa
Rec: MSU / Ind / Wisc / Pur / tie PSU-Iowa
OL: Wisc / OSU / Mich / PSU / NW
DL: Iowa / OSU / PSU / Pur / Wisc
LB: OSU / MSU / Wisc / NW / tie Iowa-PSU
Secondary: Iowa / PSU / OSU / Wisc / Minn
Special Teams: Iowa / MSU / OSU / Minn / Wisc

Total: (Giving 5 points for 1st place and 1 point for 5th place. I gave 1 point to both 5th place teams in the cases of ties. If I split the point, the rankings remain the same. )
OSU - 26
Iowa - 23
Wisconsin - 21
Michigan State - 16
Penn State - 15
Nobody else got over 5

That seems pretty close to everybody's preseason picks. Here are a couple of things to consider.

Iowa got the most 1st place votes with 4: QB, DL, Secondary, Special Teams.
Iowa was on every list except 1: OL. And if what Jon reported earlier about others telling him not to worry about the line, maybe we should be rated higher. We all know that Coach Ferentz has an OL reputation.
Wisconsin's going to have a strong running game with the #1 rated OL and RB.
Coaching hasn't been factored in yet and I don't know if it's going to be added. But if it will be, don't expect Iowa to catch OSU. Even if Ferentz is rated higher than Tressel, Tressel wouldn't be any lower than 2nd.
 
Edgiscript said:
Adam Rittenberg has been breaking down the Big Ten by listing the top 5 teams according to each position. Here's the breakdown.

QB: Iowa (Yes, he picked Stanzi over Pryor :eek:) / OSU / MSU / Minn / tie Wisc-Mich
RB: Wisc / PSU / OSU / Ill / Iowa
Rec: MSU / Ind / Wisc / Pur / tie PSU-Iowa
OL: Wisc / OSU / Mich / PSU / NW
DL: Iowa / OSU / PSU / Pur / Wisc
LB: OSU / MSU / Wisc / NW / tie Iowa-PSU
Secondary: Iowa / PSU / OSU / Wisc / Minn
Special Teams: Iowa / MSU / OSU / Minn / Wisc

Total: (Giving 5 points for 1st place and 1 point for 5th place. I gave 1 point to both 5th place teams in the cases of ties. If I split the point, the rankings remain the same. )
OSU - 26
Iowa - 23
Wisconsin - 21
Michigan State - 16
Penn State - 15
Nobody else got over 5

That seems pretty close to everybody's preseason picks. Here are a couple of things to consider.

Iowa got the most 1st place votes with 4: QB, DL, Secondary, Special Teams.
Iowa was on every list except 1: OL. And if what Jon reported earlier about others telling him not to worry about the line, maybe we should be rated higher. We all know that Coach Ferentz has an OL reputation.
Wisconsin's going to have a strong running game with the #1 rated OL and RB.
Coaching hasn't been factored in yet and I don't know if it's going to be added. But if it will be, don't expect Iowa to catch OSU. Even if Ferentz is rated higher than Tressel, Tressel wouldn't be any lower than 2nd.
Click to expand...

That's pretty fair, but I'd rank the Hawks maybe a spot higher at RB and 2 higher at WR, but overall not too bad.
 
03bizHawk said:
I think our WR's are going to be better than people think. We are deep and talented at that position
Click to expand...

I agree.

I also think the offensive line will be better than most people think. Check out the BT Network tonight and see what the experts are saying about the Iowa offensive line. From what I heard the BT Network folks are impressed with the OL.
 
DexterMorgan said:
I think the QB ratings are way off personally.
Click to expand...

The rankings that have us #1 for QB's has as much to do with Vandenberg as it does Stanzi. A few weeks ago Rittenberg ranked the starting QB's in the Big Ten. Pryor was #1 and Stanzi #2 (in what he said was a close race between Stanzi and Tolzien. I would have probably had Cousins higher, but that's JMO). But basically he feels that Iowa has the best 1-2 punch at QB this year.
 
