Is Kirk right?

NorthKCHawk said:
True. But there also no NFL teams these days that have as dominant a D and Specials as Iowa does in the West, such that you just don't need to do much offensively to win. The rules and the application of the rules at the NFL level do not allow a D to clamp down the way that Iowa does in the college game. 85 Bears, Dungy Tampa teams, Ravens with Lewis, Seattle Legion of Boom, etc.. Those types of "take over the game" Ds do not exist very often in the NFL these days. So, offenses have to do something to win, even if its only scoring 14 points.
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Yah....don't get me wrong. I don't actually bother comparing NFL to NCAA anyway. After a weekend of consuming 18 straight hours of college football, if I even bother to watch an NFL game....it feels like I'm watching football in fast forward.

I've been defending this defense from day 1.
I never bought the "this defense is 'down' from last year".
Other than maybe "down" from being possibly the best defense in NCAA history last season.
I think the only thing separating this defense from last year is a handful of picks, like 2 pick sixes, and maybe a safety. This defense may very well be better in some ways, and probably statistically, if you remove one single game.

I'm not too terribly far away from saying this may be the second best defense in NCAA history.

I know people will say "buhhhhh......the schedule". Fine. But, no matter how good a defense is.....every squirrel finds a nut...and the offense will score (except ours). Or, they're so beat up, they get garbage time points. Only one single team has even been able to find a nut against this defense. I'd put money up that Wisconsin's O does better against OSU than Iowa.
 
dagdaj said:
Yah....don't get me wrong. I don't actually bother comparing NFL to NCAA anyway. After a weekend of consuming 18 straight hours of college football, if I even bother to watch an NFL game....it feels like I'm watching football in fast forward.

I've been defending this defense from day 1.
I never bought the "this defense is 'down' from last year".
Other than maybe "down" from being possibly the best defense in NCAA history last season.
I think the only thing separating this defense from last year is a handful of picks, like 2 pick sixes, and maybe a safety. This defense may very well be better in some ways, and probably statistically, if you remove one single game.

I'm not too terribly far away from saying this may be the second best defense in NCAA history.

I know people will say "buhhhhh......the schedule". Fine. But, no matter how good a defense is.....every squirrel finds a nut...and the offense will score (except ours). Or, they're so beat up, they get garbage time points. Only one single team has even been able to find a nut against this defense. I'd put money up that Wisconsin's O does better against OSU than Iowa.
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Slow down a bit Speedy! Are you trolling us?
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Slow down a bit Speedy! Are you trolling us?
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No.....not really. But I do admit about what I'm saying that it's a bit more nuanced than that. I did note a little earlier "probably statistically...." And, you have to remove that PSU game too, I noted. And that I was "not too far away" from being able to say it.

So, to answer your question?
Not trolling.
Not even intending to be snarky or ironic.

But, yes a bit hyperbolic and nuanced for sure.

To be 6-1 (even with the schedule and very good special teams), this defense has to be an awfully exceptional unit.

Facts! (as my kid would say).

It remains to be seen. I'd love to get a crack at Michigan. The 40+ spot that PSU hung on them won't ever go away, but it would be interesting to see if maybe PSU was playing with a chip on it's shoulder in a whiteout situation. Doubt Iowa beats MI or whoever comes out of the East. (Course, I was sure they'd lose Saturday). But if they did win out in the fashion they have this season and held MI(?) to 10-15 points? That, I think is entirely possible. It would sure be an interesting conversation for me at that point. At least statistically.

And no I don't count the 1908 Harvard defense that did not allow a single TD all season.
They only played 6 games back then. And they didn't have Washington University on their schedule.
Also, I just made all that up, but I'm sure there's some comparable stat out there.
 
