Our next 4 opponents are all ranked..
- Thread starter HAWKEYESTATE4ever
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HAWKEYESTATE4ever
Well-Known Member
In order of most concerned about to least concerned about:
-@ Michigan- If my memory serves me correctly we have not won there since 2002. That is a little misleading since we have only played there twice since then ('04 and '06). I just think Michigan is more talented than many people give them credit for, and the Robinson kid is good. All in all it is a Big Ten road game at the Big House. We will score, but will we stop them from scoring? We shall see
-@ Arizona- Just the travel and game time worries me the most.
- vs Penn State- I honestly see no way we lose this game. We should dominate the LOS, and I think the true frosh QB will have more trouble with our defense and our crowd than he did at Alabama. OK, maybe not more trouble, but every bit as much trouble.
-vs Wisconsin- They play "Iowa Football" too. They cannot beat us at our game at Kinnick IMO.
I truly feel like we can and will win all of these games. A lot of people are worried about a letdown, or a "trap" game and all of those sports cliche terms. I am not really one of them. This is a special group of seniors, and I think they have that "it" factor that we have not seen among a group of seniors as a whole since maybe 2002? These guys get it, and they understand what it takes. The leadership of Stanzi, DJK and Vandevelde on the offensive side, and Clayborn and Sash on the other side really keeps us focused week in, week out in my opinion.
What are your thoughts?
-@ Michigan- If my memory serves me correctly we have not won there since 2002. That is a little misleading since we have only played there twice since then ('04 and '06). I just think Michigan is more talented than many people give them credit for, and the Robinson kid is good. All in all it is a Big Ten road game at the Big House. We will score, but will we stop them from scoring? We shall see
-@ Arizona- Just the travel and game time worries me the most.
- vs Penn State- I honestly see no way we lose this game. We should dominate the LOS, and I think the true frosh QB will have more trouble with our defense and our crowd than he did at Alabama. OK, maybe not more trouble, but every bit as much trouble.
-vs Wisconsin- They play "Iowa Football" too. They cannot beat us at our game at Kinnick IMO.
I truly feel like we can and will win all of these games. A lot of people are worried about a letdown, or a "trap" game and all of those sports cliche terms. I am not really one of them. This is a special group of seniors, and I think they have that "it" factor that we have not seen among a group of seniors as a whole since maybe 2002? These guys get it, and they understand what it takes. The leadership of Stanzi, DJK and Vandevelde on the offensive side, and Clayborn and Sash on the other side really keeps us focused week in, week out in my opinion.
What are your thoughts?
My half serious/half mocking answer would be UA/PSU/UM/UW simply because that is the progression we have to play it, and I fully buy into the one game at a time philosophy...however I will let some other diehard argue about the importance or necessity that fans take that approach 
ranking the most to least concerning...
UW: With their ability to run the ball and control clock you never know how this is going to play out. I think that they are a tough football team, and the fact that we play similar styles is exactly why they do concern me most out of this group. I think there is a reason that our rivalry is the closest in the big10, and although I agree that we will get the W, it doesn't stop me from having hesitations about this clash. Clay was running pretty good 1st half last year before injury...however I look for our front seven to play better thru the entirety of the game this year.
PSU: I thought Bolden looked to be a pretty good athlete, and think if he could have gotten a little more help early may have provided diff. outcome versus ALA. This being said, it is not so much that I think they are a superior team to the other four, I am just going with the worried "they are due" concern here. We all love to rub it in PSU faces that Ferentz "owns" JoePa lately-and he does-but what better way for them to repay us than to ruin our B10/NC hopes in a nightgame at home...We are the more talented team currently, but so was PSU in '08 no?
UA: Same as you here, a lot of variables that are tough to control...I actually feel relatively confident considering I was in the stadium and the last one to leave back in 2004 But my confidence comes from my faith in KF + staff's ability to learn from past mistakes not the unchecked hubris of a majority of Hawkeye fans!
