Iowa/Penn St vs Iowa/Northwestern

B

bud2380

Well-Known Member
I just watched highlights of the Iowa win over PSU in 2009. Another great Hawkeye win. I know Penn St fans are starting to hate Iowa just like Iowa fans hate Northwestern. Penn St feels that Iowa is inferior and they should always win, similar to how Iowa feels against Northwestern. The reality is Iowa has usually been the better team than Penn St when we have won. Northwestern on the other hand is rarely the better team than Iowa, but still manages to be very successful. Lets go back to 1996 when Iowa won @ Penn St and started this run of success over the Nittany Lions and look at who I think was the better team and who won.

vs. Penn St
1996 - PSU better team, Iowa wins
1999 - PSU better team, Iowa loses
2000 - teams even, Iowa wins
2001 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2002 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2003 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2004 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2007 - PSU better team, Iowa loses
2008 - PSU better team, Iowa wins
2009 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2010 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins

Although some of these games were officially upsets (based on Vegas), IMO Iowa was the better team 6 out of 11 games, and 1 was a push. Iowa is 7-0 in those games. Iowa had 2 clear upsets 1996 & 2008 and lost twice when PSU was clearly the better team 1999, 2007. So although PSU fans have reason to be annoyed with Iowa's dominance, its clearly not the case of an inferior team getting the better of them. The fact is Iowa has been the better team more times than not.

Now lets check Northwestern

1996 - NU better team, NU wins
1997 - Iowa better team, NU wins
1998 - Iowa better team (marginally), Iowa wins
1999 - teams even, NU wins
2000 - NU better team, Iowa wins
2001 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2002 - Iowa better team, Iowa wins
2005 - Iowa better team, NU wins
2006 - Iowa better team, NU wins
2007 - NU better team, Iowa wins
2008 - Iowa better team, NU wins
2009 - Iowa better team, NU wins
2010 - Iowa better team, NU wins

Iowa is 5-8 in this span. As the "better team" Iowa is 3-6 and as even teams 0-1. So that is 3-7. Ironically the last 2 times I have NU pegged as the better team 2001,2007, Iowa won. Iowa is 2-1 in this scenario. Northwestern's streak against Iowa started with an extremely fortunate win in 2005 where a couple of bad calls and a bad bounce on an onside kick cost the Hawks the game in what remains possibly my most gut-wrenching loss I can ever recall as an Iowa fan. That is the day I forever began hating Northwestern. Still angers me to this day.

Obviously this is just for kicks while we countdown the days to kickoff. But I thought it was an interesting comparison of a team we own (PSU) and a team that owns us (NU).
 
bud2380 said:
Northwestern's streak against Iowa started with an extremely fortunate win in 2005 where a couple of bad calls and a bad bounce on an onside kick cost the Hawks the game in what remains possibly my most gut-wrenching loss I can ever recall as an Iowa fan.
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Like a victim of violent crime remembers the event in vivid detail, I will never forget the end of that game. I was wearing my lucky Iowa t-shirt with a sweatshirt under it. The shirt had not been wershed in 2 years and the Hawks had won every game I wore it to. The week before, against Michigan, some idiot declared a blackout, so I wore a black shirt and we lost.

The horror all started with 4:34 to go in the 4th quarter. I was still marginally buzzed from crushing Coors Lights in the parking lot on a rainy, cold day, but we were sheltered from the rain by the upper deck overhang. Adam "the Glove" Shada picked off a Brett Basanez pass with 4:34 to go. Albert Young ran a few times and picked up a first down. Tick. Tick. Tick. NU fans started leaving. And I remember when the momentum shifted.

I yelled out to a large group of 'Cat fans who were exiting, "Nice game a-holes, next year why don't you bring your varsity squad." They were cordial in the face of a certain defeat. Then, Albert got stuffed a few times and Tate missed a pass. No more tick, tick, tick.

