Michigan game follows a bye week

cuinknk

cuinknk

Well-Known Member
At first glance, I thought that this was a good sign for Iowa, especially with some predicting this game as a loss for Iowa. However, I looked at Iowa coming off a bye week, under KF, and the results haven't been great. Since KF took over, Iowa is just 2-5 following a bye week, and 0-4 on the road.

1999 - @ MSU - L
2000 - WMU - L (following a week off after the Eddie Robinson Classic)
2001 - PSU - W (following two weeks off, after 9/11)
2003 - @ OSU - L
2004 - OSU - W
2005 - @ NW - L
2008 - @ IL - L

I know that Iowa should have beat NW in 2005, if not for a monumental collapse in the final minutes, but I think the overall record is interesting, especially when you consider that KF and staff have prepared well for bowl games, with USC being the exception (interesting stat: Iowa has lead 14-0 in each of it's last three bowl games).
 
cuinknk said:
At first glance, I thought that this was a good sign for Iowa, especially with some predicting this game as a loss for Iowa. However, I looked at Iowa coming off a bye week, under KF, and the results haven't been great. Since KF took over, Iowa is just 2-5 following a bye week, and 0-4 on the road.

1999 - @ MSU - L
2000 - WMU - L (following a week off after the Eddie Robinson Classic)
2001 - PSU - W (following two weeks off, after 9/11)
2003 - @ OSU - L
2004 - OSU - W
2005 - @ NW - L
2008 - @ IL - L

I know that Iowa should have beat NW in 2005, if not for a monumental collapse in the final minutes, but I think the overall record is interesting, especially when you consider that KF and staff have prepared well for bowl games, with USC being the exception (interesting stat: Iowa has lead 14-0 in each of it's last three bowl games).
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Interesting that most of those years with bye weeks are in years where Iowa was rebuilding. This years team should be a lot better with there preparation. And also, not any of those loses outside OSU in 2003 were they blown out if my memory serves me correctly.
 
I think that having trouble after a "bye" week is a pretty common phenomenon in college football, not just for Iowa/Kirk. I've never really understood it?!?
 
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Bye weeks are the outlier where you change your routine and are "rusty" compared to other weeks. I can totally understand why teams in general perform poorly coming off a bye.
 
I think each game you can look at from a different persepctive. The first couple of years Iowa was playing with a short deck....turnovers in 08 @ Illinois....Keading Fake FG game in 03.

Going to Michigan....Iowa has a verteran QB, played very well on the road last year, and has a stout defense.

Having two weeks to prepare for the spread is what the team will need.
 
cuinknk said:
At first glance, I thought that this was a good sign for Iowa, especially with some predicting this game as a loss for Iowa. However, I looked at Iowa coming off a bye week, under KF, and the results haven't been great. Since KF took over, Iowa is just 2-5 following a bye week, and 0-4 on the road.

1999 - @ MSU - L
2000 - WMU - L (following a week off after the Eddie Robinson Classic)
2001 - PSU - W (following two weeks off, after 9/11)
2003 - @ OSU - L
2004 - OSU - W
2005 - @ NW - L
2008 - @ IL - L

I know that Iowa should have beat NW in 2005, if not for a monumental collapse in the final minutes, but I think the overall record is interesting, especially when you consider that KF and staff have prepared well for bowl games, with USC being the exception (interesting stat: Iowa has lead 14-0 in each of it's last three bowl games).
Click to expand...

It's also worth noting that each of those last 2 losses were decided by less than a score. It's not like the extra week was the source of the blown coverage that led to the Illini's big pass play for a TD ... or the source of Stanzi's fumble that led to an immediate score.

IN FACT, if you look at the above record, it pretty much shows that since 2001, games coming off of a bye week either result in a close game or an Iowa victory. That's definitely not a bad trend.

More importantly, I anticipate that the Iowa D could probably use the extra week in order to come up with a game plan to shut down and/or contain Denard Robinson. And, in all honesty, I believe that Norm and Co WILL come up with such a successful defensive game plan. I just hope that the Iowa O takes care of their end of the deal.
 
ICHawk24 said:
Bye weeks are the outlier where you change your routine and are "rusty" compared to other weeks. I can totally understand why teams in general perform poorly coming off a bye.
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This is a good point. Before the OSU win in 2004, coming off a bye, KF and staff totally revamped the offense. As we all know, OSU was not prepared.
 
I like it there this year...five games in, get a chance to tweak some things, offensive line in mind here....and if the OL is struggling, maybe you can tweak your offense like Iowa did in the bye in 2004 before playing Ohio State
 
Despite our success against them, the PSU game is likely to be a hard hitting brawl. It's a good time for the bye.
 
Michigan plays MSU the week of our bye. They will have their hands full with Sparty. I would rather be resting than knocking heads with an in state rival like MSU
 
AIRHAWK said:
Michigan plays MSU the week of our bye. They will have their hands full with Sparty. I would rather be resting than knocking heads with an in state rival like MSU
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That is a good point. I think MSU will give them all they can handle also. MSU and Wisconsin are basically the teams that most resemble the Hawks. If Michigan can't stop MSU's running game I really like our chances. They are rebuilding their line also and they have a pretty nice duo in Capers and Baker.
 
spudhawk said:
That is a good point. I think MSU will give them all they can handle also. MSU and Wisconsin are basically the teams that most resemble the Hawks. If Michigan can't stop MSU's running game I really like our chances. They are rebuilding their line also and they have a pretty nice duo in Capers and Baker.
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spudhawk -

Michigan had trouble handling MSU's running game in '09 but then followed it up with a VERY solid run-D against Iowa.

However, that said, MSU is rebuilding on their OL and they don't have Iowa's track record when it comes to OL-development. That then may end up equating to some tough sledding for MSU's talented RBs.

I'm a bit more interested in the development of MSU's DL. If their DL can step up and Worthy can continue to pick up where he left off ... they they should again field a pretty darn good run D.

I like the idea of the Michigan O getting a bit tenderized prior to facing off against Iowa. If Denard Robinson is already hearing footsteps before the Hawks even come to town ... then Iowa will only have to worry about stopping the Michigan running game ... and we all know that Norm can have the troops do that. However, if Denard Robinson can gain early-season confidence in the passing game ... the Wolverines have enough talent at WR to keep the Iowa D VERY honest.
 
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