UM: Denard looks good so far, and he looked awfully fast against us last year, however I feel like when we get to this game we will put together a solid gameplan. I hear ya on the stats of our Mich history, but am not convinced that UM is there yet as a total team. However, they challenged us last year and they look improved so you never know. But with our D and our O (vs their D) I think we have a huge overall advantage!
I agree that all four of these games are winnable, and agree with your sentiments about senior leadership etc. I don't worry so much about being "trapped" with these games as much as simply getting outplayed on a given night. I think all four teams possess the ability to beat us if we are not on top of our game. However, I don't think any of the four can beat us if we are solid - on top of our game. The tempo and effort of the ISU game I think is a good sign moving forward...It all starts with UA, I do think we will learn a lot about our make-up this week. Go Hawks
ranking the most to least concerning...
UW: With their ability to run the ball and control clock you never know how this is going to play out. I think that they are a tough football team, and the fact that we play similar styles is exactly why they do concern me most out of this group. I think there is a reason that our rivalry is the closest in the big10, and although I agree that we will get the W, it doesn't stop me from having hesitations about this clash. Clay was running pretty good 1st half last year before injury...however I look for our front seven to play better thru the entirety of the game this year.
PSU: I thought Bolden looked to be a pretty good athlete, and think if he could have gotten a little more help early may have provided diff. outcome versus ALA. This being said, it is not so much that I think they are a superior team to the other four, I am just going with the worried "they are due" concern here. We all love to rub it in PSU faces that Ferentz "owns" JoePa lately-and he does
-but what better way for them to repay us than to ruin our B10/NC hopes in a nightgame at home...We are the more talented team currently, but so was PSU in '08 no?UA: Same as you here, a lot of variables that are tough to control...I actually feel relatively confident considering I was in the stadium and the last one to leave back in 2004
But my confidence comes from my faith in KF + staff's ability to learn from past mistakes not the unchecked hubris of a majority of Hawkeye fans!UM: Denard looks good so far, and he looked awfully fast against us last year, however I feel like when we get to this game we will put together a solid gameplan. I hear ya on the stats of our Mich history, but am not convinced that UM is there yet as a total team. However, they challenged us last year and they look improved so you never know. But with our D and our O (vs their D) I think we have a huge overall advantage!
I agree that all four of these games are winnable, and agree with your sentiments about senior leadership etc. I don't worry so much about being "trapped" with these games as much as simply getting outplayed on a given night. I think all four teams possess the ability to beat us if we are not on top of our game. However, I don't think any of the four can beat us if we are solid - on top of our game. The tempo and effort of the ISU game I think is a good sign moving forward...It all starts with UA, I do think we will learn a lot about our make-up this week. Go Hawks
HAWKEYESTATE4ever
Well-Known Member
My half serious/half mocking answer would be UA/PSU/UM/UW simply because that is the progression we have to play it, and I fully buy into the one game at a time philosophy...however I will let some other diehard argue about the importance or necessity that fans take that approach
ranking the most to least concerning...
UW: With their ability to run the ball and control clock you never know how this is going to play out. I think that they are a tough football team, and the fact that we play similar styles is exactly why they do concern me most out of this group. I think there is a reason that our rivalry is the closest in the big10, and although I agree that we will get the W, it doesn't stop me from having hesitations about this clash. Clay was running pretty good 1st half last year before injury...however I look for our front seven to play better thru the entirety of the game this year.
PSU: I thought Bolden looked to be a pretty good athlete, and think if he could have gotten a little more help early may have provided diff. outcome versus ALA. This being said, it is not so much that I think they are a superior team to the other four, I am just going with the worried "they are due" concern here. We all love to rub it in PSU faces that Ferentz "owns" JoePa lately-and he does
UA: Same as you here, a lot of variables that are tough to control...I actually feel relatively confident considering I was in the stadium and the last one to leave back in 2004
UM: Denard looks good so far, and he looked awfully fast against us last year, however I feel like when we get to this game we will put together a solid gameplan. I hear ya on the stats of our Mich history, but am not convinced that UM is there yet as a total team. However, they challenged us last year and they look improved so you never know. But with our D and our O (vs their D) I think we have a huge overall advantage!