The next approximately 3 minutes of game time turned me into the jaded man that I am today. I prefer not to get into any more details, but for some reason, I feel that my decision to taunt opposing fans before the game was over has irrevocably changed the course of Iowa football.
 
Good analysis Bud. Penn St fans need to realize outside of 2005, 2008 and maybe 2009, they have had mediocre teams the last 11 years. I actually felt if Iowa played Penn St in 2005 (which would likely have been in Kinnick) that we would have beat them that year too.
 
I guess it just baffles me how NW seem to expose our weaknesses on d year in year out. I can't say I hate them but it sure is annoying seeing them out coach us all the time.
 
But wait... Norm Parker defenders will come to his rescue and show how we've held NW to very low scoring numbers in most of our losses...

First of all, Norm Parker is an excellent D-coord. One of the best in the nation no doubt. Our defense has been in the top 10 in both rushing defense and scoring defense more than 50% of the time the last 10 years. I think it's something like 90% of the time we've been in the top 25 in those categories.

HOWEVER.... every defensive philosophy has flaws and our flaw is defending teams that like to run the football our of shotgun while spreading the field and using quick short passes in the passing game.

NW's offense is build to do exactly what we try and force teams to do. This allows them to chew up huge amounts of TOP and also dominate the field position battle. Notice how we don't ever score that many points against NW.... It's because we're always digging ourselves out of poor field position.

Unfortunately if you look at Iowa's offensive numbers over the last 10 years they've been mediocre "at best". Mediocre offense combined with a philosophical mismatch on defense..... is why we lose to NW.

And guess what? Nebraska's going to be running a very similar, but more run oriented, up-tempo spread offense...
 
briankaldenberg said:
But wait... Norm Parker defenders will come to his rescue and show how we've held NW to very low scoring numbers in most of our losses...

First of all, Norm Parker is an excellent D-coord. One of the best in the nation no doubt. Our defense has been in the top 10 in both rushing defense and scoring defense more than 50% of the time the last 10 years. I think it's something like 90% of the time we've been in the top 25 in those categories.

HOWEVER.... every defensive philosophy has flaws and our flaw is defending teams that like to run the football our of shotgun while spreading the field and using quick short passes in the passing game.

NW's offense is build to do exactly what we try and force teams to do. This allows them to chew up huge amounts of TOP and also dominate the field position battle. Notice how we don't ever score that many points against NW.... It's because we're always digging ourselves out of poor field position.

Unfortunately if you look at Iowa's offensive numbers over the last 10 years they've been mediocre "at best". Mediocre offense combined with a philosophical mismatch on defense..... is why we lose to NW.

And guess what? Nebraska's going to be running a very similar, but more run oriented, up-tempo spread offense...
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I had to fight the urge not to scream "MOPED!" in response to your post. I'm glad I was able to overcome it.
 
briankaldenberg said:
Mediocre offense combined with a philosophical mismatch on defense..... is why we lose to NW.
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I would disagree.

2005- Had them beat, onside kicks are a fluke.

2006- This is the game where the term "Fat Cats" originated. KF called his team that after the loss to NW and it was obvious they had pretty much given up.

2007- Hawks win.

2008- We win if Greene doesnt get concussed OR if the ref makes the correct call when Greene fumbled and was injured. Should have been a personal foul for helmet to helmet and we would have retained possession.

2009- We win if Stanzi doesnt twist his ankle 17 different ways in the north endzone OR if the ref once again makes the correct call when Stanzi fumbled and was injured. Should have been a facemask on Wooten before the fumble and we would have retained possession.

2010- Pretty much "Fat Cats" Part II.

I think it has been a combo of some terrible bad luck or NW just catching us at the worst possible part of the season, when things have already gone off track and the team just decideds not to show up. Tip their hat to them though as they manage to get the W's against us.
 
Section136 said:
I would disagree.

2005- Had them beat, onside kicks are a fluke.

2006- This is the game where the term "Fat Cats" originated. KF called his team that after the loss to NW and it was obvious they had pretty much given up.

2007- Hawks win.

