Is anyone going to go watch this team in a bowl game

[HuckFinn]

If you think, or maybe hope, Iowa’s Citrus Bowl game in Orlando is a useless contest, I will bet you that
The tv audience and the in stadium audience for this 1:00 o’clock game on New Years Day, will be impressive. The fact that a few on this site mock bowl games means only that they have a view. In fact, they are in the minority, I wager. Snarky comments are just that…snarky. That lends 0 to their credibility.

 

[ssckelley]

What was it like in person yesterday? They showed nothing but Michigan fans all night. It seemed like maybe 10% of the stadium was Iowa fans.

I was expecting to be outnumbered, I figured 40/60 Iowa to Michigan fans but it was way worse than that. I knew we were in trouble at fan fest, when the marching band for Michigan came out the stands were packed and people were pack around the standing room areas. After they left 20 minutes later the Iowa band showed up, we couldn’t even fill up a 3rd of the mobile stands they put up. Once the game got out of hand the Iowa fans left and it was still deafening from the Michigan fans. The only sections that were mostly Iowa fans was the SE corner. But hell even in my row there were 2 Michigan fans.

It was like our 2015 season, they were very excited to be there like we were back in 2015.

 

[Hawkboys]

I will always watch the IA football and basketball teams. But I have found watching the last 3-4 years of football less enjoyable than prev years just due to the "let's hope the other teams beat themselves" approach.

 

[PlatypusMessiah]

So, if you were to promise me that in 2022, Iowa will win the West and would have 10 regular season wins, I’d hit the deal button. It wasn’t to long ago that we were all wondering if 8-4 was the expected norm. This little 3 year run, where Iowa has had 2 10 win seasons in 3 years has only happened twice before and the year in the middle may very well had been a 10 win team were it not for COVID. So, I’m excited that there is still an opportunity to get to 11 wins, and quite possibly a top 10 finish. Even the Citrus Bowl bid is signs of improvement. It’s the conference’s destination when you finish 3rd or 4th. It’s a step up from the Outback Bowl, which at this point might as well be named the Ferentz Bowl.

That all being said, this rendition of Iowa would improve with breaking trends on offense. Iowa is very predictable and I don’t know if that is just the emphasis on execution; that Iowa will only run things that worked 20 times in practice. The 2018 team in particular always gets me riled. If an NFL team had Faint and TJ on it, they would be an offensive juggernaut and Brian just couldn’t figure out how to get them off (Well 3 times, Ohio St 2017 55-24, Illinois 2018 63-0, Indiana 2018 42-16).

Everyone here has watched enough Hawkeye football to get the complimentary football thing. Iowa is never going to be pass wacky and run no huddle for a whole game unless Ferentz leaves. But Iowa doesn’t need that to be successful, and it doesn’t have to have an offense that ranks 90th in the NCAA either. There isn’t a reason why an offense like Minnesota’s or Michigan’s or Michigan St.’s can’t compliment Iowa’s defense and special teams play.

 

[JoeyLabasForPresident]

So, if you were to promise me that in 2022, Iowa will win the West and would have 10 regular season wins, I’d hit the deal button. It wasn’t to long ago that we were all wondering if 8-4 was the expected norm. This little 3 year run, where Iowa has had 2 10 win seasons in 3 years has only happened twice before and the year in the middle may very well had been a 10 win team were it not for COVID. So, I’m excited that there is still an opportunity to get to 11 wins, and quite possibly a top 10 finish. Even the Citrus Bowl bid is signs of improvement. It’s the conference’s destination when you finish 3rd or 4th. It’s a step up from the Outback Bowl, which at this point might as well be named the Ferentz Bowl.

This. I'll remind you all again that if you get hasty, you have at least as good of odds of becoming the Next Nebraska as you do anything better than you have now. Maybe you get lucky and get to be Michigan. I'll remind you 85% of the last 20 years haven't been very fun for Michigan fans. Even less of a chance the you're Oklahoma or Clemson. No, you're probably the next Nebraska. Do you want to be looking up at Minnesota being the only reliable competition with Wisconsin to win the West? I don't.

