Overall this decade has been a disaster for Iowa football

[Fryowa]

I agree with that 100% ....going to a bowl is nothing any more. It's not what it once was and shouldn't be a bench mark for any season's success. Just making a bowl doesn't make a season successful anymore. Period. But, besides The Pinstripe and The Taxslayer, none of Iowa's bowl games are what you are describing. Iowa is not just "making a bowl" or having "just making a bowl" type of years. Mostly they are having seasons it would have taken back in the day you long for to make a bowl. 2 out of 8 bowl games have been the putrid, not worthy type, the other 6 have been good bowl games.

also, while I agree that just getting to one isn't an accomplishment... I think winning one still is. It's a game against another winning football team and in most case for Iowa, that's meant playing a top 25 team or close to it. They're 4-5 over the last decade, not good enough, but not a disaster. Iowa football is just not a disaster.

Just want to go on record saying I wasn't agreeing with the disaster theme. The past ten years other than two of them have mostly been disappointing to me, but I don't think it's a disaster. My son's first game at Kinnick was the 2015 Maryland game and we sat first row, 40 yard line behind the Iowa bench. King ran back his pick six right in front of us, and my son got pictures taken with CJ and Tevaun Smith. He had never seen the Hawk Walk, and Back In Black before the swarm blew his mind. The whole thing blew his mind to be honest, and it took him from being a big fan watching games with his dad every weekend to total nutjob fan like us. Iowa has such tight sidelines that you feel like you're on the field and it was pretty magical for a kid. I've been jaded to the whole experience somewhat, but that game reeled me back in somewhat. That game is what I think of to get myself back from the edge nowadays, because the most fun I've ever had with my kid was at a Hawkeye game and it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't a fan.

Where I'm at on the disaster spectrum is seeing the possibility of BF running this thing. I think if that happens we are the next Purdue, and people who turn around programs like Hayden Fry don't come around very often to fix shit. But that's a discussion for a different thread and just speculation (although you know what I think's going to happen )

 

[Xerxes]

Disaster was poor choice. Semantics aside, lets look at division champs since 2011 when the B1G went to divisions.

Wisconsin--5
Ohio St.--4
Michigan St.--3
Iowa--1
PSU--1
NW--1
Nebraska--1

We are regiularly compared to Wiscy because we are developmental program. Wiscy won 2 of these division titles when they were with OSU.

Too be fair. Wisconsin 2012 division championship was when they finished 4-4, in 3rd place behind Ohio St & Penn St.

And in 2011, Wisconsin won the division but still lost to the worst Ohio St team I've ever seen.

But Wisconsin has done exactly what Iowa has failed to do. Take advantage of being in a winnable division. And the numbers show that.

 

[InGoodCo]

Just want to go on record saying I wasn't agreeing with the disaster theme. The past ten years other than two of them have mostly been disappointing to me, but I don't think it's a disaster. My son's first game at Kinnick was the 2015 Maryland game and we sat first row, 40 yard line behind the Iowa bench. King ran back his pick six right in front of us, and my son got pictures taken with CJ and Tevaun Smith. He had never seen the Hawk Walk, and Back In Black before the swarm blew his mind. The whole thing blew his mind to be honest, and it took him from being a big fan watching games with his dad every weekend to total nutjob fan like us. Iowa has such tight sidelines that you feel like you're on the field and it was pretty magical for a kid. I've been jaded to the whole experience somewhat, but that game reeled me back in somewhat. That game is what I think of to get myself back from the edge nowadays, because the most fun I've ever had with my kid was at a Hawkeye game and it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't a fan.

Where I'm at on the disaster spectrum is seeing the possibility of BF running this thing. I think if that happens we are the next Purdue, and people who turn around programs like Hayden Fry don't come around very often to fix shit. But that's a discussion for a different thread and just speculation (although you know what I think's going to happen )

I agree 100 % - but he's done NOTHING to earn the gig, he aint getting it without SOMETHING. We just all have to agree on that. Iowa is a special job, BF aint getting it without something special. I just don't believe it. I won't believe it.. I think anyone who sells you something different is really just trolling at their very best. Nothing in his first 3 seasons as OC has been a big enough accomplishment to get that so why, besides his dad being the coach, would that translate to him getting the gig?

