I think Iowa can improve in the passing game by knowing their receiver personnel and what routes they run the best and then practicing them over and over. With a lot of good repetitions and good pass blocking I think Brian F will start mixing in play action in an off schedule manner on 1st and 2nd down. Petras can make big time throws but he needs to make them at a bit higher clip. I am not giving up on the offense getting better and better. And I know you have watched enough Kirk ball to know that the offense starts to gel with the Off Line about game 4 or 5.
Is Iowa a championship team?
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I think Iowa can improve in the passing game by knowing their receiver personnel and what routes they run the best and then practicing them over and over. With a lot of good repetitions and good pass blocking I think Brian F will start mixing in play action in an off schedule manner on 1st and 2nd down. Petras can make big time throws but he needs to make them at a bit higher clip. I am not giving up on the offense getting better and better. And I know you have watched enough Kirk ball to know that the offense starts to gel with the Off Line about game 4 or 5.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
It can get a little better, but ultimately I think we're pretty constrained on talent on the outside and at QB that gives us a pretty low ceiling on the offense. Teams like Northwestern and Wisconsin are going to load the shit out of the box and double the TE with a safety and we're going to have plenty of games with sub 200 yards of output. That's the recipe to lose 17-16 or 14-13 against some mediocre team in a game where the defense only forces one turnover.
Think of the 2018 season. Stanley was coming into the year with huge expectations after a strong 1st year starting, but he really struggled out of the gate:
N. Illinois: 11/23, 108 yds, 1 TD, 1 int (missed some easy and important throws, including a wide open PA to Fant that would have gone for a long TD)
ISU: 16/28, 166 yds, 0 TD, 0 int (Iowa's defense destroyed ISU, Clones got a FG on their opening possession, and I think they crossed midfield once after that; Stanley completed a big pass to B. Smith on a 3rd and 4 to set up the clinching TD in 4th quarter)
Iowa's D looked dominant through 2 weeks, but everyone was worried about their offense, and especially their QB.
They went into UNI in week 3, and Stanley threw about 20 times in the first half. He still had some struggles, but their run game was good enough to keep drives going and give him lots of reps. He led 3 TD drives in the 1st half, and they kept throwing in the 2nd half.
He wasn't perfectly clean in that game, but he got some rhythm. He ended up 23/28 for 309 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int.
He followed that up with...
256 yds vs. Wisconsin (played well, although had a crucial miss in the 4th; we lost that game with killer special teams miscues and terrible redzone execution)
314 yds vs. Minnesota in a 48-31 win
320 yds vs. Indiana in a 42-16 win
I think Iowa can get on the same kind of roll here with Petras. This team has better offensive weapons than the 2018 team. They have played these first 2 games to get wins, not style points. The way the D was playing, there was no reason to give Petras a chance to lose those games. They will use the next 2 weeks like the 2018 team used UNI, and if they show the same types of improvement that team showed, look out.
That's a pretty good comparison, especially with both QBs in their second year starting.
I'm also not ready to give up on our WRs. We have probably faced the two of the best secondarys we will face (Penn State and Wisconsin might be up there too). They do need to get open more but I do think we'll see some improvement in these next few games. Two games is a small sample size.
And something important to emphasize about the comparison: in 2018 Iowa played 2 not great teams out of the gate, and they scored 33 and 13.
In 2021 they scored 2 ranked teams with top-20 defenses, and they scored 34 and 27. Yes, I know the defense essentially scored 30 of those 61 points, but that is a big part of the reason Iowa's offense was so throttled down.
Bottom line, Petras has presided over an 8 game winning streak in which the team has averaged over 34 pts/game. There has not been a single group of 5 cupcake or FCS opponent in those 8 games, all P5. The team has scored points in all sorts of different ways, but the offense has done their part by protecting the D and capitalizing when it matters. The formula has been working, and this is a young team with lots of room to grow. I am excited to see what things look like when we head to Maryland in 3 weeks.
Luftgekuehlt67
Well-Known Member
It's early, but I could definitely see us competing for the Big Ten West if we can get some things cleaned up on offense.
Big Ten Championship? Yeah, dunno, that's a stretch. I expect OSU to be in that game from the East. I can't say that OSU losing to Oregon means much to me as far as anyone from the West actually being able to beat OSU.
Big Ten Championship? Yeah, dunno, that's a stretch. I expect OSU to be in that game from the East. I can't say that OSU losing to Oregon means much to me as far as anyone from the West actually being able to beat OSU.
ssckelley
Well-Known Member
I‘m not so sure Ohio State will come out of the East. The concerns about Ohio State’s defense was amplified in that Oregon game, I can see a team like Indiana give them all kinds of trouble this year and Penn State won’t be a picnic either.
HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
Even Michigan maybe could get them if they keep improving. Probably not, but who knows.
As far as Iowa goes, one game at a time....but we are sitting pretty good right now.
