Pretty Amazing Iowa Football Stat

Interesting data Jon.

I'm be interested to see the flip side. How many double digit wins has Iowa had in the same period compared to other programs.

My guess is, though it wouldn't be a complete flip-flop, we fall closer to the bottom there. Our style of play keeps us close in lots of games, but it also keeps our opposition closer than they should be sometimes.
 
Not sure about that but Iowa has the 18th best winning percentage in the sport the last decade, which includes Boise, Utah and tCU ahead of them and they don't play week in week out comp.
 
I love this stuff. I did some similar research last month. Here are a few other angles...

Only 6 teams didn't lose at least one game by double digits in 2010.

Iowa
Boise State
TCU
Oregon
LSU
Auburn

Very few teams avoid having at least one double digit loss in any given year. In 2009, there were only 8. 2008 - 7, 2007 - 7.

Considering BCS schools only, the closest anyone comes to Iowa is Oregon, who last lost by double digits on 10/10/2009. Boise and TCU are closer, but Iowa still has the longest streak.

Fewest double digit losses, last 3 seasons:
0 - Iowa, Boise State
1 - TCU
2 - Ohio State
3 - Oregon, Alabama, Virginia Tech

Most double digit losses, last 3 seasons:
30 - Washington State
21 - Vanderbilt
17 - Virginia, Washington
16 - Baylor, UCLA, Kansas, Indiana
15 - Iowa State, Minnesota, Illinois
 
DexterMorgan said:
No ****.

Texas
OSU
USC
Alabama

Guess what? They've all won national championships since then. SO SICK OF THIS STAT.
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Of course, ALL Iowa fans would happily trade that stat for more Ws.

However, it's a FACT that after the '08 season ... the squad really built momentum and confidence off of the fact that they were just a hair's width from being an undefeated squad.

That fact DROVE the Hawk squad towards the special season that was the '09 season. Sure, the '09 season "coulda been" an undefeated season too ... however, Stanzi went down and the rest is history. I frankly am over it ... Iowa won a BCS bowl that season after all!!!

Similarly, I really anticipate that we'll be seeing the '11 Hawks entering the season with a renewed focus and sense of purpose. The one good thing about unmet expectations is that if there is good leadership for the following season .... the new leaders AREN'T going to want that bitter taste in their mouths again. That's part of what drove Bob Sanders to be a bad-a$$ .... that's part of what drove Pat Angerer to be a bad-a$$.

And, as we enter the '11 season ... I think that that fact will provide an extra push to guys like Mike Daniels, Riley Reiff, and Tyler Nielsen .... and I think that that will give the squad the extra "edge" that they need.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Of course, ALL Iowa fans would happily trade that stat for more Ws.

However, it's a FACT that after the '08 season ... the squad really built momentum and confidence off of the fact that they were just a hair's width from being an undefeated squad.

That fact DROVE the Hawk squad towards the special season that was the '09 season. Sure, the '09 season "coulda been" an undefeated season too ... however, Stanzi went down and the rest is history. I frankly am over it ... Iowa won a BCS bowl that season after all!!!

Similarly, I really anticipate that we'll be seeing the '11 Hawks entering the season with a renewed focus and sense of purpose. The one good thing about unmet expectations is that if there is good leadership for the following season .... the new leaders AREN'T going to want that bitter taste in their mouths again. That's part of what drove Bob Sanders to be a bad-a$$ .... that's part of what drove Pat Angerer to be a bad-a$$.

And, as we enter the '11 season ... I think that that fact will provide an extra push to guys like Mike Daniels, Riley Reiff, and Tyler Nielsen .... and I think that that will give the squad the extra "edge" that they need.
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Yep. I agree. Should be about the right mix this year.
 
Jon, that was an interesting and detailed post. Thank you.

I recall OliveCourt posting some similar sentiments last fall after a particularly tough loss. It might have been the evening of the Wisconsin loss. Regardless, I've often mentioned some of Olive's points from that post when discussing the Iowa football program with fans of other programs. The stats provided in today's post help illuminate those points even more.

Another aspect that I find fascinating is that Ferentz and staff have built one of the most competitive programs in the country with a huge number of Iowa kids.

We haven't lost a game by more than 7 points in 3 years? And what proportion of our roster consists of Iowa kids?

Those might be the two most impressive stats of the Ferentz era.
 
