Is Iowa a legit NC contender this year?

[DuffMan]

What does everyone think. I don't think Iowa will ever be a powerhouse that competes for the NC year in and year out but they way things are rolling right now it seems once every 4-5 years we put together a team that has a chance. It's already happened twice since KF has been here (2002 and last year). There is no doubt that for that to happen things still have to break exactly right (injuries, oline gelling, etc) but I don't see why it's not possible.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

Right now they're not, but they'll be in the conversation when the season starts. Right now the contenders would be Oregon, Boise, Alabama, and out of the Big 10 Ohio State.

That being said, the schedule sets up pefectly for Iowa to play themselves into contention.

The Hawks will get a lot of love this coming pre-season, but Ohio State will be picked by most pre-season publications to win the conference.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Right now they're not, but they'll be in the conversation when the season starts. Right now the contenders would be Oregon, Boise, Alabama, and out of the Big 10 Ohio State.

That being said, the schedule sets up pefectly for Iowa to play themselves into contention.

How are they not a title contender right now? Every early preseason poll I've seen has them in at least the top 10, and several of them have Iowa in the top 5. I don't see how any team in the preseason top 10 could be dismissed as a not being a contender for the title.

 

[hawkfan2679]

I don't think we can be considered NC contenders until we see how the OL is going to play. We've got the necessary talent at the skill positions offensively, but up front is what is going to make or break the season. Defensively, we have to figure out how to replace two potentially NFL-caliber LB's, so there's a concern there as well. There is talent there as well, but will they have the discipline to make them great?

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

I don't think we can be considered NC contenders until we see how the OL is going to play. We've got the necessary talent at the skill positions offensively, but up front is what is going to make or break the season. Defensively, we have to figure out how to replace two potentially NFL-caliber LB's, so there's a concern there as well. There is talent there as well, but will they have the discipline to make them great?

We are one of only five teams that won a BCS game last season and return like 15 starters. Every team has questions and lost players, if you're using your criteria than who do you actually consider title contenders now?

 

[ShadasRevenge]

How are they not a title contender right now? Every early preseason poll I've seen has them in at least the top 10, and several of them have Iowa in the top 5. I don't see how any team in the preseason top 10 could be dismissed as a not being a contender for the title.

They won't be mentioned as sure locks to get to the title game like Alabama, Florida, and Texas were last year. Not to say that they can't get there, but they'll be flying under the radar a little bit as far as the national championship is concerned. Ohio State will be the team in the Big 10 that is focused on as a national title contender, not Iowa.

But they have to come to Iowa City.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

We are one of only five teams that won a BCS game last season and return like 15 starters. Every team has questions and lost players, if you're using your criteria than who do you actually consider title contenders now?

Boise State is bring 21 of 22 back, and Oregon is bringing back something like 19 starters.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

They won't be mentioned as sure locks to get to the title game like Alabama, Florida, and Texas were last year. Not to say that they can't get there, but they'll be flying under the radar a little bit as far as the national championship is concerned. Ohio State will be the team in the Big 10 that is focused on as a national title contender, not Iowa.

But they have to come to Iowa City.

Alabama wasn't considered a lock for the title game this season. They had to replace their starting QB and were ranked about the same as where we will be going into next season. Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas were the supposed locks.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Boise State is bring 21 of 22 back, and Oregon is bringing back something like 19 starters.

Oregon got beat down in a BCS game, we dominated GT. I don't think there's anyway that they're any more of a contender than we are.

 

[herkeye]

Tough question. As of right now, it's to far off to tell. Obviously, the bread and butter of this team is the defense. And I firmly believe that the Hawks have a national championship caliber defense. However, a NC claiber TEAM has to have an offense that can put up some points. But it's hard for an offense to move the ball and put up points if one's O-Line cannot provide quarterback protection and running room. So let's hold off on the answer to this one until after the first two or three games to see how the O-Line has come together. But I will say this: The schedule is set up nicely to make a run at it. The team's talent and experience seems to be deep enough to make a run at it. There is plenty of momentum from last year to make a run at it.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

Alabama wasn't considered a lock for the title game this season. They had to replace their starting QB and were ranked about the same as where we will be going into next season. Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas were the supposed locks.

My bad. Iowa still won't be mentioned in that same sentance next season, and I think most of us would be fine with that. I don't know who the top 3 teams will be, but I know that Iowa won't be in that list. Note that this is a lot different than saying the Hawks can't win it all.

The best thing that could have happened for Iowa was Ohio State winning the Rose Bowl, because it'll be the Buckeyes who get all the attention from the national media heading into the season.

We have to keep in mind that Iowa won't win the national championship if they don't win the Big 10 first.

 

[boneshq]

we are contenders right now, we are loaded, the o-line will be fine, we have some bodies, and even if it struggles early, a veteran qb will help as well as a leathal punter, and the real black shirt defense

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

My bad. Iowa still won't be mentioned in that same sentance next season, and I think most of us would be fine with that. I don't know who the top 3 teams will be, but I know that Iowa won't be in that list. Note that this is a lot different than saying the Hawks can't win it all.