If what you really want is an exciting offense to watch, go pick any of half a dozen Big or Pac 12 teams and enjoy watching a team put up 30 or 40 or 50 points but claw for anything more than six or seven wins. Or just go be a Bama fan. It's fine, they'll have you.

 

[Hawkboys]

If what you really want is an exciting offense to watch, go pick any of half a dozen Big or Pac 12 teams and enjoy watching a team put up 30 or 40 or 50 points but claw for anything more than six or seven wins. Or just go be a Bama fan. It's fine, they'll have you.

It does not have to be either terrible Offense or exciting offense. That is such a silly take. It just needs to be almost mediocre for this team to be the best in the West every year. I think BF knows this and wants to get less predictable. He just hasn't gotten it figured out how yet without making the offense worse.

 

[Fryowa]

This. I'll remind you all again that if you get hasty, you have at least as good of odds of becoming the Next Nebraska as you do anything better than you have now.

It's impossible to over emphasize this.

And the mouth breathers just refuse to accept it.

Unless they hire LeVar Woods soon as OC and eventual HC, when Kirk leaves the Iowa culture that Fry built is gone baby gone. These frickin idiots on this board wanting wholesale staff changes are stupid for one, and for another better be careful what they wish for. Remember kids, nebraska would do anything to get Bo Pelini back and the same thing is going to happen to Iowa when Kirk leaves. Iowa isn't the marquee job you think it is no matter how much you try and convince yourself. I don't like Brian any more than the rest of you, but when Kirk leaves and Iowa hires the next G5 wonder boy who led Poughkeepsie State to two undefeated seasons plus a Rays Discount Muffler Shop Bowl----and goes 4-8 ad nauseum in the B1G, you're going to be wishing Brian never left.

You're the same people who thought Mitch King was gonna get drafted day one. I appreciate the homerism, but you can't see the forest for the trees.

 

[PlatypusMessiah]

It's impossible to over emphasize this.

And the mouth breathers just refuse to accept it.

Unless they hire LeVar Woods soon as OC and eventual HC, when Kirk leaves the Iowa culture that Fry built is gone baby gone. These frickin idiots on this board wanting wholesale staff changes are stupid for one, and for another better be careful what they wish for. Remember kids, nebraska would do anything to get Bo Pelini back and the same thing is going to happen to Iowa when Kirk leaves. Iowa isn't the marquee job you think it is no matter how much you try and convince yourself. I don't like Brian any more than the rest of you, but when Kirk leaves and Iowa hires the next G5 wonder boy who led Poughkeepsie State to two undefeated seasons plus a Rays Discount Muffler Shop Bowl and goes 5-7 ad nauseum, you're going to be wishing Brian never left.

You're the same people who thought Mitch King was gonna get drafted day one. I appreciate the homerism, but you can't see the forest for the trees.

Well, there in a nutshell seems to be where the fan base is. We like the identity that has been established over 40 years. We'd like to see it continue. We don't really want to see Brian be that continuation. We still like Kirk who still seems capable of running the show.

I'd also say Gary Barta has a lot to do with this situation. If we had a stronger AD, there would be a lot more pressure on Brian to figure out the offense. But we all know Barta isn't going to do anything that could possibly cause a wave. I'd almost rather make the move to replace Barta just so he isn't the one to replace Kirk down the road because he will always go the easy path and in this case, that's Brian.

 

[JoeyLabasForPresident]

It does not have to be either terrible Offense or exciting offense. That is such a silly take. It just needs to be almost mediocre for this team to be the best in the West every year. I think BF knows this and wants to get less predictable. He just hasn't gotten it figured out how yet without making the offense worse.

With Kirk Ferentz, it appears to be so. I don't know, maybe he shocks us at 67 and rolls out the air raid next year. I doubt it. I think that if you want a different offense you have to bring in a new HC. Then you get to roll the dice. If that's what you want, fine. I prefer incremental change and being annoyed by a seven or eight win season here and there, until there is a clear and obvious succession plan.

If you think Kirk WANTS to be bottom 10% on offense, you're an idiot. But he is going to roll the same offense out there next year either way. He either has the horses to pull it off, or he doesn't.