Is everyone ready...

[Gibsonian]

Will we be as successful as in the OSU game? Doubt it, they got film to review now at WI.

Will we go back to the game calling BF was doing while the O was going nowhere? No way. His reaction, that feeling he had BF will want to have again. He will attack their D

We will be prepared to make them pay for blitzing, we aren't stupid (ok, sometimes we are)

I expect a win here, no reason we cannot, assuming we go with the data at hand.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I can't imagine Iowa would go back to the same ole same ole. Brian is just such an X factor. It almost felt like going into the OSU game he went into that week saying look here's what I want to do and KF said well it's OSU we have slim to no chance so what do we have to lose let's open up everything and go down swinging. Well low and behold our everything to give is pretty darn good. Human nature should suggest Brian can tell the old man " SEE!!!" and push to continue it. Using the pass to set up the run and TEs in the play action game shouldn't be such a crazy concept. Fant is such a mismatch he's gotta be running deep routes 3 times a game plus. Anytime you get him isolated just feed him. TJ is the perfect compliment to him. He reminds me of Brandon Myers maybe better already and that's scary. Wisconsin having lost their stud WR and now a LB can't be going into this game too confident... I like our chances

 

[Fryowa]

I would love to see this be the turning point...but I'll remain skeptical until we have a decent body of evidence to that effect. It seems that every time Kirk has had success venturing out of his comfort zone...he always regresses to the mean...so to speak.

We may lose to Wisconsin next week (they have the home adv on this one) but at least go down swinging.

I know this has been said before, but Wisconsin's schedule is weaker than PJ Fleck's fashion sense. The only team they've played so far that hasn't been laughably horrible is Northwestern. Are they pushovers? No way, but they aren't as skilled or as deep as Ohio State.

 

[Adam]

I know this has been said before, but Wisconsin's schedule is weaker than PJ Fleck's fashion sense. The only team they've played so far that hasn't been laughably horrible is Northwestern. Are they pushovers? No way, but they aren't as skilled or as deep as Ohio State.

Sure they haven't played anybody, but this is pretty much the same Wisconsin team that has been fielded for 15 years. They will give us a hell of a dog fight. I just hope we give it back. For what it's worth I believe Wisconsin is at least 3x stronger physically in the trenches than OSU or PSU.

 

[ChosenChildren]

Wisconsin's defense is far superior to the Ohio State defense. Iowa diagnosed the weakness in the Ohio State LB corps and exploited I beautifullyt.

I do think that the "pass first to set up the run" strategy is the only way to move the ball on Wisconsin.

 

[FCAS]

Wisconsin's defense is far superior to the Ohio State defense.

Given the teams they have played so far, I'd say the jury is still out on their defense.

 

[Adam]

Given the teams they have played so far, I'd say the jury is still out on their defense.

That maybe the case, but just like Iowa, Wisconsin's D is almost always up to par. I don't see us dominating them, but then again didn't see us dominating OSU's either.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Remember the 3 TE sets Davis did against OSU that worked then we never saw again?

Davis still here? Didn't know that.

 

[earlkoppelman]

Remember the 3 TE sets Davis did against OSU that worked then we never saw again?

Looks like CAP no?

 

[earlkoppelman]

He don't know KF do he.

Scary I say! And Accurate.Again cap working to get son next coach.SO change? and follow thru on things that WORK. Tight ends please and more. Luv cap no??

 

[STILLBUSTER]

I think this team has finally turned a corner. I don't see them going back to the boring and predictable; not anymore this season.

In all of KF's 18 seasons, there have maybe been 2 or 3 where you could say his team had "turned a corner" ...
2002 was a jugernaut that "turned a corner" of confidence;
2004, "turned a corner" because their hand was forced by the unmentionable demi-god;
2015 was another season where they "turned a corner" of will and attitude (and weak schedule).

Other than that, the TRADEMARK of derKirkFer has been peeking around the corner and ducking back in jaw-dropping fashion. The expectation of inexplicable losses to inferior opponents preceded / followed by inexplicable wins over superior opponents is not some imaginary gripe; it's a well-deserved totem of derKirkFer's Hawkeyes that's been reliably demonstrated in every other season except the few mentioned.

That said, I don't know if KF & staff will revert to his full-fetal dogma but I'm very confident that this staff and this team are going to struggle to perform at that high level again this season.

Appreciate and Savor what you saw last Saturday. At the same time, realize it was an anomaly. It's just the nature of the Kirk Ferentz coached Iowa Hawkeyes beast.

 

[thedukeofearl]

BF should keep the offense moving like last week. That was the style of play that I love the Hawks playing. The Brad Banks and Ricky Stanzi run teams were really fun to watch. Now Stanley certainly has the ability to run the team as well. I was simply waiting for Nathan to settle down especially with a banged up O line. He was very close on his throws. Quite a few were fireballs, had to take the heat off. Others were on target but overthrown. It was only a matter of time before those tendencies were corrected.....

Actually did it long before I thought he would, but one could see the talent and ability there. He is a Strong Lad. Hard to take down, being grabbed around the ankles and having the strength and ability to spot the receiver and deliver in fine fashion.....

