Is this the best Iowa team ever?

To me it comes down to the following question. Would this team beat every other Iowa team? At this point, I would say probably not. The 2002 and 2009 teams as well as the 1985 teams would probably beat this team. However, on a given day, this team can beat any team in the country and as they continue to improve in some areas, next years team with Drew Ott and Desmond King would quite possibly be better.

I think it is great to be able to even discuss this possibility at this point in the season. I haven't had this much fun or been this anxious about the outcomes in a long time.
 
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To be honest, I am still debating with myself if this team is better than 2013.

The 2013 defense was very good. but the 2013 offense was lacking at RB, while 2015 has depth at RB. and CJ is better than Rudock. Meyer was a good kicker, but does not have the leg that Keohn has.

ok I guess its no debate, but I wish 2015 Iowa would have played OSU and Mich to make this an easier comparison.
 
Interesting reading through this topic and I can't help but think of why the media is so down on Iowa. If us as fans do not even consider this the greatest Iowa team ever why do we expect the media to believe that?

I think this topic will be a better discussion after the game on Saturday. If Iowa wins then they cannot finish any worse than 13-1 but if they lose the season could end on a dud at 12-2. Granted it is still the most wins ever but if you are judging this team based on record then there really isn't anything to discus.

This team has not looked like the best Iowa team ever but they keep proving everyone wrong. Perhaps they will continue to keep proving everyone wrong. If Iowa wins the Big Ten Championship on Saturday you have to put this team up there as one of the best/greatest regardless what happens in the playoffs.
 
Not knowing Iowa's History in depth, I will say this may not be the most Talented team in Iowas history, But They must be the most methodical and efficient team in Iowas history to be 12-0. I think that is proof in and of itself.

There is a lot to say for that too, as talent will only get you so far (see Johnny Football), Maximizing utility and minimizing deficiencies while working with the talent at hand has proven to be a winning formula that is difficult to accomplish. And it certainly seems that Iowa has been able to do just that so I think that is even more impressive.
 
It's hard to say, but I would like to place this in the top tier with the other greatest teams.

1899 the last year before joining the Big 10, went 8-0-1 with a rock solid 7-4 defense.

1900 went 7-0-1 winning at Chicago and Michigan in back to back weeks. The special "guards back" play had the opponent's defenses fooled! The only tie being at northwestern followed most of the team getting food poisoning the night before ( possibly related to the chef gambling). They would have played in the inaugural Rose Bowl but the game was canceled right before they were about to board the train.

1921, a team of greats, Devine, Belding, Locke, Slater, possibly the most talented in Iowa football history. They had a huge win over Notre Dame in route to a 7-0 season. Once again though no Rose Bowl because the Big 10 would not allow them to play. A Rose Bowl victory would have gave them a clear cut national championship.

1922, the was Gordon Locke's team. He lead Iowa to another undefeated 7-0 season that included a win at Yale!

1939, The Ironman team with Nile Kinnick went 6-1-1. Iowa and the Corn-belt Comet beat Notre Dame and Minnesota in back to back weeks. The Monday following the Notre Dame win was the only day ever the all classes were canceled for the celebration. Kinnick won the Heisman that year!

1956, Iowa went 9-1 with Evy's innovative wing-T offense. They shocked the country with the season they had, included beating the previous champions Ohio State 6-0 in Iowa City! They won Iowa's first Rose Bowl!

1958 Iowa went 8-1-1 dominating at Michigan, and getting a huge wins over highly ranked TCU, Wisconsin and Northwestern in the process. They once again dominated in the Rose Bowl beating Cal 38-12 and they were voted national champions!

1960, the most underrated team in Iowa history. They went 8-1 and were ranked #1 for 3 weeks during the season. Every team they played were in the AP top 20 except for Notre Dame. They tied for the Big 10 champion with Minnesota, and were ranked #2 at the end of the season. Minnesota held the tie breaker to go to the Rose Bowl.

Also on the list are the "modern" teams I am not going to write about them because most of us remember these teams.

1981
1985
1990
1991
2002
2003
2004
2009
2015 on the list!
 
Golfer said:
In the years I've been closely watching, the team at the end of 2008 was unstoppable had it stayed relatively intact in 2009. The first Orange Bowl year was a very, very good team as well.

Where I'm at with this year's team is that I'd like to see them win at least two more games. A variety of reasons I won't go into.

It is really a strange dichotomy this season. Not hugely talented. Yet. Mistake prone. More so than past teams with less wins. And yet? Win one more game and the anser changes. Win two more and it really changes.

This could be a two year process, as title chases often are. Next year's schedule doesn't set up horribly, but a lot of pieces need to fall into place for a team like Iowa, given the players we play. Having said this, there is opportunity, and a lot of it left for these guys.

As an example, anyone not sold on BF is utterly blind. One bright spot Friday was improved pass protect. The o line and fullbacks did a great job picking up blitz. One could say an outstanding job as compared to what it was earlier this season. I really like this group of WR, TE and FB's as blocking machines this season. These group has had so much unrecognized impact this season, it is amazing.
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This is the best Iowa team I've ever seen. The team that played the final month that year would have beaten any other Iowa team, IMO. And if Greene comes back in 2009, this discussion wouldn't be happening because Iowa would already have a national title.
 
KyleHawk said:
I know this team doesn't have the big name players. We dont have an explosive offense or a 10 point per game defense but we are 12-0. A school record for wins and possibly 3 more coming. So I'm leaving it up to you guys to discuss......Is this th best Iowa team ever?
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The 2002 Iowa team was better...and I would think out of 10 games, the 2003 & 2008 teams would win more. 2009 & 2010, close.

