JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
[FONT="]Iowa is6-4 heading into its final two games. They’ve reached bowl eligibilitybut they aren’t contending for a league or even division title, so why wouldsomeone say this is a must win game?[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The program needs it. The fans need it. Kirk Ferentzneeds it. If there is to be a Ferentz 3.0, it begins Saturday in KinnickStadium.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]FERENTZ 1.0:[/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="] Weall remember the losing streak, we remember the Hawkeyes being bullied aroundby the rest of the Big Ten. That all changed on November 4th, 2000 whenIowa topped Penn State in overtime in Happy Valley. That turned out to be theline..’Here, and no further’. Iowa beat a ranked Northwestern team thefollowing week before losing at Minnesota in the season finale as Bob Sandersand Benny Sapp watched from the sidelines due to injury. 2001 then turnedinto the build up season for what would become one of the most successful runsin Iowa history. Between 2002-2003 Iowa won 31 games and lost just seven. They finished each of those seasons ranked 8th in the nation, somethingthat had not happened since the 1950′s. They won at least 10 games ineach of those years. That success allowed the Kinnick renovations to takeplace, something Iowa badly needed.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]FERENTZ 2.0:[/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]Iowa was5-4 heading int0 it’s home game against #3 Penn State in 2008. Just a fewweeks back, Iowa sat at 3-3 and there were more than a few people calling forFerentz’s head. The Hawkeyes were coming off of a 6-6 year where theymissed out on a bowl game because they were handled by Western Michigan in theseason finale. The Hawkeyes beat Penn State on a last second field goalto get to 6-4 and they went on to win their last two regular season games toget to 8-4 in addition to topping South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. That season helped lay the foundation for the 2009 season, which was a) avery fun ride, b) a very lucky ride and c) another growth year for the program. This led to the practice facility renovations that are taking place todayand will be finished in July as Iowa will move into a state of the art footballfacility. The indoor practice facility is already done and among the bestin the sport and the new football offices and locker rooms will catch up thissummer. This is a huge recruiting tool as Iowa’s locker rooms and playerslounge area and such had fallen behind their peers.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]FERENTZ 3.0? [/FONT][FONT="]I guess it doesn’t HAVE to startSaturday for it to happen, but it needs to. Beating this Michigan teamwould not be akin to knocking off 2008 Penn State in Kinnick, but it would getIowa to 7-4 with a shot at an Outback Bowl the following week against a beatableNebraska. Simply put, this is the spot where Ferentz has shone throughduring most of his time in Iowa City; when he is the underdog and his team hasa chance to grasp another rung. I am not saying his teams have routinelytaken advantage of opportunities, because the 2010 season is an exhibit to thecontrary. This is where Iowa and Wisconsin’s programs has been differentthe last decade or so as the Badgers have repeatedly taken advantage of theopportunities before it.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]However, Iowa has an opportunity before it and they are coming offof a bye week. It will be senior day in Iowa City, the last time the seniorslace it up in Kinnick. Their time in Kinnick has been as spotty as anysenior class Iowa has had since the group said goodbye in 2000, but theycan help to cement the foundation for Ferentz 3.0.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Win this game and you’re at least 7-4. 7-4 with a winagainst Michigan on your resume, even though this isn’t Meee-chigan, is a goodthing. Do that and you’ve got a shot at 8-4 and a pretty darn good year. 6-6 is kiss your sister, what most people expected and then people countup the missed opportunities all year. 7-4 is miles apart from 6-6 and 8-4is a serving of crow that most every one of us would need to slurp down for themajority of 2014.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The fact is 7-4 is right there and 8-4 is possible. Iowashould be able to have a considerable edge at the line of scrimmage on bothsides of the ball. Iowa’s defensive ends just need to set the edgeagainst Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner and let the tackles and linebackersswoop in and put him on his backside, something that has happened 19 times(sacks) in the past three games. Michigan State has a great defense andheld Michigan to negative yards rushing. Nebraska’s rushing defense isnot good; it’s right around average at 64th in the nation. They heldMichigan to negative yards rushing.