Sully out for the season

[Grady]

Have you watched Nebraska or Maryland this season?

I have. Maryland consistently underperforms their talent level more than any team not from Nebraska, and at the beginning of the season, I had this Maryland game notched as a sure W for the Hawks. HOWEVER,
* on the road at #1 Oregon 10 days ago, if not for a Duck 60-yd fumble return for a TD, that game was 14-10 at halftime. And with 11 min remaining in the game, the Terps had pretty much shut down Oregon's potent offense and actually had more total yds than the Ducks.
* last Sat vs Rutgers was a back-and-forth game into the 4th qtr, before turnovers doomed the Terps. Altho a loss, they racked up 335 yds passing, and outgained Rutgers by almost 100 yds. If their QB doesn't turn the ball over, they can be a challenge for any team -- as Oregon discovered.
Does anybody think McNamara is going to be better coming back AFTER a concussion? Me neither.
Does anybody think after Maryland pretty much kept Oregon's offense in check, they are incapable of slowing down Iowa's offense with Cade at the helm?
With Sullivan out, I have zero -- I mean zero -- confidence in Iowa's offense at this point.
I do like that the game starts at 11am, however.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

So the '24 season has been Sullied?

'23 was a tougher Hill to climb.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

It doesn't make dollars and sense for me personally, but YMMV.

Let's assume Florida and 3 days/2 nights with a buddy and not doing any other extraneous stuff at all...

Ticket...$100-ish after tax and fees.

Airfare...$400

Rental car and gas...$150

Half hotel...$200

Meals...$200

Incidentals...$200

$1,250 to piss around with sitting on a plane twice, airport security twice, Florida traffic, and a janky motel an hour from the stadium to watch Iowa battle it out with Coastal Carolina with no KJ, Castro or Higgins and Shaggy at the helm? HARD no. I've been to Florida, and there's nothing there worth it to me to spend the rest of the week hanging out doing other stuff either.

Yeah I'm just not up for going to it at all. If it's nice out here in TN it'll be tough to get me to watch it on tv. I'm getting more and more burned out/checked out the older I get. Watching Cade not grip the ball by the laces and lob up passes like he's playing a game of 500 in the back yard doesn't interest me. The defense can't force UCLA to punt the ball and get off the field. Something clearly isn't right with this group this yr top to bottom.

We can run the ball against teams that play us straight up. KJ is worth the price of admission but for me it's just not enough. I've seen the Cade movie before (and all the recent qbs) and know how it ends already. I'm not shelling out top $ to travel to see it and I might not even turn it on if I'm home.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

A bowl game is fun, and I have been to three now. But bowl season is a hectic time of year and I have kids, stepkids, and like 8 extended family things to get to. Honestly, I think once I become an empty nester I could see myself hitting more bowl games. Warm weather in December and hanging out with Hawk fans isn't a bad deal, but you have to have disposal cash and time on your hands to make it work, IMHO.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

The "what is there to play for?" crowd need to realize a couple of things.

Everything is still to play for from Iowa's prospective. Win 8 games, believe it or not, guys don't want to go to losing programs. I mean, all things equal right? No one wants to set themselves up for a shitty college experience where they go to places that don't win. Iowa needs to win. Half of the reason they are in as good of place as they are in the pecking order of the B1G, is because it wins. Take the wins out, and Iowa doesn't have nothing. No NIL, No wins, No football program.

That's why the "play for the future" crowd needs to understand that the future is all well and good and we need to prepare for it, but what Iowa really needs is to win as many games as it can every single season so it doesn't lose the one competitive edge it has on the teams around their same footing.

The context to this is to whom is it being referred. Fans is one thing the players are another and which players. Cade is in a different situation then Jackson. KJ and Moulton, Harris has a different way of looking at it then Hall. You can go right down the depth chart pretty much and guys will have different reasons for whichever way they are leaning.

Last yr we had most everyone suit up for the bowl game. (not that it mattered) This yr I suspect we won't be so lucky. And whoever we end up playing against probably won't either and that's just another reason that makes it tough to expect fans to pay top dollar to want to go to these bowl games that don't matter.

 

[InGoodCo]

The context to this is to whom is it being referred. Fans is one thing the players are another and which players. Cade is in a different situation then Jackson. KJ and Moulton, Harris has a different way of looking at it then Hall. You can go right down the depth chart pretty much and guys will have different reasons for whichever way they are leaning.

Last yr we had most everyone suit up for the bowl game. (not that it mattered) This yr I suspect we won't be so lucky. And whoever we end up playing against probably won't either and that's just another reason that makes it tough to expect fans to pay top dollar to want to go to these bowl games that don't matter.

Oh no disagreement there - fans aren't going to give a shit about low tier bowl games anymore. I don't. I am already playoff or bust. Players will play or opt out but I am sure we see more of a trend towards opting out for games that don't really have relevancy. That said, I was making a point that, it's still a bottom line business. The # Iowa gets to actually does really matter for the future of our program and every W we can get helps us not slide further behind in an incredibly competitive and not so fair or even world of college sports. I don't want them playing for the future unless it's the bowl game personally and again, winning these next 2 are very important for Iowa as a program. A 6-6 year isn't ideal for a program that looks to be ready to hit the reset button on it's roster the next season.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Oh no disagreement there - fans aren't going to give a shit about low tier bowl games anymore. I don't. I am already playoff or bust. Players will play or opt out but I am sure we see more of a trend towards opting out for games that don't really have relevancy. That said, I was making a point that, it's still a bottom line business. The # Iowa gets to actually does really matter for the future of our program and every W we can get helps us not slide further behind in an incredibly competitive and not so fair or even world of college sports. I don't want them playing for the future unless it's the bowl game personally and again, winning these next 2 are very important for Iowa as a program. A 6-6 year isn't ideal for a program that looks to be ready to hit the reset button on it's roster the next season.

Agree with every word. And the fact Iowa is struggling with getting NIL subscribers still will only make it that much tougher to dig out of any hole they might get themselves in if they have a 6-6 type of yr.

 

[ChosenChildren]

nebraska is our Waterloo. Nothing else matters. Not the final record, not the bowl game, not Maryland.

Can...not lose to the sand mutants.

This is an important point. Nebraska is a huge game for Iowa.

I think that the truth of the matter now is that the bowls outside of the playoff have lost a lot. It would be a a great way to end this season if we played Nebraska as our final game. Send the seniors off in the correct way and hopefully then win the game. That would be the appropriate end of the season.

I guess the only defense of the bowl games now is that it gives younger players the opportunity to continue practicing and then play in another game where they get meaningful snaps and experience for next year. That may be a sufficient reason to play the game. Also, if it is a warm weather destination, that certainly is attractive to many fans.