Everyone should be pissed if he's the next HC as it stands now. Good thing is, I don't think we have to worry about it ...if Iowa doesn't win enough (which it hasn't) it aint happening.

 

[westender]

Let’s remove the 2015 season for a minute. Without 2015, the combined record since 2010 is 65-45. Given the fact that Iowa schedules 2-3 games against cupcakes per year (over 9 years so far), Iowa has essentially been a .500 team since 2010.

While the 2015 season was, I guess, a success, it was clearly an anomaly that was the result of an easy schedule. The two games that mattered (B10 Championship game and Rose Bowl) were both crushing losses (for different reasons). So really the only thing that Iowa “comes away with” from 2015 is being able to say that they had an undefeated regular season.

Why remove 2015? Because it’s just a flashpoint that came at the perfect time to make this decade of Iowa football feel like it wasn’t a total disaster. Even though Iowa didn’t win anything meaningful during 2015, the season is still in recent memory and gives KF supporters something to point toward. The Rose Bowl berth and undefeated season appeased the fan base far more than it should have by coming at the halfway point of the decade. Just think about it—how long and brutal would this decade have felt to you had 2015 never happened?

The random upsets against top 5 teams at home are similar flashpoint: nice and fun, but totally meaningless in the scheme of what Iowa should realistically accomplish (competing for and occasionally winning the B10 West). The upsets, just like 2015, give the illusion that Iowa’s been a better program than it has been in reality.

Since 2010, Iowa’s won an Insight Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, and Outback Bowl. Three mediocre bowls. Yawn. Since 2010, there have been zero B10 championships (one appearance), while teams like NW and now presumably Minnesota are going to Indy. A huge indicator of how terrible this decade has been as a whole is how many Hawks are making an impact in the NFL. I hear so many Hawks’ names called on NFL Sundays but KF and crew hasn’t been able to use that talent to appear in more than 1 game in Indy. Iowa has had senior quarterbacks on three separate occasions and each season has been a mediocre disaster.

So, yeah, evaluating the decade as a whole (assuming Iowa finishes 3rd/4th and plays in another Mediocre Bowl), it’s been a complete failure. KF was a hero to me during my childhood but it’s clear that the program needs to move in a new direction starting at the top to keep page with what’s happening in Ames, and, more importantly in Minneapolis and Wisconsin (throw NW in there maybe).

We start by removing a great season?????

 

[STLhawkeye20]

We start by removing a great season?????

For the 1000th time the most significant accomplishment of that season was a weak division title. Sort of like winning the NL Central and crashing out in the divisional round of the MLB playoffs. While nice, nothing to write home about. Iowa fans overvalue 2015 to the nth degree.

 

[westender]

Hayden Fry won 3 Big Ten titles in his career. Kirk has two and was inches from a 3rd. I think we can all agree the Big Ten during Kirk's tenure has been much more competitive across the board than during Hayden's time. Yet we remember Hayden much differently than Kirk. Kirk is like the incumbent President that is in the back half of his last term and has done a good job but people just want change for change sake and hope the next occupant is better.

 

[BigD]

Well, the last decade has introduced me to a wide range of craft beers, so it's not as bad as some people think

Lol, you mean as the beer was good right? Or after the tenth beer it doesn’t matter.

 

[westender]

I agree 100 % - but he's done NOTHING to earn the gig, he aint getting it without SOMETHING. We just all have to agree on that. Iowa is a special job, BF aint getting it without something special. I just don't believe it. I won't believe it.. I think anyone who sells you something different is really just trolling at their very best. Nothing in his first 3 seasons as OC has been a big enough accomplishment to get that so why, besides his dad being the coach, would that translate to him getting the gig?

Everyone should be pissed if he's the next HC as it stands now. Good thing is, I don't think we have to worry about it ...if Iowa doesn't win enough (which it hasn't) it aint happening.

