Shouldn't we be celebrating our 1-0 record in close games?

[DexterMorgan]

Actually...weren't we favored by double digits in that game, or did the spread not get that high? If it was double digits, Ferentz almost snatched his 10th loss as a 10+ point favorite (within the last several years) from the jaws of victory...but 'twas not to be.

Think it was exactly 10

 

[kmajhawk]

Think it was exactly 10

In most places, let's see: that's one digit, two digits ... yes, double-digits!

 

[Bigtenchamp]

I forgot. Most fans are whiny *******.

So you are whining about fans whining?

 

[BlckNGldHwk]

Your mom pulled one out last night...

The visual makes this a filthy and awesome retort.

 

[Hawkeye0en12]

no, it was NIU

 

[CWooD4]

Well where are the "failing to win close games" accounted for the in the record?

 

[hawkeyebob62]

I remember when I had my first beer.

Yeah, last Sunday...

 

[DuffMan]

Your mom pulled one out last night...

yeah, then i stuck it right back in.

 

[Golfer]

Less of a difference between the MAC and B1G, than there is between the SEC and most everyone else.

 

[SuntailHawk]

Let's leave the champagne chilling until it matters.

What about the champagne of beers? Can I drink a couple of those to celebrate?

 

[SuntailHawk]

Also labeling NIU a MAC team like they are all equivalent is like labeling USC a Pac-12 team so we might as well be facing Colorado.

 

[racerhawk]

Let's leave the champagne chilling until it matters.

Umm, this year, every win matters. Losing a few non-conference games will likely matter a lot.

 

[racerhawk]

Thats the thing. Most fans seem to think there are, at most, one or two games a year to celebrate. Any non-conference win is "expected". Any home win, outside of Michigan or OSU, is "expected". Minnesota and Iowa State are beneath us, and are not our rivals. Beat a MAC team that won 22 games the last two years? Lets complain.

Everyone likes to complain about the Hawks recent struggles in close games. Well, they found themselves down 8 points in the second half and won. We should be happy, but everyone feels that they need to complain and pretend to be a coach.

Here's my theory: Iowa needs to beat every team in state, and every team from a state that borders Iowa. If that happens, we will be quite satisfied with the year.

We really, really need to beat teams like ISU, UNI, Minny, NW. A victory against Nebrasky would be icing.

 

[kmajhawk]

What about the champagne of beers? Can I drink a couple of those to celebrate?

In Heaven, there is no beer. That's why we should drink it here.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

A win against a MAC team is better than a loss.

Yes.

just imagine if we had lost, meltdown doesn't even describe....

I know only the scoreboard ultimately counts, but the game was much more lopsided than the score, and I believe JVB and the oline pass blocking will dramatically improve (if not, things will be scary this year)

 

[DaBears]

Well played. Some Hawk fans on this message board cannot take off their blinders. If the Hawks don't turn it up a notch this Saturday then they most likely will be looking at a 1-1 record heading into the UNI game.

Still hard for me to believe how close to defeat we were against an average opponent. (used to be the games in Hayden's day that we won by 40 pts)

This is the problem with Ferentz coaching style...every game is going to be "close"... in theory anyways.

 

[jozzer]

It was NIU, with 5 green offensive linemen, new QB and RB, and sacked JVB 6 times against what most considered Iowa's strongest unit. It should not have been a close game.

Close victory at MSU, when 7 got 6, to stay undefeated ... CELEBRATION!

Close victory against this NIU team is like losing one of your final four teams in the first round. You still have some hope but pretty much know it's going to be a long tourney and that you're out of the money.

I understand what you are saying, but isn't Iowa pretty green on the Oline and RB too, yet we expect Van Sloten, Blythe, and Sherff all to just come in and be good. They had 3 RS sophs, a junior, and a senior on that Oline. Perhaps these guys are good, but were just behind other very good players last year on an 11 win team. Why do we always think that only our team has good guys stepping up to start when Seniors graduate. Their Dline had 3 returning starters, and the 4th was a Juco transfer Junior who stepped right in. Could it be, that maybe NIU is a good team, with a very good coach?

 

[STILLBUSTER]

I understand what you are saying, but isn't Iowa pretty green on the Oline and RB too, yet we expect Van Sloten, Blythe, and Sherff all to just come in and be good. They had 3 RS sophs, a junior, and a senior on that Oline. Perhaps these guys are good, but were just behind other very good players last year on an 11 win team. Why do we always think that only our team has good guys stepping up to start when Seniors graduate. Their Dline had 3 returning starters, and the 4th was a Juco transfer Junior who stepped right in. Could it be, that maybe NIU is a good team, with a very good coach?

Yes, good points. However, all the experts, from our own Jon Miller to the real pros - Vegas, took both teams' relative greenness into consideration and still thought the Hawks would win by 10.

I'm happy to get the W, whether by 1 or 10, but the o.p. asked if we should be celebrating because it was by 1. I simply answered that it's not, because it should have been closer to 10. The reason it's not, for me, is that it exposed a lot of concerns for the rest of the season against far better competition.

(Yes, I get that the o.p.'s intent. It's not that he was asking if we're all happy with the W; of course we are. It's not that he was asking if we're all happy with such a narrow escape; of course we're not, including himself. His intent was to attack those "whiny (asterisks)" fans that have bemoaned the last few years' losses from the perspective of being close games. I've never posted from the perspective of close L or close W. I've only posted about THEE L or THEE W and the positives or negatives that could be taken from them.)