HawkeyeTech said:
So you don't enjoy watching games in which the Hawks have a chance to win in the 4th quarter?
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Maybe he doesn't like the sentiment of "Yeah, we get beat by Northwestern and Minnesota, but not by much!".

I think this stat would be much more impressive if Iowa was getting beat by world beaters. Yeah, you play Ohio State close, but you also can't put Illinois away.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Jon, that was an interesting and detailed post. Thank you.

I recall OliveCourt posting some similar sentiments last fall after a particularly tough loss. It might have been the evening of the Wisconsin loss. Regardless, I've often mentioned some of Olive's points from that post when discussing the Iowa football program with fans of other programs. The stats provided in today's post help illuminate those points even more.
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Thanks, Swirlin. Yes, I posted something similar after the Wisconsin game, but no one was really in the mood at that point. The other point I emphasized wasn't just about the final score-- it was about the fact that Iowa has had the ball in the final 3:00 with the chance to tie or take the lead in every single game over the last three years.

What I said then (and it still holds true after the losses to Ohio State, Northwestern, and Minnesota):

Everyone knows the story of this year's two losses, so I don't need to review those.

I'm sure last year's two losses are also pretty fresh in our minds. Keep in mind that we were trying to execute our final drives with a redshirt freshman QB.

In 2008, at Pitt we had the ball on our own 1-yard line down by 1 point with 2:19 to play. Made one first down and JC fumbled. Down by 5 against Northwestern, we drove from our own 28 to Northwestern's 8 before losing the ball on downs with 1:13 to go (so much for not being able to execute an end-of-the game drive). Down 3 against Michigan State, we drove from our 45 to their 21 before turning the ball over on downs with 2:16 left (so much for not being aggressive). Down 3 at Illinois, Stanzi threw an interception with :25 left.

So for going on three seasons, we have literally had the ball in our hands with a chance to win every game. I don't think there is ANY other team in the country that can say the same thing-- I could be wrong, but no team leaps to mind. Even Alabama got handled pretty well a couple of times.

You could look at this two ways-- the pessimists could say we should have won all or most of those games and maybe even a national title last year.

I look at it as evidence of the fact that this is one of, if not the most competitive football team in the country. They are never, ever out of a game, they haven't lost by more than 7 points in their last 33 games, and you'll always get your money's worth when you go to a Hawkeye football game. To me, that's what makes the team so fun to root for and cements my belief that, even when the team comes up short, Kirk Ferentz is a pretty incredible football coach.
 
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olivecourt said:
Thanks, Swirlin. Yes, I posted something similar after the Wisconsin game, but no one was really in the mood at that point. The other point I emphasized wasn't just about the final score-- it was about the fact that Iowa has had the ball in the final 3:00 with the chance to tie or take the lead in every single game over the last three years.

What I said then (and it still holds true after the losses to Ohio State, Northwestern, and Minnesota):

Everyone knows the story of this year's two losses, so I don't need to review those.

I'm sure last year's two losses are also pretty fresh in our minds. Keep in mind that we were trying to execute our final drives with a redshirt freshman QB.

In 2008, at Pitt we had the ball on our own 1-yard line down by 1 point with 2:19 to play. Made one first down and JC fumbled. Down by 5 against Northwestern, we drove from our own 28 to Northwestern's 8 before losing the ball on downs with 1:13 to go (so much for not being able to execute an end-of-the game drive). Down 3 against Michigan State, we drove from our 45 to their 21 before turning the ball over on downs with 2:16 left (so much for not being aggressive). Down 3 at Illinois, Stanzi threw an interception with :25 left.

So for going on three seasons, we have literally had the ball in our hands with a chance to win every game. I don't think there is ANY other team in the country that can say the same thing-- I could be wrong, but no team leaps to mind. Even Alabama got handled pretty well a couple of times.

You could look at this two ways-- the pessimists could say we should have won all or most of those games and maybe even a national title last year.

I look at it as evidence of the fact that this is one of, if not the most competitive football team in the country. They are never, ever out of a game, they haven't lost by more than 7 points in their last 33 games, and you'll always get your money's worth when you go to a Hawkeye football game. To me, that's what makes the team so fun to root for and cements my belief that, even when the team comes up short, Kirk Ferentz is a pretty incredible football coach.
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Another nice post olivecourt! Can't argue with anything you wrote.
 
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