Schwartz: 10 Sentences
- Thread starter revkev73
- Start date
You are right that the article did not bring up recurring Iowa football program problems. The hawks seem to toss away 1 if not 3 games a year. We steal one once in awhile but not near as many as we lose.
Some items from the article or missing from the article, yes jNW wins a lot of close ugly games and that is because they have the same formula as KF which is play tough strong low scoring defense, try to eliminate offensive mistakes, and stay close to win late. KF needs to get better at winning those close games especially against teams on paper the hawks should beat.
#8 If Rastetter is #16 punter in a 14 team league then at least one backup punter had a better avg than our punter. It will be very dismaying if nothing changes here for Iowa this season.
The hawks are an above avg program and each year's record starts about 8-4 and varies how the bounces and breaks and a few big plays go for the year. they could be 10-2 or 6-6.
It would be a nice run if Iowa wouldn't be out-coached year in and year out by Wisconsin and Northwestern. These two teams must absolutely break up in laughter after hoodwinking Iowa every year while watching the game tape.
KF overall has a very good record, not excellent, but very good and you are right there are always a lot of head scratching moments. I dont know how long you have been on this site but going as far back as 2010 or longer I and others have mentioned the number of games the hawks have tactically lost. I even did a thread showing how many more games KF could have won if his team just average either 3pts or 7 points more a game (as the offense is sometimes scoring challenged).
Playing off tackle and punting the ball can win you some games, create a legacy, get you to a bowl and be "successful" but Kirk has been out coached so many times one loses track. The big games are a field of disappointment.
guffus
Well-Known Member
The 2018 Iowa team deserves a bad rap for losing the close games that cost it a Big Ten division title, but does not get enough credit for its 3-0 run at the end where they absolutely destroyed Illinois and then won 2 close games against Neb and Miss St.
In the neb game especially, you can't accuse Iowa as not being aggressive, but sometimes that backfires, where Iowa going for the kill actually let Neb back in the game. But with the game tied late, Iowa took some risks that resulted in a game-winning FG as time expired. The coaches don't get enough credit for gutsy calls on that drive.
The Miss St game, Iowa definitely outcoached the other team. Still don't know how Iowa beat them when Iowa could not run at all. Nick Easley saved the day while T.J. Hockeson played the role of decoy. It was a nice win.
For the year Iowa ended up finishing 3-4 in close games that were still in doubt in the 4Q, which is not as bad as many think it was, but I admit still not good enough. A good team or sometimes a lucky team, would be at least 5-2 in close games.
In the neb game especially, you can't accuse Iowa as not being aggressive, but sometimes that backfires, where Iowa going for the kill actually let Neb back in the game. But with the game tied late, Iowa took some risks that resulted in a game-winning FG as time expired. The coaches don't get enough credit for gutsy calls on that drive.
The Miss St game, Iowa definitely outcoached the other team. Still don't know how Iowa beat them when Iowa could not run at all. Nick Easley saved the day while T.J. Hockeson played the role of decoy. It was a nice win.
For the year Iowa ended up finishing 3-4 in close games that were still in doubt in the 4Q, which is not as bad as many think it was, but I admit still not good enough. A good team or sometimes a lucky team, would be at least 5-2 in close games.
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What would be your input into how the coaching has let the players down in lots of key games and especially vs the likes of Wisconsin and Northwestern? Or do you disagree with the cause of the trends?
'Thats football'??
"That's Football" would be correct in most situations but only if coaching didn't have a huge impact on the outcomes of the games, especially the ones that are the contested, non-scheduling padding type. But if it is mostly "That's Football" and not coaching, then we should just hire a new HC for $100,000 and be content to see how fate plays out.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
I am a believer of cause and effect. The variables in the win/loss column for Iowa football are so many and varied that each game would have to be analyzed objectively. That is true for every team in the country. In short, saying something does not make it so.
I would dispute the big game jitter deal. We have stepped up in a lot of big games.
Hmm. Seems turnovers bit us in both of those games last year, but yeah that is all on the Coach! Should have slathered Stickum all over them.
Turnovers and an average run game kept us down.
So how would you rate KF and staff as coaches? Do you think they are proficient, out coach many other staffs? Win big games from the coaching side of the game?
Punting has always been big for Kirkball!
It is not "all on the coach" but the coach is the guy who gets the big money to step up and make things happen by adept planning, practicing, etc. etc. It is his machine, whether it purrs or sputters.
If Iowa takes down Wisconsin and Northwestern this year the jitter demons will be laid to rest for a time. Kirk gets out-coached more often than not by other staffs who have comparable talent.
I am hoping Iowa comes out of the gate this year, and never looks back.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
I have watched Iowa football through many coaches, starting with Evy. I have seen all of them win, or lose, big games. Except for Frank Lauterbur, who couldn't beat off. I think KF is a very fine football coach, who treats his players well, sometimes frustrates me with his conservative approach, but like about every fan, I find Iowa football, and basketball, for that matter, alternately absolutely amazingly entertaining and at times amazingly frustrating. In short, I am unable, even after playing in high school and small college, and coaching at small schools and at Kennedy HS in CR, and being a qualified student of the game, to identify specific attributes among coaches to explain their win/loss records, let alone close victories vs close losses. I respect your views, just can't get in touch with your conclusions