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MelroseHawkins said:
I have concern about Rutgers and their D for some reason. Minnesota always has a formidable running game it seems. Can be a concern.
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I haven’t watched either Minnesota or Rutgers but I have nightmares about the way Minnesota ran the ball up and down the field on us last year. We were lucky to escape with a win. Campbell forced the fumble late in order to get the win. I don’t worry much about anybody’s defense since I know that it’s going to be better than our offense. The recipe for us to win lately is to get one big play on offense and then let the defense and special teams take us to victory.
 
InGoodCo said:
Hard to argue he doesn’t know what’s best for Iowa football the last 5 seasons despite the fans frustration.

Lay back and take it.
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KF has forgotten more about football than most of us will ever know in our lifetime. That's easy to admit.

With that said, his offensive philosophy still sucks and the stats bear that out. It's obvious KF's hands are all over the offensive side of the ball. He's very old school but it works for the program. I hate it as a fan but that's my issue.

On the other hand he pretty much lets PP run the defense and you see where we're at on that side of the equation. The defense, most of the time, are some bad dudes who like to hit people no matter who's on the field.

None of this is difficult to figure out. The wins are great, but watching Iowa on offense, which is not a majority of the game, is painful and boring. Watching the defense is great, a large majority of the time.
 
hawkinstl said:
KF has forgotten more about football than most of us will ever know in our lifetime. That's easy to admit.
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I both agree...and take issue.

Again, I refuse to accept that the ~60 players recruited, transferred, walked on, and developed over the last 4-5 years to play offense are "this bad" statistically. Just not buying it. There is something systemically wrong. Including like 4 or 5 of the worst QBs to ever come to Iowa...despite one of them already having a B10 championship win with another team? Not buying it.

That being said, if they were even performing at historical averages for KF, the record would be, at best, identical. And theoretically, worse...if you just go by the law of averages.

FTR, I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday's game. I think it was strongly coached by both Ferentz', Parker, and Woods. Huge fan of smashing the ball....as long as it works.
 
dagdaj said:
Yah....don't get me wrong. I don't actually bother comparing NFL to NCAA anyway. After a weekend of consuming 18 straight hours of college football, if I even bother to watch an NFL game....it feels like I'm watching football in fast forward.

I've been defending this defense from day 1.
I never bought the "this defense is 'down' from last year".
Other than maybe "down" from being possibly the best defense in NCAA history last season.
I think the only thing separating this defense from last year is a handful of picks, like 2 pick sixes, and maybe a safety. This defense may very well be better in some ways, and probably statistically, if you remove one single game.

I'm not too terribly far away from saying this may be the second best defense in NCAA history.

I know people will say "buhhhhh......the schedule". Fine. But, no matter how good a defense is.....every squirrel finds a nut...and the offense will score (except ours). Or, they're so beat up, they get garbage time points. Only one single team has even been able to find a nut against this defense. I'd put money up that Wisconsin's O does better against OSU than Iowa.
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Iowa had a very good defense last year and has a very good defense this year. But Clemson's 2018 defense and some of those Miami and FSU teams in the '90's were ridiculous. Not even the same stratosphere as Iowa last year.
 
As has been discussed before, Iowa under Parker has had some great Ds. But Georgia and Bama have had years where pretty much their entire D is getting drafted.

You cannot overlook that Parker coordinates a D whose offense is historically terrible, and as such, opposing teams do not have to be aggressive offensively. And, the West is comedically bad on offense. The last two years, when Iowa has faced a competent offense, it has given up a lot of points.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
As has been discussed before, Iowa under Parker has had some great Ds. But Georgia and Bama have had years where pretty much their entire D is getting drafted.

You cannot overlook that Parker coordinates a D whose offense is historically terrible, and as such, opposing teams do not have to be aggressive offensively. And, the West is comedically bad on offense. The last two years, when Iowa has faced a competent offense, it has given up a lot of points.
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Yes, it has, but the reason for that is because our offense has completely shat the bed against every solid team we have played and it has caused the defense to be on the field a ridiculous amount of time, which has led to the defense collapsing late in the games. Did you happen to see that game against UPenn earlier this year? Or the one against Ohio last year? Michigan got over on us a bit in the championship game, but it didn't get ugly until late. The defense has played fine until they run out of gas.
 