I agree that all four of these games are winnable, and agree with your sentiments about senior leadership etc. I don't worry so much about being "trapped" with these games as much as simply getting outplayed on a given night. I think all four teams possess the ability to beat us if we are not on top of our game. However, I don't think any of the four can beat us if we are solid - on top of our game. The tempo and effort of the ISU game I think is a good sign moving forward...It all starts with UA, I do think we will learn a lot about our make-up this week. Go Hawks
Fantastic points. The other great thing about the Michigan game that I did not mention (that works in our favor) is the bye week before we make that trip. And as far as the "one game at a time" stuff, I 100 percent agree with you. I have always been that way, but this year I have started to look ahead a little bit. The reality of it is that just like last year every week that goes by without a L makes the next week the most important week. This year let's finish the job!
If we leave AZ w/ a W I think we are headed for 5-0 going into the bye week. I realize that is not going out on a huge limb there.
Careful how you look at that bye week, I don't have the stats in front of me, but historically I don't think the bye has been a positive thru the Ferentz era...however I only bring that up to play devils advocate I think it will help, especially if Denard is still blazing the world on fire to that point...an extra week for Normy to figure out exactly what he wants to do! And I've written numerous times on here that one of my favorite KF traits is that he learns from past mistakes, if I am right and the history of the bye hasn't been great...it will be this year
I think it will help, especially if Denard is still blazing the world on fire to that point...an extra week for Normy to figure out exactly what he wants to do! And I've written numerous times on here that one of my favorite KF traits is that he learns from past mistakes, if I am right and the history of the bye hasn't been great...it will be this year
HAWKEYESTATE4ever
Well-Known Member
Absolutely on KF learning from past mistakes. And I am happy to see that I am not the only one still up and feeding my addiction to HN at 2:00 in the morning when I have to be at work by 7...
@ Michigan: I agree that playing on the road, in the Big 10 can be tough, but I'm not all that worried. Iowa's going to be prepping for this game, and I'm pretty sure we have the bye week right before it. Second, Dernard Robinson IS Michigan. That's it. He is their entire offense. Unless they suddenly find a great running back and receiver to complement him, shutting down Robinson is going to shut down Michigan. Plus you think he can survive a full season of lights-out running? If he can, then give the kid the Heisman. Third, their defense is still not all that great. Hell, they gave up a 95 yard TD pass! Last year we put up 30 points on them, and gave up a pick-6. I think we can manage this year.
@ Arizona: I too am worried about a trip out West, but our coaching staff has shown that they can learn from their mistakes. I think the staff will have our guys better prepared than the last trip out. Arizona has been beating up on opponents, but has played weak teams. Last year we didn't play Foles, but I believe we'll be ready. However, I think their goal will be to tire out the defense, so I hope we can keep our own offense on the field as we did last week.
vs Penn State: After this last game against Alabama, I honestly think our defense should be able to contain their offense. Their QB made plenty of newbie mistakes, and their run game never got going. If our offense can put up points as they did against Iowa State, I think we stand a good chance of a safe win.
vs Wisconsin: This game always worries me, because these guys ARE Iowa. They have a lot of similarities to us, and the series is usually pretty competitive. They have a very solid run game, that Iowa has managed to escape most years due to injuries. Even last year, we just couldn't stop Clay in the first half, until he got injured and left the game. Their pass game has been near non-existent, putting up similar numbers as Iowa's, but giving up 2 interceptions, and only scoring 1 TD. I am still concerned that a balanced Wisconsin offense could put up enough points against us to eke out a close win, though.
Rhoadhoused
Well-Known Member
Uhhh alright. We play 4 top ten teams and 5 top 15 teams from this weeks poll this season. I'm not saying your schedule is easy, but it isn't just ISU fans saying our schedule is tough. Ask anybody on the national level and they will say our schedule is among the toughest in the country.
