Looking Ahead- 2014 vs 2015

[MoseSchrute]

The press report about Greg Davis liking the redshirt freshman receivers is a plus if they turn out to make some big plays.

Lomax is back and was a starter so I hope he improves and takes over for Lowery but if Lomax gets beat out then that means we must have a pretty decent starter there.

Yeah, safety play and Lbkrs will be a key.

The running game should be pretty good again as long as no Off Linemen go down.

If Lomax gets beat out at corner, perhaps he could be in the mix at safety?

 

[MoseSchrute]

Our QBs usually REGRESS. By the time JR is a senior, he may be awful.

Previous QB's had KOK as coach, and Vandy was dealing with a new system.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Stay healthy, get growth from LB, DB, WR, be + in the turnover ratio, win the games we are heavy favorites(plus a couple even matchups)....9+ should happen..."on paper".

Boy I'd like 10 or more and another victory against nebby !!

This is a rare year for me that anything less than 9 wins would feel like a bit of a letdown(less than 8 would be very disappointing, and less than 7 a bad year). I am usually one to temper expectations, but its kind of a strangely nice feeling to feel like the "floor" is 7 wins and the ceiling is 10+....

Go Hawks.

 

[tm3308]

Our QBs usually REGRESS. By the time JR is a senior, he may be awful.

This is based on what, exactly? Tate was injured, Vandy changed to a system he was woefully ill-suited for (and made that transition without McNutt to serve as a safety net) and Stanzi was absolutely a better QB as a senior than he was in any other year.

There is no real pattern upon which to base this ridiculous assumption that Rudock will regress.

 

[HawkIPA]

The last time I looked 'ahead' excitingly was 2005--just had 3 straight finishes in top 8, and just had a top-10 recruiting class, and dropping Mich and OSU off schedule. I was envisioning a national championship.

Then it's your own fault for being an idiot. A top 10 class is great but should not be expected to produce results as true freshmen. And it's not the easiest thing to replace an entire defensive line, especailly one as good as the one Iowa had in 2004. All that being said, the Hawks were still a terribly officiated game against Michigan and an inexcusable collapse at NU away from being 9-2 in 2005.

 

[bigjim]

Maybe next yr we can pull a few of wins on games like we lost this season where we had the chance. Other than the Wisconsin game we held our own in most of our losses. The big thing that worries me about next yr is who is going to step up at the LB position.

 

[homes]

Maybe next yr we can pull a few of wins on games like we lost this season where we had the chance. Other than the Wisconsin game we held our own in most of our losses. The big thing that worries me about next yr is who is going to step up at the LB position.

No doubt the LBs will be missed. It's hard to replace that much experience in 1 year. However, a reason the LBs were so much better this year included the improved play of the DL. With the DL returning, except for Alvis (although Hardy has a lot of game experience and played well), that will be a big help as the new LBs transition in. Trying to temper my enthusiasm for next year, but if things keep progressing for them, and with some luck (always needed), they should have a better W-L record than this year.

 

[tubahawk]

On the offensive side of the ball we will be better (assuming no injuries). On defense we lose quite a few key players. The D-line will be improved but LB and DB's are an unknown.

With that being said, next year's team has a favorable schedule. I think the 2014 team will be better year than 2015. I think 10 wins is a bit optimistic for my taste simply because our better seasons have been the years we've had a strong defense. Since I'm not (yet) convinced next year's defense is better than this year's I predict 8-9 wins in 2014 and 7-8 in 2015.

 

[deanvogs]

No doubt the LBs will be missed. It's hard to replace that much experience in 1 year. However, a reason the LBs were so much better this year included the improved play of the DL. With the DL returning, except for Alvis (although Hardy has a lot of game experience and played well), that will be a big help as the new LBs transition in. Trying to temper my enthusiasm for next year, but if things keep progressing for them, and with some luck (always needed), they should have a better W-L record than this year.

The DL is what made our LB look so good this year. Morris and Kirksey has been very good for the last 2 years, it was just tough for them to make plays when fighting off OLmen all game long. Hitchens did show lot of improvement from last year to this year though. I think we have enough experience at the LB position that we don't see a dramatic drop off at that position.

 

[ibahawkeye]

The DL is what made our LB look so good this year. Morris and Kirksey has been very good for the last 2 years, it was just tough for them to make plays when fighting off OLmen all game long. Hitchens did show lot of improvement from last year to this year though. I think we have enough experience at the LB position that we don't see a dramatic drop off at that position.

My hope is our DL should only be better and hopefully that improvement will hide some of the loss we will have from our LB play.

However, my fear is you just can't instill 3 years of starting experience like Morris had heading into this year.

It won't be until next year that we will actually find out just how good this LB group was.

 

[ibahawkeye]

This schedule is ridicuous.

2014 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Schedule
Date		Opponent	Time/TV	Tickets
Saturday Aug. 30		Northern Iowa Panthers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 6		Ball State Cardinals Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 13		Iowa State Cyclones Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 20		at Pittsburgh Panthers Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 27		at Purdue Boilermakers Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 4	---	Open Date	---	---
Saturday Oct. 11		Indiana Hoosiers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 18		at Maryland Terrapins Byrd Stadium, College Park, MD	TBA	Buy Tickets
Saturday Oct. 25	---	Open Date	---	---
Saturday Nov. 1		Northwestern Wildcats Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 8		at Minnesota Golden Gophers TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 15		at Illinois Fighting Illini Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 22		Wisconsin Badgers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Friday Nov. 28		Nebraska Cornhuskers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Dec. 6		Big Ten Championship Game Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN	TBA	---

We lose 1 of the first 5.... how many times do we look at the schedule and say we could be 4-0 going in to conference play.... it never seems to happen.

