Recruiting went down hill? or attrition caught up? Outside of a very few outliers....recruiting is what it is what it is at Iowa....and even when it wasn't....it still was. While coaching changes typically do negatively effect recruiting, I don't think them leaving fully explains why we are where we are. Was there really that large of a difference in recruiting or talent (honest question, I would need to see the recruting rankings from the past 20 years or so)....my guess is no.
I don't think anyone can argue that there is about 8-10 gaffes that have been extremely stark and unfavoring for KF and his staff over the last decade or so. While i'm not a fan of seeminly not being quick with decision and not being prepared for the unexpected, I still say the pros outweigh the cons.
LSU was a fluke away from being another EPIC gaffe....but you rarely hear about it...why...cause we WON !
Winning will take care a lot of this message board madness. And when I say "winning" I mean success.....and when I say "success"....I mean 7+ wins on the norm.....and a good bowl.
In that regard, we are pretty similar. I "expect" (regular season) 7-5 or better. Bowl wins, while "expected", should really be more in the class of "desired".
And of course, a "good" bowl can, unfortunately, change from year to year based on too many factors (other B1G teams' non-conference record, our non-conference record, how we stack up against our own division, the criteria used for bowl "slotting").
Basically, 6-6 or worse is "disappointing", bowl win or not. Pre-12-game schedule, I always figured we BETTER be 6-5 regular season. I started this "mythical line" in 1982. Coming off first Rose Bowl berth since 1958 season, NObody picked us above 7th in Big 10 which was prior to Big Ten, with the the cool design to incorporate the entry of PSU). But, somehow, we went 7-4 and won the Peach Bowl.
After that, I think most pretty much knew we could get a bowl bid most years. Since JHFs 1981 season, the only seasons we have missed a bowl:
1989 (5-6)
1992 (5-7)
1994 (5-5-1)
1998 (3-8)
1999 (1-10)
2000 (3-9)
2007 (6-6)
2012 (4-8)
Both JHF and KF missed bowls their first two seasons (JHF 1979 & 1980, KF 1999 and 2000).
One could argue that the 1988 (6-3-3), 1993 (6-5) and 2006 teams didn't "belong" in bowl games, while some might argue 2007 (6-6) "could" have gotten a bid.
So, from a collective 33 seasons (JHF 20, KF 13) we have missed bowls in 10 of those seasons. That's 30.3 %/69.7% bowl bid "success rate". From 1960 to 1980, not sure ANY of those teams could have gotten a bid under the "relaxed" we started seeing in late 1970s. For 19 seasons, in other words, we NEVER attained that "bowl success rate".
Am I "happy" with last season? Hardly. Am I ready to dump the coach? No. If this season sees the same (or worse) results, I think the hot seat is in play, contract terms or not. I just think we won't see the same or worse in 2014 and beyond.
Edit: sorry, was responding to one of Freed's posts...
