Iowa's Offense

[4thngoal]

Not an excuse but haven't we had some injuries in ol? Wasn't that the reason for the award? Because that line pulled together through all the moving around.
Injuries set people back.
I can't recall exactly and I'm not going to look it all up, but I seem to recall that being the case for a couple years in a row.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Ironically...based on this discussion...Iowa was 4-2 that season coming off a win at Michigan State and they had two offensive linemen go down with injuries in the first half of the next game with Penn State. We never won another game...and ended 4-8. JVB spent the final 6 games absolutely running for his life. That team had no depth on the offensive line and it was like a turnstile for defensive linemen.

So, if you equate 2012 to this past year 2017 due to the OL injuries... you have to reason that Brian Ferentz did a remarkable job to win 8 games.

The two losses in that 4-2 stretch were Iowa State and Central Michigan. They just squeaked by Northern Illinois and Michigan State. Let's face it Greg Davis's first year offense was was on life support and the injuries on the offensive line made the situation terminal.

I don't think the situation in 2016 & 2017 compares with the mess that was 2012. In 2016 Iowa returned many starters from the previous 12-2 year, so there were expectations. It had an Achilles heel going into the season. There was only one proven receiver Matt Vandeberg who really had an intuitive grasp of Davis's system. They lost Vandeberg early in the season. The other receivers struggled. In 2017 they graduated Croston before the season than lost both Boettger & Myers early. Not surprising they lost several close games. Few teams can graduate their best offensive tackle than lose their next two starters without major drop-off.

The lack of depth at receiver is a long standing issue. The loss of Vandeberg in 2016 was a problem waiting to happen. I'm not sure they can do a whole lot guard against losing both starting tackles in 2017, other than get better in other areas and hope you can compensate.

 

[LicThawk]

We have some short memories of games last year that just don't make sense. I guess you have to have memory issues as a defense mechanism when you like a team for so many years that frustrates you. All you have to do is watch the Purdue game last year to have your doubts about BF. If your line is injured and full of underclassman, wouldn't a good coach do something besides run right 8 plays in a row and punt?