It's a great team and playing most as a team of any in KF era.
 
ssckelley said:
Interesting reading through this topic and I can't help but think of why the media is so down on Iowa. If us as fans do not even consider this the greatest Iowa team ever why do we expect the media to believe that?

I think this topic will be a better discussion after the game on Saturday. If Iowa wins then they cannot finish any worse than 13-1 but if they lose the season could end on a dud at 12-2. Granted it is still the most wins ever but if you are judging this team based on record then there really isn't anything to discus.

This team has not looked like the best Iowa team ever but they keep proving everyone wrong. Perhaps they will continue to keep proving everyone wrong. If Iowa wins the Big Ten Championship on Saturday you have to put this team up there as one of the best/greatest regardless what happens in the playoffs.
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The teams competing against Iowa in the top 10 aren't the best teams ever either. This isn't a great Alabama team because they don't have a good quarterback. This isn't an Oklahoma team with a heisman trophy winning quarterback. This isn't last years Ohio State. So on, and so on. This team could go on to win a national title and still not be better than the 2002 team. All you have to do is compare the top 4 from 2002 to 2015 to see what I mean.
 
^

Agree The light is green this year, and the stars are aligned about as well as one could ever imagine.
 
Clark said:
The teams competing against Iowa in the top 10 aren't the best teams ever either. This isn't a great Alabama team because they don't have a good quarterback. This isn't an Oklahoma team with a heisman trophy winning quarterback. This isn't last years Ohio State. So on, and so on. This team could go on to win a national title and still not be better than the 2002 team. All you have to do is compare the top 4 from 2002 to 2015 to see what I mean.
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Yeah Baker Mayfield is no Jason White.
 
It's probably not the most talented but may turn out to be the best. The 1985 team had a QB, RB and OT all go in the first round of the NFL draft. We've never had close to that sort of NFL talent on offense.

I'm hearing though that this team might be close to the 2009 in terms of defensive talent, which is surprising since that team had 10 of 11 starters make the NFL. I heard Jewell is a potential NFL 1st rounder and I'm not sure we've ever had a 1st round LB play at Iowa. I also think this might be the best secondary and that CJ may turn out to be the most talented QB.
 
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hwk23 said:
It's probably not the most talented but may turn out to be the best. The 1985 team had a QB, RB and OT all go in the first round of the NFL draft. We've never had close to that sort of NFL talent, on offense especially. I'm hearing though that this team might be close to the 2009 in terms of defensive talent, which is surprising since that team had 10 of 11 starters make the NFL. I heard Jewell is a potential NFL 1st rounder and I'm not sure we've ever had a 1st round LB play at Iowa. I also think this might be the best secondary.
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Chad Greenway was drafted in the 1st round
 
hwk23 said:
It's probably not the most talented but may turn out to be the best. The 1985 team had a QB, RB and OT all go in the first round of the NFL draft. We've never had close to that sort of NFL talent on offense.

I'm hearing though that this team might be close to the 2009 in terms of defensive talent, which is surprising since that team had 10 of 11 starters make the NFL. I heard Jewell is a potential NFL 1st rounder and I'm not sure we've ever had a 1st round LB play at Iowa. I also think this might be the best secondary and that CJ may turn out to be the most talented QB.
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I disagree here. King is the best corner Ferentz has ever had and is right up there with Sanders for the best DB. But the 2008 secondary was better, IMO. Spievey and Fletcher (both multi-year starters in the NFL) at corner, plus Sash and Greenwood at safety. Tough to beat that.
 
I think some of Kirk's previous 10 win+ teams were probably better, but also played in years where the best team in the country was substantially better than they were. I don't think this is a particularly great year for "elite" college football teams. There are many very good teams, but as of now, none of them strike me as being in a league of their own. In sum, I'd say this might be the best Iowa team, relative to the rest of the country, that I have seen.

How good was the 2002 Ohio State team relative to other Ohio State teams? They won the national title but hardly looked dominant throughout the regular season. I bet OSU fans could name several other teams that they thought were more talented.
 
My iowa fandom goes back to about 92 or so because I'm young and missed the 80s awesomeness so I'm going to rank the teams I've seen I'd say it's
1. 2002
2.2015
3.2009
4. 2004
5. 2003
6. 2008

I think this year's team may surpass 2002 with a win Saturday but it may take a title game trip. That 2002 was very, very good.

I don't remember 90s (post 92) teams that well. Were there any that would pass Kirks best teams? Maybe 96?
 
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tm3308 said:
This is the best Iowa team I've ever seen. The team that played the final month that year would have beaten any other Iowa team, IMO. And if Greene comes back in 2009, this discussion wouldn't be happening because Iowa would already have a national title.
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If you mean the final month of regular season, then you're wrong. We actually began that month with an OT loss at Illinois. We beta PSU on a last-second FG, and didn't exactly overwhelm Purdue. It was the 55-0 shellacking of Minnesota and beating an in-WAY-over-their-head South Carolina that fuels this illusion.

Yes, the 2008 team was very good team. But you don't count "the last month", you count THE WHOLE SEASON. That team lost four games. End of story.

SG staying for 2009 probably would have made a big difference, as we probably would have thrown less, hence, maybe Stanzi doesn't get injured the way he did against NW.
 
I keep asking myself what if this 2015 Iowa team played MSU's schedule this year. What would be Iowa's Record?

But its hard to answer because I would not expect Iowa to go undefeated against Iowa's own schedule this year. So sure I could say Iowa would be only 9-3 with MSU's schedule but untill they play MSU, I don't really know.

That's the bottom line. We still don't know how good this team is this year. The MSU game will help answer that question.
 
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