I would like to say the WR's should be higher, but the only team ahead of us that I could look at and say "no way they should be there" is Wisconsin. Toon and Hendricks are very good, but then it goes to Gilreath, and then drops off.

I like MSU's group of wideouts, pretty deep and talented bunch, with Cunningham and Dell leading the way. Indiana has a talented group, as well, with Doss, Belcher, Turner. Purdue is another one with Smith and Valentine headlining the unit. This just seems like a year when the Big Ten is actually pretty loaded at WR. I don't have a big problem with where we are in that ranking, because really, 1-8 (including Ohio State and Michigan), there's not a lot that separates the top from the bottom.

Also, given the situation with Wegher, I have no problem being rated 5th at running back. Without Wegher, we just have a 1-2 punch of Hampton and A-Rob. While I love the combo there, and think they can do special things, the 4 teams in front of us feature more established 1-2 punches, featuring the league's top individual backs (Clay, Royster), as well as guys JUST below that (Saine/Herron, LeShoure/Ford).
 
We are definitely under rated at RB and WR. I feel that we have one of the top corps in the league at WR. If Wegher returns back to the team we are without a doubt the freshest legs in the whole league (assuming Hampton runs like we think he will).
 
Cyclones17 said:
Move up a spot at RB
Move up a spot at WR
Move down 3 spots at QB.
Click to expand...

Talk like that is going to make me take back the nice things I said about you. Remember these rankings are for the positions as a whole meaning starters and reserves. Stanzi is clutch and Vandenberg was money. Nobody has the depth at QB that Iowa does, or at least that we've seen.

I'd argue that Iowa could move down one spot but 3? Take off the cyclone colored glasses!
 
Hawkeyes1982x said:
Down 3 at QB? As a collective unit, Iowa should be #1.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Though if only looking at starters, #4 is about right for Stanzi. Pryor is the best if he plays like he did in the Rose Bowl, Cousins is top 3, and Chapell is in the hunt for the top 3 as well (good QB playing for a bad team).
 
whammer33024 said:
stanzi's on pace to win more games in 3 years than the clones have won in the last 100 years
Click to expand...

Okay? I am not ripping Stanzi. Just saying he can't be #1 in the Big 10 based on last season's play. And other Hawk fans will say the same. I'm just ridiculed cuz I'm a clone fan.

By the way I love Vanden...(however you spell his name). He has a great future ahead.
 
i had to give you a little crap. its what i do.

i wasn't aware these rankings were based on last year. i was under the impression they were going into this year.

if they're based on last year, our offensive line better move up quite a few spots
 
Cyclones17 said:
Okay? I am not ripping Stanzi. Just saying he can't be #1 in the Big 10 based on last season's play. And other Hawk fans will say the same. I'm just ridiculed cuz I'm a clone fan.

By the way I love Vanden...(however you spell his name). He has a great future ahead.
Click to expand...

I agree but he is #2 in the conference imo. If youre picking QB's the list goes Pryor, Stanzi, Tolzein
 
Rittenberg didn't say he was the #1 QB in the conference.

These are his unit ratings, and for these he did take depth into account. QBs need to go out of the game sometimes, be it injuries, or interceptions, whatever. When that moment comes, you need a reliable backup who can lead the team. Thanks to Vandenberg getting valuable starting experience (including AT Ohio State with the conference championship on the line), Rittenberg ranked the Iowa QB duo the best in the Big 10.

The rest of the teams have freshman with no starts backing up their starters, or QBs who have had health or consistency issues.
 
Cyclones17 said:
Okay? I am not ripping Stanzi. Just saying he can't be #1 in the Big 10 based on last season's play. And other Hawk fans will say the same. I'm just ridiculed cuz I'm a clone fan.

By the way I love Vanden...(however you spell his name). He has a great future ahead.
Click to expand...

This isn't last years rankings. It's projections for this year.

But I agree Stanzi probably isn't #1.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top