2008- We win if Greene doesnt get concussed OR if the ref makes the correct call when Greene fumbled and was injured. Should have been a personal foul for helmet to helmet and we would have retained possession.

2009- We win if Stanzi doesnt twist his ankle 17 different ways in the north endzone OR if the ref once again makes the correct call when Stanzi fumbled and was injured. Should have been a facemask on Wooten before the fumble and we would have retained possession.

2010- Pretty much "Fat Cats" Part II.

I think it has been a combo of some terrible bad luck or NW just catching us at the worst possible part of the season, when things have already gone off track and the team just decideds not to show up. Tip their hat to them though as they manage to get the W's against us.
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My dog ate my homework.
 
I was not tryin to bash Norm. he is an outstanding coach and I think it would be a huge loss to us if he ever leaves. Just making a point that the NW staff does an excellent job of creating mismatches against our d.
 
I don't think Northwestern's success against Iowa has anything to do with Iowa struggling to stop spread offenses. Iowa St runs a spread and they haven't scored a TD on our starting D in over 3 years. Lots of teams run the spread and we do just fine against it. What Northwestern does differently is they are patient. They take EXACTLY what the defense gives and no more. They rarely take shots downfield or waiver from their game plan. Most teams get bored moving the ball methodically downfield. They want to take a shot from time to time. Well often times that miscalculation is what leads to a punt and a lost scoring opportunity. Northwestern knows their best defense is a good offense. NU has not had a good defense since 1996, but they manage to be respectable (at least against Iowa) on D. That is because they control the clock, win the TOP and win the battle for field position. All due to their patience on offense. The scheme is not much different than what 75% of college football runs nowadays.
 
joshhawk said:
I think it goes without saying the naked bootleg Stanza got hurt on in 09 was an all time bad play call
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Really? Because if my memory serves me correct we ran the same play the week before against Indiana for a 92 yard touchdown pass to McNutt.
 
They are a poor matchup for Iowa, have played well, and have had some luck. Same reason Iowa is 8-1 vs. PSU.
 
Anytime you run a naked bootleg out of your own endzone against a guy like Woten who I believe was an all American the year before its a bad call.
 
Section136 said:
I take it that is the only rebuttal you have for this discussion.
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What other rebuttal was there? You went through the games of the past several years and either "we didn't play well" or "We woulda won if...", which is complete conjecture.

Here's a different take on it...

2005 - This one I'll give to you. I bet the %'s are pretty small for teams who have 13 point leads with very little time left and actually lose the game. Not something that happens very often...yet NW still got the TD to pull them within 6, got the onside, and still had to drive half the field to get the go-ahead score. Completely wasted AY's 38 carry, 202 yard rushing performance, if memory serves...

2006 - We got our ***** handed to us. Call it whatever you want, we got curb-stomped. Dominated in almost every facet of the game.

2007 - We win. (We agree again! :))

2008 - Sloppy game...didn't we have 5 turnovers? Teams that turn the ball over 5 times generally don't have a chance to win the game. Even still, we had a shot with 1st and goal from the 8 with time left and we didn't gain a single yard. Following a somewhat familiar ******, we got out to a decent lead (I think we were up 14) and let NW back into the game...the 5 turnovers didn't help in that aspect. That hit on Greene was iffy, at best. Those type of collisions happen in every game.

2009 - Backup QB wasn't prepared. Playside TE & FB blew their assignment (well, one or both of them did) and let Wooten in instead of blocking him. Does the facemask call really change the game? Stanzi is still injured...with JVB, we scored exactly 0 points. Take away those 2 from NW's total and they still beat us. The facemask call was used as a crutch to deal with A) the loss of Stanzi, and B) another loss to NW. Also, 4 more turnovers, making 9 in the last two games.

2010 - Iowa in control in a bad weather game until Stanzi throws a terrible pick in the 4th. NW does what NW does best, patiently moving down the field against our tiring defense on drives of 85 and 91 yards for scores. They made the plays when they had to, we most certainly didn't.
 
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