We lose 1 of the next 5.... all beatable opponents but tough to win 5 conference games in a row

Wisconsin/Nebby- 1-1

Overall record of 9-3

 

[HawkFrenzy]

We lose 1 of the first 5.... how many times do we look at the schedule and say we could be 4-0 going in to conference play.... it never seems to happen.

We lose 1 of the next 5.... all beatable opponents but tough to win 5 conference games in a row

Wisconsin/Nebby- 1-1

Overall record of 9-3

Have to agree with this, except I see more of an 8-4 (barring injuries or major defections). I think 4-1 to the 1st bye, split with IU and Mary (IU will still have that explosive O and depending on the experience of the LBs and DBs, could be ugly. Plus going to Mary may not be a treat for the 1st time). I think 2-1 until Wisky then split Wisky-Neb. This may be the 1st time in a while that Iowa's best D is their O just by staying on the field. Most games will be close and can go either way. Of course with that said, could be a great season as well but they will not get any notice except the usual SEC bias talk of how weak Iowa's schedule is.

 

[koralakers]

This is based on what, exactly? Tate was injured, Vandy changed to a system he was woefully ill-suited for (and made that transition without McNutt to serve as a safety net) and Stanzi was absolutely a better QB as a senior than he was in any other year.

There is no real pattern upon which to base this ridiculous assumption that Rudock will regress.

I guess using W/L as barometer. Prolly unfair, but, as a fan base, the ONLY thing we shud really care about. Tate's record got worse over three years, Stanzi, and Vandy both had WORSE W/L records in year 3. QB, not unlike coach, seem to get extra blame when losing, or more credit when winning, whether deserved or not.

 

[tm3308]

I guess using W/L as barometer. Prolly unfair, but, as a fan base, the ONLY thing we shud really care about. Tate's record got worse over three years, Stanzi, and Vandy both had WORSE W/L records in year 3. QB, not unlike coach, seem to get extra blame when losing, or more credit when winning, whether deserved or not.

It isn't fair, so don't use that standard. A quarterback can't help it if a defense can't stop anyone or if the O-Line is weak. Tate was a better player as a junior than he was as a sophomore, and injuries make it impossible to make a fair comparison for his senior year. Vandy had every possible break go against him between his junior and senior seasons. Stanzi had a defense that could never come up with a clutch stop, but was clearly a better player as a senior.

None of that suggests a systemic issue that causes quarterbacks to regress, since Vandy is the only guy you can even make a case for.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

Tate was pretty impressive considering Iowa was using their 8th string running back

 

[doclee]

Like most of you, I think 2014 gives the Hawks a chance to be a very good football team. We may or may not have some weaknesses going into next year; think about the predictions for 2013 with a new QB, an inexperienced D-Line, questionable pass defenders and so-so receivers. Those areas turned out to be pretty effective. Yes, we have some questions about next year as we do every year; but I think we can make clearer predictions about the Hawk team for 2014.

I am really hopeful that Iowa's "big picture" as a program is on the upswing. When you look at Iowa's schedule for 14 and 15 (thanks to those who posted them on this thread), the reality of the conference re-alignment to East and West really begins to shape up. Although I will admit that I have not taken a serious look at Iowa's roster for 2015, just eyeballing the schedule makes me think that we could have a couple of really strong, competitive years in the West. Obviously, the recruiting fortunes will have to take a positive direction, but looking at the needs that this next class has apparently fulfilled, we seem to be on a pretty positive track.

I know there are some who will credit the schedule with any success Iowa has. Frankly, I don't care one bit. All I care about is that Iowa gets more wins and has a reasonable chance to get to the BT championship game. Then we can let the chips fall where they may. After all, you can only play who is on your schedule.

 

[Camhawk]

This schedule is ridicuous.

2014 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Schedule
Date		Opponent	Time/TV	Tickets
Saturday Aug. 30		Northern Iowa Panthers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 6		Ball State Cardinals Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 13		Iowa State Cyclones Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 20		at Pittsburgh Panthers Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 27		at Purdue Boilermakers Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 4	---	Open Date	---	---
Saturday Oct. 11		Indiana Hoosiers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 18		at Maryland Terrapins Byrd Stadium, College Park, MD	TBA	Buy Tickets
Saturday Oct. 25	---	Open Date	---	---
Saturday Nov. 1		Northwestern Wildcats Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 8		at Minnesota Golden Gophers TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 15		at Illinois Fighting Illini Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 22		Wisconsin Badgers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Friday Nov. 28		Nebraska Cornhuskers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Dec. 6		Big Ten Championship Game Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN	TBA	---

Optimistically I see 12-0 BTC vs OSU/MSU.

Realistically Iowa tends to "step in one" almost every year with that 11-1 BTC vs OSU/MSU.

 

[DJL]

Optimistically I see 12-0 BTC vs OSU/MSU.

Realistically Iowa tends to "step in one" almost every year with that 11-1 BTC vs OSU/MSU.

Pessimistically, we lose to NW, Indiana, Wisconsin, and one non-con game. If we go 8-4 it would be a little disappointing. If we win less than that, the pitch forks and torches will be back out.

 

[Camhawk]

If I went by your predictions I would guess the non-con loss is to Ball State...

 

[ibahawkeye]

Optimistically I see 12-0 BTC vs OSU/MSU.

Realistically Iowa tends to "step in one" almost every year with that 11-1 BTC vs OSU/MSU.

There we have it... Our first 12-0 mention.