NFL Approach: Winning Only Thing That Matters

[inheaventhereisnobeer]

All of you who whine & complain about KOK mailing it in & our offense going conservative drive me crazy. Kirk & staff only care about winning. It's only people like us who care about crap like style points. And, I personally couldn't care less about that stuff. Just win the game, that's all that matters.

Not to flipping mention, I believe, that when we need to put up points we will do it. That's what matters in a football game. So many of you are so nervous about what we didn't do offensively as if that's going to be the blueprint for how to play against Michigan. I give the staff more credit, realizing that they game plan well for the teams in front of them that week.

Against Penn State, get a lead, take the air out of the ball, win the game.

Against Michigan, get a lead, pour it on, pour it on, pour it on, win the game.

 

[JonDMiller]

It's pretty much the same brand of ball under Jim Tressel. And it's no surprise that OSU and Iowa are the winningest programs in the Big Ten the last 10 years.

 

[IATrainMaster101]

While i agree with the premise of the OP, I wish Iowa would distance themselves a little more vs quality BCS competition before they go into full conservative mode. Last night, I felt like the Hawks were in complete controll all game, but it was still just 1 fluke play from being in question.

 

[CGHawk]

While i agree with the premise of the OP, I wish Iowa would distance themselves a little more vs quality BCS competition before they go into full conservative mode. Last night, I felt like the Hawks were in complete controll all game, but it was still just 1 fluke play from being in question.

I completely agree.

I am not saying we need to run up the score and beat teams 70-13... but I do feel that we should maybe try to distance ourselves a little more from the other team.

Like TrainMaster said... 1 fluke play could have turned a good night into a bad night real fast. (I actually wasn't worried about that happening last night though.)

I am glad Iowa's defense got another score to put us ahead a little more.

Either way, it was a good win and we dominated them the entire game.

GO HAWKS!

 

[JonDMiller]

At 17-3, Kirk felt that was plenty good chance to win with his defense against the team they were playing. It's not like they were not trying on offense, and if they hadn't gone backwards on first down several times, it would have been a little different. But at that point, they were not going to throw on first down, and risk an incompletion or INT. The clock was Iowa's friend, and running on first down means it moves...of course, PSU made some adjustments and did a good job. Had PSU scored a TD, then Iowa would have altered it's thought process. They didn't, so they didn't

 

[briankaldenberg]

It's good and bad I think. We expect more from this team. We've come to a point where beating Penn State isn't enough anymore. Fans expect "Style Points".

At the other side of the coin we're reaching spoiled rotten status.

 

[JonDMiller]

At the other side of the coin we're reaching spoiled rotten status.

That's what I have been thinking...winning games at all time record pace for Iowa is no longer good enough for some. Now, we have to do it with 'style'. these are typically the same folks that wanted to run Ferentz after 2006, 2007 and the 3-3 start in 2008

 

[Scooter]

That's what I have been thinking...winning games at all time record pace for Iowa is no longer good enough for some. Now, we have to do it with 'style'. these are typically the same folks that wanted to run Ferentz after 2006, 2007 and the 3-3 start in 2008

Same fans that would cheer for ISU over Iowa if ISU were to ever have a better season.....

 

[JPOHawk]

That's what I have been thinking...winning games at all time record pace for Iowa is no longer good enough for some. Now, we have to do it with 'style'. these are typically the same folks that wanted to run Ferentz after 2006, 2007 and the 3-3 start in 2008

True that Jon, true that.

For all of the whiners, if you don't like, just move on and find a new team to "rag-on".

Go Hawks!

 

[HawkeyeBench]

This would be true if college were the same as the NFL and your overall record was the only thing that mattered. However it is nothing like the NFL, and the post season is determined by polls and voter perception.

 

[JonDMiller]

This would be true if college were the same as the NFL and your overall record was the only thing that mattered. However it is nothing like the NFL, and the post season is determined by polls and voter perception.

I don't argue your point there and thought of that side earlier. And I.thought back on past Iowa seasons through that lense. I could not find a year where Iowa didn't wind up where they deserved to wind up.

In fact the system benefits Iowa because due to its fans its gotten a couple bowl bids it didnt deserve.

Unless there are multiple undefeated teams vying for bcs title a lot or multiple 11-1 teams vying for the same style points really don't matter all that much over a 12 game season due to conference bowl tie ins and Iowa's traveling fanbase

 

[JonDMiller]

There has really only been one year of the bcs era where you could argue that style points mattered and that was the year Auburn got shafted

 

[HawkeyeBench]

There has really only been one year of the bcs era where you could argue that style points mattered and that was the year Auburn got shafted

Style points might not matter as much for a team like Iowa due to conference tie-ins etc., but for say Boise St, they must win all their games by 50 to not drop in the polls.

I think there may be a situation of a lot of 11-1 teams this year due to it not being likely that many aq bcs teams finish undefeated this year other than Alabama.

 

[tm3308]

There has really only been one year of the bcs era where you could argue that style points mattered and that was the year Auburn got shafted

I didn't watch as much college football on a national scale until I got to high school, so I may be wrong here. But you could probably argue that for 2003 as well, when Oklahoma got it over USC. Oklahoma had no business playing in that game.

And any year where you have more than two undefeated teams (see: Cincy, TCU, BSU, 'Bama, and Texas last year), it comes down to SOS and style points. And Miami, as I understand it, should have been in the NCG in 2000 instead of Florida State, but I don't know if that really came down to style points or not.

 

[IowaStormraiders]

17 pts at the half on another big 10 team is not good enough. I think it was a horrible decision to shut the offense down. Momentum is a hard thing to stop and Penn St grabbed that at the end of the half. That could have bit us in the butt easily. We were lucky it didn't. Still happy about the win

 

[tm3308]

17 pts at the half on another big 10 team is not good enough. I think it was a horrible decision to shut the offense down. Momentum is a hard thing to stop and Penn St grabbed that at the end of the half. That could have bit us in the butt easily. We were lucky it didn't. Still happy about the win

17 points at half is great. 17 at the end of the game, not so much. And if we don't count pick 6's against us as "legit" TD's, then we don't get to count Prater's as one, either. That was for all intents and purposes a 17-3 game. I'm okay with conservative, but every now and then we go beyond that, and last night was one of those times.

 

[BSpringsteen]

I agreed completely with KF's approach.

What I disagreed with was that 14 points was a big enough margin to go into that mode. Now, we won the game so all's well etc...

But not so long ago we were up 14 against N'Western and I remember an onside kick and a message board meltdown.

 

[DFaceHawkeye]

17 pts at the half on another big 10 team is not good enough. I think it was a horrible decision to shut the offense down. Momentum is a hard thing to stop and Penn St grabbed that at the end of the half. That could have bit us in the butt easily. We were lucky it didn't. Still happy about the win

Big Mo will be a tough thing for opposing teams to maintain against this defense.

 

[BSpringsteen]

I agreed completely with KF's approach.

What I disagreed with was that 14 points was a big enough margin to go into that mode. Now, we won the game so all's well etc...

But not so long ago we were up 14 against N'Western and I remember an onside kick and a message board meltdown.

 

[JonDMiller]

Points allowed per game by Iowa in Big 10 games in...

2009: 16.13
2008: 16.25
2004: 15.63
2002: 16.25