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

It's unrealistic for fans to expect a similar performance to what we saw Saturday. The stars aligned in that game and everything clicked.

Wisconsin is a different animal than OSU. First, OSU obviously was overconfident coming in, and was basically shell-shocked the entire game. Wisconsin knows it's good but it won't have that cockiness that OSU had, so we are not going to sneak up on them, especially on the road.

I think our offense will remain more creative than baseline from here on out, but that's not a guarantee of success. Wisconsin runs a much different type of defense than OSU. The key to beating the 3-4 is reading the blitzes and knowing where the gaps will be, and, as good as Stanley has been, that's asking a lot of a very young QB and young O-line.

Defensively, if we control Taylor and Fumagalli, we win, but that's much easier said than done. Since Wisconsin runs a power running game and is very good at getting blockers to the second level, the key will be whether the safeties can fill gaps while controlling Fumagalli at the same time.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

I know this has been said before, but Wisconsin's schedule is weaker than PJ Fleck's fashion sense. The only team they've played so far that hasn't been laughably horrible is Northwestern. Are they pushovers? No way, but they aren't as skilled or as deep as Ohio State.

Pretty much like 2015 Iowa Yet, even that schedule-challenged 2015 Iowa team was able to eek out a 10-6 W in Mad-town over a similarly ranked (19th) Wisky team. (Thanks, mostly, to Stave tripping over his OG's foot.)

It will be a physical game that stays close enough to feel winnable (as most Hawk-Vadger games are). However, I completely expect Iowa to be in pedestrian attack mode and miss a few opportunities as they try to go toe-to-toe with Wisky's run-first strategy. Ultimately, the porous run-D gets worn down and never makes Hornibrook uncomfortable, ending in a frustrating 28-17 loss.

 

[Fryowa]

Pretty much like 2015 Iowa

I agree.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

I have no idea why OSU didn't stick to that read option when they were down 14 early in the 3rd quarter. We really didn't have an answer for it and once they started throwing, that game was ovah.

They tried to run it for a bit. Hawks D adjusted pretty well, for one thing, and Hawks offense/special teams didn't give them a ton of short fields on drives they didn't score. You can't grind out drives down by 14, you need to score somewhat quickly.

Hawks D settled down and stayed on assignments after OSUs second TD.

 

[JVHAWKS]

Pretty much like 2015 Iowa Yet, even that schedule-challenged 2015 Iowa team was able to eek out a 10-6 W in Mad-town over a similarly ranked (19th) Wisky team. (Thanks, mostly, to Stave tripping over his OG's foot.)

It will be a physical game that stays close enough to feel winnable (as most Hawk-Vadger games are). However, I completely expect Iowa to be in pedestrian attack mode and miss a few opportunities as they try to go toe-to-toe with Wisky's run-first strategy. Ultimately, the porous run-D gets worn down and never makes Hornibrook uncomfortable, ending in a frustrating 28-17 loss.

I believe that they will look to establish the run early against their 3-4 defense and most people will lose their minds however i think this is the right approach. I loved the look last week and the way they opened against NW but now they have proven to beat a team through the air they will likely not see a 8-9 man front all the time. Using Butler more up the middle and being more creative with Wadley they should have success. If they play with the confidence they found last week they be in a good position to win. WI will not make the same mistakes as OSU. They will be disciplined in coverage and not make as many penalties.

Defensively, they should not get worn down. Yes WI is a beast of O-line but Iowa has a good rotation upfront to hopefully slow down the run game. They may not get pressure on the QB but hopefully make enough stops and force him into bad throws.

 

[thedukeofearl]

It's unrealistic for fans to expect a similar performance to what we saw Saturday. The stars aligned in that game and everything clicked.

Wisconsin is a different animal than OSU. First, OSU obviously was overconfident coming in, and was basically shell-shocked the entire game. Wisconsin knows it's good but it won't have that cockiness that OSU had, so we are not going to sneak up on them, especially on the road.

I think our offense will remain more creative than baseline from here on out, but that's not a guarantee of success. Wisconsin runs a much different type of defense than OSU. The key to beating the 3-4 is reading the blitzes and knowing where the gaps will be, and, as good as Stanley has been, that's asking a lot of a very young QB and young O-line.

Defensively, if we control Taylor and Fumagalli, we win, but that's much easier said than done. Since Wisconsin runs a power running game and is very good at getting blockers to the second level, the key will be whether the safeties can fill gaps while controlling Fumagalli at the same time.

First game in recent memory where I wasn't screaming at the refs. Everything did go the Hawks way, and they played an almost perfect game top to bottom. The odds of that happening again are remote, but they mix things up offensively like they did last Saturday, we should be good.....

For some reason, I am not that concerned about their freshman running back doing better than Barkley. He had a lot of yards but only one score in the third quarter. Barkley had 211 yards rushing and 94 yards receiving. Let them run but keep them out of the end zone.....

Tempted to wager a dollar or two but this could be a trap bet.....

 

[WestCoastHawk]

If you weren't expecting this you haven't been following iowa football for the past two decades.

 

[WestCoastHawk]

Bump