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Michigan struggles to run the ball, ranking 95th in the nationwhere Iowa ranks 13th in the nation in rushing defense. The Wolverinesare 51st in passing offense and while Iowa will need to keep track of JeremyGallon, this is not a Michigan team which has those ‘wow’ receivers on it andtheir pass catching tight ends are not physical yet to be a big boost in therunning game.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Is Michigan going to be a pushover? No. Iowa is goingto have to win this game. But I will be very disappointed if they don’twin this game and the Hawkeyes remaina five and a half to six-point favorite in Vegas. The weatheris shaping up to favor a game where a line of scrimmage advantage becomes evenmore pronounced as throwing the ball for half of the game (when you are goingnorth) is going to be difficult; the forecast is for a high in the mid-20′swith North to Northwest winds between 15 and 20mph. This might be one ofthose games where Ferentz chooses to take the wind as it could come down to alast second field goal and you’ll definitely wanting to be going South if thathappens…like against Penn State in 2008.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Get to 7-4 and then only the most bitter fans complain in the offseason and you can just ask them to leave the room when they start yapping. Get to 8-4 and those folks need to move to another block and go rain onanother parade. This game is there for the taking. The Hawkeyes arerested and as healthy as they have been late in a season since 2002. Given the weather, I doubt we’ll see too much ‘cute’ from the offense,but hopefully a lot of power sets where Mark Weisman can flourish and whenMichigan begins cheating and overplaying Iowa’s zone scheme (which they will),Jordan Canzeri can knife them on cutbacks and rip off some big plays.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]In the end, I just like Iowa in this game as they beat Michiganinto submission. Is it truly a must win? Probably not, as nobodywill lose their job if Iowa doesn’t win. That said, it is a must win fora mostly low key offseason where people are looking forward to the 2014campaign, their thoughts focused on the possibilities rather than the missedopportunities of the year just concluded: IOWA 20, Michigan 13.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The program needs it. The fans need it. Kirk Ferentzneeds it. If there is to be a Ferentz 3.0, it begins Saturday in KinnickStadium.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]FERENTZ 1.0:[/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="] Weall remember the losing streak, we remember the Hawkeyes being bullied aroundby the rest of the Big Ten. That all changed on November 4th, 2000 whenIowa topped Penn State in overtime in Happy Valley. That turned out to be theline..’Here, and no further’. Iowa beat a ranked Northwestern team thefollowing week before losing at Minnesota in the season finale as Bob Sandersand Benny Sapp watched from the sidelines due to injury. 2001 then turnedinto the build up season for what would become one of the most successful runsin Iowa history. Between 2002-2003 Iowa won 31 games and lost just seven. They finished each of those seasons ranked 8th in the nation, somethingthat had not happened since the 1950′s. They won at least 10 games ineach of those years. That success allowed the Kinnick renovations to takeplace, something Iowa badly needed.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]FERENTZ 2.0:[/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]Iowa was5-4 heading int0 it’s home game against #3 Penn State in 2008. Just a fewweeks back, Iowa sat at 3-3 and there were more than a few people calling forFerentz’s head. The Hawkeyes were coming off of a 6-6 year where theymissed out on a bowl game because they were handled by Western Michigan in theseason finale. The Hawkeyes beat Penn State on a last second field goalto get to 6-4 and they went on to win their last two regular season games toget to 8-4 in addition to topping South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. That season helped lay the foundation for the 2009 season, which was a) avery fun ride, b) a very lucky ride and c) another growth year for the program. This led to the practice facility renovations that are taking place todayand will be finished in July as Iowa will move into a state of the art footballfacility. The indoor practice facility is already done and among the bestin the sport and the new football offices and locker rooms will catch up thissummer. This is a huge recruiting tool as Iowa’s locker rooms and playerslounge area and such had fallen behind their peers.