Northside Hawk said:
I pointed out in amother thread that running it down Wisconsin’s throat doesn't happen every day. And it's cost us a chance in many a loss to them.

You probably have to go back to Shonn Greene in 2008 to the last time e we ran that effectively on Bucky.
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Tyler Goodson says ‘Hi’
 
okeefe4prez said:
Yes, it has, but the reason for that is because our offense has completely shat the bed against every solid team we have played and it has caused the defense to be on the field a ridiculous amount of time, which has led to the defense collapsing late in the games. Did you happen to see that game against UPenn earlier this year? Or the one against Ohio last year? Michigan got over on us a bit in the championship game, but it didn't get ugly until late. The defense has played fine until they run out of gas.
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I don't disagree with what you are saying and yes, the D obviously held their own against PSU in the first half, and I maintain that if All does not fumble that game could have trended in a whole different direction. Iowa gets a small lead or is tied at half and PSU plays a lot tighter.

But, the point is that if Iowa played in a real division, this would happen to the D more often. If Iowa was in the East, the offense would suck even more and the D would get beaten down in 3-4 games a year. My statement was not an indictment of the D or Parker, but if we cannot acknowledge that the D's stats and appearance of dominance are appreciably inflated by playing in the West, we are not being objective.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
I don't disagree with what you are saying and yes, the D obviously held their own against PSU in the first half, and I maintain that if All does not fumble that game could have trended in a whole different direction. Iowa gets a small lead or is tied at half and PSU plays a lot tighter.

But, the point is that if Iowa played in a real division, this would happen to the D more often. If Iowa was in the East, the offense would suck even more and the D would get beaten down in 3-4 games a year. My statement was not an indictment of the D or Parker, but if we cannot acknowledge that the D's stats and appearance of dominance are appreciably inflated by playing in the West, we are not being objective.
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Totally agree, the West makes the defense look better. But conversely, the horrific downgrade we have witnessed in offense makes the defense look worse as well. When O'Keefe ran the operation he was routinely able to at least flip the field, get some first downs, etc. to keep Norm and Co. in the game at the end. Brian has not been able to do that against elite teams with the exception of the 2017 Ohio game.
 
okeefe4prez said:
Totally agree, the West makes the defense look better. But conversely, the horrific downgrade we have witnessed in offense makes the defense look worse as well. When O'Keefe ran the operation he was routinely able to at least flip the field, get some first downs, etc. to keep Norm and Co. in the game at the end. Brian has not been able to do that against elite teams with the exception of the 2017 Ohio game.
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That 2017 Ohio State game is the first hit of crack that this junky fan base has been chasing ever since BF took over the offense.

Do you think KF got together with all of the West coaches and convinced them to all tank their offenses? Scott Frost was a wonderchild OC, and then came to Nebbie and could not get his team to line up straight. Maybe they got Braun removed from Purdue because he was too good? I picture KF and Bert and Row Your Boat all sitting around in a Secret Society Club House scheming how to suck on offense collectively. I bet the coaches leaked all the NW dirt because Fitz declared his intent to recruit a legitimate transfer QB.

Regards,
Big Foot
 
I should add...Petras threw for 211 and 2 TD in 2020, and ISM had 7 receptions for 140 yds (both of those TDs).
 
MelroseHawkins said:
He has an NFL philosophy in the college game. You just don't see that all that much now. Iowa runs an NFL style pretty much more than any other college program. Old school, run the ball, stop the run, play good defense and special teams. Come out with a W. He doesn't give a chit about having a QB pass over 300 yds or having two WR get 100 yrds +. It all about controlling the LOS and TOP and grind out points.
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Nfl philosophy? Huh? Not ones that win Super Bowls. They have qb’s and throw for 250 and beyond every Sunday. Two that come to mind are Tennessee, pitt and ny g-men. Successful at times but not world champions
 
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