Regardless of rank, are we going into a place that we shouldn't be this year?

[NEIChawk]

yeah, yeah, yeah, I probably could've worded things a little different, but, I'm thinking we really shouldn't be in this position, but we are (despite injuries), and that's great considering everything that's being said, from either the media, the football guru's, or whomever has an opinion, like on our board. To me it seems surreal....I like the fact that the Cap't chose a different direction at "Q", I'm glad that we've gone into places and won (i.e.Wisci and N'Western)....My thought is that no one can wrap their little minds around the fact that we're undefeated, ranked #10, and looking to move higher if it's in the cards, and ultimately, win our division, and have an opportunity to play for the B1G title.....I'm not saying that what I feel, or any of the other posters feel, is right or wrong, it's been a great ride so far, and we all just want it to continue....Maybe no one gave us a chance to achieve what we've done so far, the only one's that believe are the one's on the field...

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

If you think about it, some of us and the rest of the free world thought that the Hawkeyes would finish middle of the pack. Poor scheduling, Easy competition, etc...Thoughts?

Poor scheduling? We don't make the B1G schedule and we played 2 Power 5(BCS) teams in non-conference which very few other Power 5 school do. One of those happens to be ranked #23 this week with only loss to Iowa. We won at two ranked teams (WI and NW) who are both still receiving votes in both polls.

Sagarin has our schedule ranked #37 which is higher than Baylor (102), OSU (70), TCU (57), Ole Miss (48), Ok St (79), FSU (56), MSU (63).

 

[1977Hawkeye]

It's an interesting position because coming into the season at this point we've certainly exceeded everyone's expectations other than Hawknicks.

With that said... now that we are hear and facing the schedule we do down the stretch and having the head to head win over Wisconsin, I think fans would be disappointed without an appearance in Indy.

Ironic, isn't it? That guy was the only one I can recall that was actually right on the money (so far) with his undefeated pick, and we all thought he was nuts.

I too was confused by the OP's post, but I'll just say this: This looks like another year where things are coming together and Iowa has a CHANCE to do something pretty special. I don't expect 7-0 starts every year, to say the least, but this program has had the occasional years where they really make some noise: 1985, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2009, and now 2015.

I guess it's not sustainable year in and year out, but this program has what it takes to occasionally be in the national title/playoff picture, even if it's a long shot, when things go right. They've made it interesting for us fans from time to time.

 

[BillSPrestonEsq]

I didn't read all the posts but I assume this is an echo of other posters...Iowa got to this place because they beat the competition that they were scheduled against, therefore the way the system has been established, they should be right where they belong. This happens all the time in sports with predictions..who cares if everyone thought a team would finish 6-6, if they end up 11-1, does that mean they don't deserve the record that they earned? Not a bit. Do we not deserve a #10 ranking...I think Jon, Iowa media, and Iowa fans have repeatedly shown the statistics speak for themselves and we are right where we belong despite some other national opinions. If we get paired up against a TCU, Baylor, Ohio State, Bama and get blown out, I'm sure we'll get crapped on, but the bottom line is that we deserved our shot based on the work that was done to that point.

The title of this post to me seemed like you are afraid to take this Iowa team to the next level or simply not confident and would rather be where pundits expected. I really didn't understand it.

 

[kicker22]

I see it as the culmination of 12 games to get a one game shot to see how good Iowa really is. Favorable schedule sure, but still have to win the games. Iowa ends up winning the west with this "soft" schedule they get the opportunity to prove to themselves how good they really are against 2 (possibly 3) of the best teams in the country.

Regardless of how/if they get there. They continue to win out they get to prove themselves against the best of the best. I just want that opportunity to see how good they are.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

I didn't read all the posts but I assume this is an echo of other posters...Iowa got to this place because they beat the competition that they were scheduled against, therefore the way the system has been established, they should be right where they belong. This happens all the time in sports with predictions..who cares if everyone thought a team would finish 6-6, if they end up 11-1, does that mean they don't deserve the record that they earned? Not a bit. Do we not deserve a #10 ranking...I think Jon, Iowa media, and Iowa fans have repeatedly shown the statistics speak for themselves and we are right where we belong despite some other national opinions. If we get paired up against a TCU, Baylor, Ohio State, Bama and get blown out, I'm sure we'll get crapped on, but the bottom line is that we deserved our shot based on the work that was done to that point.

The title of this post to me seemed like you are afraid to take this Iowa team to the next level or simply not confident and would rather be where pundits expected. I really didn't understand it.

Yes, pre-season predictions don't really mean a whole lot to me. 2002 was much better than I think any of us envisioned, probably the same for 2009. It's happening again this year. Teams can be better (or worse) than anticipated. It's still real.

Iowa is 7-0. They've done it on the field, so it's legit. Who cares what we all thought back in July? It matters not.

Right or wrong, we're going to all be disappointed if a team is worse than expected (2006, 2010) and ecstatic when they exceed expections.