You are 100% correct. If Kirk left after this season there is no way BF would be named Head Coach. The experiences and results are nowhere close yet. What I would be very curious to know an honest answer to is whether BF wants to greatly change the style of offense and schemes but whether vetoed by his father, and whether that changes before KF departs.

 

[westender]

For the 1000th time the most significant accomplishment of that season was a weak division title. Sort of like winning the NL Central and crashing out in the divisional round of the MLB playoffs. While nice, nothing to write home about. Iowa fans overvalue 2015 to the nth degree.

We won at Ames, at Madison and at Lincoln. Eazzzzzzzzyyyyyyyy.

 

[deanvogs]

61% is a highly misleading statistic when you consider the wins against cupcake teams. Remove the cupcakes and it’s more like 50%.

LOL, who do you think teams are getting wins against?

Over the last 5 years ('14-'18) Iowa has 44 wins, that is 15th most out of all P5 teams. 9 came against non P5 teams

Lets look at some other P5 schools tied with or above Iowa in total wins over the last 5 years:

Oklahoma St. 44 wins, with 11 coming vs non P5 teams
LSU 44 wins, with 14 wins coming vs non P5 teams
Utah 44 wins, with 15 coming vs non P5 teams (4 wins over BYU, so maybe an sort of P5 school??)
Penn St. 45 wins, with 14 coming vs non P5 teams
Michigan 43 wins, with 10 coming vs non P5 teams
Notre Dame 44 wins, with 13 coming vs non P5 teams
Washington 47 wins, with 11 coming vs non P5 teams

Remove the cupcakes from every teams schedule and they are .500 or well below.

 

[InGoodCo]

Hayden Fry won 3 Big Ten titles in his career. Kirk has two and was inches from a 3rd. I think we can all agree the Big Ten during Kirk's tenure has been much more competitive across the board than during Hayden's time. Yet we remember Hayden much differently than Kirk. Kirk is like the incumbent President that is in the back half of his last term and has done a good job but people just want change for change sake and hope the next occupant is better.

He'll be remembered very similarly to HF, they are not the same type of coach, but they had similar type careers at the school. It will just take some time. The cupcake thing doesn't hold water. We've always played cupcakes. Ya know who else does? Every other program in the country. If bowl games don't matter anymore and it was WAY harder to make one 20 years ago, then at the same time people have to recognize that Iowa routinely loses it's top 3 or 4 juniors in the draft every season to the NFL. That wouldn't have happened 20-30 years ago. We can all agree on that. So.... yeah... it's the fucking same. Iowa is a product of its own success in player development. With the climate the way it is, this might be the best it's EVER gonna get with how the NFL draft works now and Iowa not being a program that can just reload with that type of talent.

 

[Fryowa]

Hayden Fry won 3 Big Ten titles in his career. Kirk has two and was inches from a 3rd. I think we can all agree the Big Ten during Kirk's tenure has been much more competitive across the board than during Hayden's time. Yet we remember Hayden much differently than Kirk. Kirk is like the incumbent President that is in the back half of his last term and has done a good job but people just want change for change sake and hope the next occupant is better.

Fry's legacy is much more significant that Ferentz's will ever be. He took a team that was as bad as Rutgers is now (and was that bad for much longer) and completely flipped the whole state on its head, not just the football program. He took ingrained losers and taught them to believe in themselves and turn themselves into winners. No one can stop you from being a loser, you have to do that yourself. But certain people have an ability to motivate others to bootstrap themselves. There's nothing harder in all areas of life to do than that and Kirk doesn't have that fire in him.

 

[deanvogs]

Err...every other decade has at least 1 championship, even if it’s shared. And 2000-2010 had 2 “BCS” appearances (USC and Ga. Tech) with one BCS victory, 2 B10 championships (despite being shared), and an overall better and more meaningful bowl record (Outback wins against Florida, South Carolina; Capital One against LSU)...Quality SEC teams. There’s no comparison between this decade and the last, and the success of 2000-2010 makes this current decade even MORE of a disaster because the success should have been built upon further. Instead, the entire program regressed. You have to evaluate success in context. Iowa hasn’t won anything this decade.