The best thing that could have happened for Iowa was Ohio State winning the Rose Bowl, because it'll be the Buckeyes who get all the attention from the national media heading into the season.

We have to keep in mind that Iowa won't win the national championship if they don't win the Big 10 first.

I agree with what you're saying, but it just seems like a lot of people on this site are going out of their way to make it seem like we're not title contenders and should start the year in the 15-20 range. In my mind every team in the top 10 is a definite title contender, I just think we need to realize we're not going to be sneaking up on anyone this season, and embrace the role of being one of the favorites.

 

[DuffMan]

Right now they're not, but they'll be in the conversation when the season starts. Right now the contenders would be Oregon, Boise, Alabama, and out of the Big 10 Ohio State.

That being said, the schedule sets up pefectly for Iowa to play themselves into contention.

The Hawks will get a lot of love this coming pre-season, but Ohio State will be picked by most pre-season publications to win the conference.

I don't like the "good schedule" argument. People were raving about that great schedule we had a few years back when fOSU and scUM were not on it. Those so called "soft schedules" ended up being the two worst years of the KF era (overlooking the early years of course). This year all people could talk about was how hard the scheudle was and many people predicted we wouldnt win more than 7 regular season games because of it, it turns out we were one QB injury away from having a good shot at runnin the table.

I just don't think the schedule is a dominant factor in terms of going undefeated, if the team is right they will get the job done regardless of what the schedule looks like and when the team is wrong they can look bad with any schedul.e

 

[ShadasRevenge]

I agree with what you're saying, but it just seems like a lot of people on this site are going out of their way to make it seem like we're not title contenders and should start the year in the 15-20 range. In my mind every team in the top 10 is a definite title contender, I just think we need to realize we're not going to be sneaking up on anyone this season, and embrace the role of being one of the favorites.

I'm with you there; it's somewhat of a debate in semantics. For a team that is going to be rated fairly high when the season starts (between 5-10 on average), Iowa is going to be flying under the radar just a bit due to the love that Ohio State is going to get.

It's certainly an attainable goal, but a lot of things are going to have to go right, and they're going to have to avoid the injury bug.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

I don't like the "good schedule" argument. People were raving about that great schedule we had a few years back when fOSU and scUM were not on it. Those so called "soft schedules" ended up being the two worst years of the KF era (overlooking the early years of course). This year all people could talk about was how hard the scheudle was and many people predicted we wouldnt win more than 7 regular season games because of it, it turns out we were one QB injury away from having a good shot at runnin the table.

I just don't think the schedule is a dominant factor in terms of going undefeated, if the team is right they will get the job done regardless of what the schedule looks like and when the team is wrong they can look bad with any schedul.e

2007 was bad, 2008 was not. The point is that all those teams have to come to Iowa City, and if Iowa doesn't take care of business they've got no one to blame but themselves.

They cleaned Wisconsin's clock in Madison last year, and took OSU to overtime in Columbus with a freshman QB making his first start. They both have to to come to Kinnick this year, so Iowa has to take care of business.

 

[Mesaclone]

Simply saying the OL will be fine, doesn't make it so.

Until we see that OL perform against a decent defense, we won't know how the season is going to go. I'd say the Arizona game will be a HUGE indicator of the entire season. If the OL exceeds expectations and is above average, than Iowa can contend for a National Championship. That, however, is a huge "if". The OL is the single most important position group in football...it can control a game, even making a team's defense better.

The defense is awesome. The offensive skill players are solid, if unspectacular. The only critical uncertainty is the OL play. That's where the season will be decided.

 

[expos1994]

All the hype is scaring me into believing they will underachieve this year. Last season they had no hype to live up to as the schedule was too tough to win even 8 games.

This year the schedule is so easy we should win all our road games and take care of home field.... yeah right. It won't be that easy. I think expectations will be too high.

That being said the team looks very good on offense and defense. If the O-line and Linebackers develop like we hope, then they shouldn't have a problem living up to the hype. But... If UNI can come into Kinnick and almost win last year, then anyone on our home schedule this year has a good chance to pull the upset. Until we start pounding teams at home, I am not comfortable with the favorable schedule. Heck last year, the Hawks played their best on the road and laid a few eggs @ home. (Indiana, NW, UNI) Indiana was a win, but I was there and we didn't look like an 8-0 team until the 4th quarter.

 

[GhostofBTT]

No. They will not be contenders. Unless the offense comes out firing next year, they wont be considered contenders at all, unless they are one of a few remaining undefeated teams.

 

[GhostofBTT]

Simply saying the OL will be fine, doesn't make it so.

This.

People who say the line will be fine are flat out fooling theirselves. The line will not be dominant. It will be passable, but it will not be a strength. Just saying that Kirk Ferentz is their coach is not enough to convince me they can magically replace all of that experience and talent.