AreWeThereYet
Well-Known Member
Tory Taylor's foot is national championship level. I could seriously see his punting being the deciding factor in 3 to 5 games this year. Opposing special teams coaches have nightmares about Taylor's foot.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
Ohio State has two issues. First, their o-line is dog shit because Day is too young to coach a program of that caliber and he doesn't know how to run a football team so he loaded up on a bunch of tackles during recruiting because they had the highest stars and now he has four tackles playing line and they don't know how to pull or how to handle a stunt. Oregon was without its best lineman and embarrassed them up front on multiple key 3rd and 4th down situations.
Second, they realized that to beat the teams in the championship levels they had to adopt a 4-2-5 defense. Instead of planning for it 3 years in advance like Phil Parker did, they tried to just institute it and they don't have the personnel to do it. Another absolute lack of foresight. While Iowa is rolling out a bunch of cash guys into the NFL, Ohio State is trying to fill that role with a guy who blows ass in pass coverage and takes bad angles in the run game. If you ain't got a good cash player, your defense is gonna be ass and that is where OSU is right now.
That team will get better, but that is the first "full strength" OSU team I have seen in over 15 years that looks like it cannot play power football in October and November in the Big Ten. Again, that team is 100% built to try to play Alabama or Clemson or Oklahoma in some kind of chicken fighting grabass finesse game. It is not the Urban Meyer/Jim Tressel team that can line up in power formations and break the will of a team like Wisconsin or Iowa in November. Day has a lot of work to do with that team.
Motigerhawk
Well-Known Member
B1G championship quality defense, punter, kicker, PR and KR.
Those qualities plays right into Iowa's scheme. We owned ISU because they started deep all day and our defense did what it does but at a higher level then we have seen in awhile.
Petras doesnt take those sacks we add 6 more points.
Field position and ball control and stop the run and lead the nation in picks.
Get Schott back and watch the run game improve.
We should win the B1G this year. No way anyone beats Alabama.
Those qualities plays right into Iowa's scheme. We owned ISU because they started deep all day and our defense did what it does but at a higher level then we have seen in awhile.
Petras doesnt take those sacks we add 6 more points.
Field position and ball control and stop the run and lead the nation in picks.
Get Schott back and watch the run game improve.
We should win the B1G this year. No way anyone beats Alabama.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
I will worry about winning the West. I want to get to Indy. When I was there for the MSU game it was one of the best balls out games I have seen Iowa play. I have no great passion for the playoff system. I am still a fan of traditional bowl games. When we played in the Alamo, the Outback, even in Miami, the intensity nearly matched the Indy experience.
BTW, I went to Jack Trice on Saturday. Wow. Just, wow.
BTW, I went to Jack Trice on Saturday. Wow. Just, wow.
ChosenChildren
Well-Known Member
I think you will know a heck of a lot more after the next four games: Kent St., Colo St., Maryland and Penn State. Win 3 of those 4 and Iowa will be in no worse than a tie for the Division lead.
At that point, Iowa's chance at a division championship will come down to who wins the Iowa v. Wisconsin game. Win up there and we will probably be playing in the Big Ten championship game. Lose and we are relegated to chasing a good bowl. I don't think Northwestern, Purdue or Minnesota are championship caliber (they are gonna lose a lot of games) and I am convinced Illinois and Nebraska are just downright poor teams.
7-2 conference record with a win over Wisconsin will do it, but Iowa must beat the Badgers!! It's pretty simple.
At that point, Iowa's chance at a division championship will come down to who wins the Iowa v. Wisconsin game. Win up there and we will probably be playing in the Big Ten championship game. Lose and we are relegated to chasing a good bowl. I don't think Northwestern, Purdue or Minnesota are championship caliber (they are gonna lose a lot of games) and I am convinced Illinois and Nebraska are just downright poor teams.
7-2 conference record with a win over Wisconsin will do it, but Iowa must beat the Badgers!! It's pretty simple.
ChosenChildren
Well-Known Member
The only way to win the Division if we lose to Wisconsin is to go 8-1 in the conference with a win over Penn State at home. Very possible.
Wisconsin could lose a second conference game to Michigan. Michigan looks salty right now.
It's all conjecture. One game at a time, starting with Kent State.
It would sure help to get Schott back. He's a good one
Wisconsin could lose a second conference game to Michigan. Michigan looks salty right now.
It's all conjecture. One game at a time, starting with Kent State.
It would sure help to get Schott back. He's a good one
NCHawker
Well-Known Member
I think Petras has a higher ceiling than Stanley. He's showing more poise but needs to feel the pocket more.
If we don't see a dramatic uptick in production during the next two weeks... well its SSDD.
Year after year we see sub par offensive production. Its always something... no RB, no WR, New QB, an injury on the OLine, youth, bla bla bla ... here's to improvement
If we don't see a dramatic uptick in production during the next two weeks... well its SSDD.
Year after year we see sub par offensive production. Its always something... no RB, no WR, New QB, an injury on the OLine, youth, bla bla bla ... here's to improvement
Kent State's is better. That's not a typo. Check out their INTs.
SmokeTownHawk
Well-Known Member
Way too soon to talk about championships, even the West. Just win the games. The rest will take care of itself.
Fryowa
Administrator
IKM is doing a good job of that so far.
I give him a pass on that fumble because he hasn’t seen the field in a coon’s age