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]FERENTZ 3.0? [/FONT][FONT="]I guess it doesn’t HAVE to startSaturday for it to happen, but it needs to. Beating this Michigan teamwould not be akin to knocking off 2008 Penn State in Kinnick, but it would getIowa to 7-4 with a shot at an Outback Bowl the following week against a beatableNebraska. Simply put, this is the spot where Ferentz has shone throughduring most of his time in Iowa City; when he is the underdog and his team hasa chance to grasp another rung. I am not saying his teams have routinelytaken advantage of opportunities, because the 2010 season is an exhibit to thecontrary. This is where Iowa and Wisconsin’s programs has been differentthe last decade or so as the Badgers have repeatedly taken advantage of theopportunities before it.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]However, Iowa has an opportunity before it and they are coming offof a bye week. It will be senior day in Iowa City, the last time the seniorslace it up in Kinnick. Their time in Kinnick has been as spotty as anysenior class Iowa has had since the group said goodbye in 2000, but theycan help to cement the foundation for Ferentz 3.0.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Win this game and you’re at least 7-4. 7-4 with a winagainst Michigan on your resume, even though this isn’t Meee-chigan, is a goodthing. Do that and you’ve got a shot at 8-4 and a pretty darn good year. 6-6 is kiss your sister, what most people expected and then people countup the missed opportunities all year. 7-4 is miles apart from 6-6 and 8-4is a serving of crow that most every one of us would need to slurp down for themajority of 2014.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The fact is 7-4 is right there and 8-4 is possible. Iowashould be able to have a considerable edge at the line of scrimmage on bothsides of the ball. Iowa’s defensive ends just need to set the edgeagainst Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner and let the tackles and linebackersswoop in and put him on his backside, something that has happened 19 times(sacks) in the past three games. Michigan State has a great defense andheld Michigan to negative yards rushing. Nebraska’s rushing defense isnot good; it’s right around average at 64th in the nation. They heldMichigan to negative yards rushing.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Michigan struggles to run the ball, ranking 95th in the nationwhere Iowa ranks 13th in the nation in rushing defense. The Wolverinesare 51st in passing offense and while Iowa will need to keep track of JeremyGallon, this is not a Michigan team which has those ‘wow’ receivers on it andtheir pass catching tight ends are not physical yet to be a big boost in therunning game.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Is Michigan going to be a pushover? No. Iowa is goingto have to win this game. But I will be very disappointed if they don’twin this game and the Hawkeyes remaina five and a half to six-point favorite in Vegas. The weatheris shaping up to favor a game where a line of scrimmage advantage becomes evenmore pronounced as throwing the ball for half of the game (when you are goingnorth) is going to be difficult; the forecast is for a high in the mid-20′swith North to Northwest winds between 15 and 20mph. This might be one ofthose games where Ferentz chooses to take the wind as it could come down to alast second field goal and you’ll definitely wanting to be going South if thathappens…like against Penn State in 2008.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Get to 7-4 and then only the most bitter fans complain in the offseason and you can just ask them to leave the room when they start yapping. Get to 8-4 and those folks need to move to another block and go rain onanother parade. This game is there for the taking. The Hawkeyes arerested and as healthy as they have been late in a season since 2002. Given the weather, I doubt we’ll see too much ‘cute’ from the offense,but hopefully a lot of power sets where Mark Weisman can flourish and whenMichigan begins cheating and overplaying Iowa’s zone scheme (which they will),Jordan Canzeri can knife them on cutbacks and rip off some big plays.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]In the end, I just like Iowa in this game as they beat Michiganinto submission. Is it truly a must win? Probably not, as nobodywill lose their job if Iowa doesn’t win. That said, it is a must win fora mostly low key offseason where people are looking forward to the 2014campaign, their thoughts focused on the possibilities rather than the missedopportunities of the year just concluded: IOWA 20, Michigan 13.[/FONT]