What a crock of shit. Iowa only has 1 "outright B1G title since the '50's. Every other time it was a "shared title" and those top 2 teams didn't have to play. Heck Iowa OUTRIGHT won the B1G that year with an 8-0 record, MSU was 7-1, OSU 7-1.

With the system where it is not winning the B1G West = winning a share of the B1G in the past.

 

[deanvogs]

For the 1000th time the most significant accomplishment of that season was a weak division title. Sort of like winning the NL Central and crashing out in the divisional round of the MLB playoffs. While nice, nothing to write home about. Iowa fans overvalue 2015 to the nth degree.

So you cry about NOT winning the B1G West, but when we do, it ain't no big thing at all. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

[STLhawkeye20]

We won at Ames, at Madison and at Lincoln. Eazzzzzzzzyyyyyyyy.

And? We came up short in Indianapolis. That erases the significance of winning in Ames, Madison, and Lincoln. You have to capitalize or the success is empty.

 

[InGoodCo]

LOL, who do you think teams are getting wins against?

Over the last 5 years ('14-'18) Iowa has 44 wins, that is 15th most out of all P5 teams. 9 came against non P5 teams

Lets look at some other P5 schools tied with or above Iowa in total wins over the last 5 years:

Oklahoma St. 44 wins, with 11 coming vs non P5 teams
LSU 44 wins, with 14 wins coming vs non P5 teams
Utah 44 wins, with 15 coming vs non P5 teams (4 wins over BYU, so maybe an sort of P5 school??)
Penn St. 45 wins, with 14 coming vs non P5 teams
Michigan 43 wins, with 10 coming vs non P5 teams
Notre Dame 44 wins, with 13 coming vs non P5 teams
Washington 47 wins, with 11 coming vs non P5 teams

Remove the cupcakes from every teams schedule and they are .500 or well below.

It's easy to dunk on these fools, because of the internet!

 

[deanvogs]

What a crock of shit. Iowa only has 1 "outright B1G title since the '50's. Every other time it was a "shared title" and those top 2 teams didn't have to play. Heck Iowa OUTRIGHT won the B1G that year with an 8-0 record, MSU was 7-1, OSU 7-1.

With the system where it is not winning the B1G West = winning a share of the B1G in the past.

Fry's legacy is certainly way greater than Ferentz. How many times have we seen in sports that when the all time legacy coach steps down, the program goes to shit. I'm not sure why Ferentz doesn't get more credit for keeping what Fry built at the same level Fry kept it.

 

[westender]

He'll be remembered very similarly to HF, they are not the same type of coach, but they had similar type careers at the school. It will just take some time. The cupcake thing doesn't hold water. We've always played cupcakes. Ya know who else does? Every other program in the country. If bowl games don't matter anymore and it was WAY harder to make one 20 years ago, then at the same time people have to recognize that Iowa routinely loses it's top 3 or 4 juniors in the draft every season to the NFL. That wouldn't have happened 20-30 years ago. We can all agree on that. So.... yeah... it's the fucking same. Iowa is a product of its own success in player development. With the climate the way it is, this might be the best it's EVER gonna get with how the NFL draft works now and Iowa not being a program that can just reload with that type of talent.

Oh yeah, I remember the UTEPs and the Tulsas coming to Kinnick. I always knew I had a better shot at getting to go to those games as a kid. And back then Iowa State was worse than terrible and Northwestern was the equivalent of present day Rutgers.

 

[westender]

Fry's legacy is certainly way greater than Ferentz. How many times have we seen in sports that when the all time legacy coach steps down, the program goes to shit. I'm not sure why Ferentz doesn't get more credit for keeping what Fry built at the same level Fry kept it.

He will some day but he has to be out of office for a while.

 

[InGoodCo]

For the 1000th time the most significant accomplishment of that season was a weak division title. Sort of like winning the NL Central and crashing out in the divisional round of the MLB playoffs. While nice, nothing to write home about. Iowa fans overvalue 2015 to the nth degree.

I will always overvalue 12-0 because there is only 1 of them