The Conundrum that is Iowa Football

InGoodCo said:
Well, I was talking about what Iowa could have done in the Wisconsin game. Did you answer what they could have done in the WI game? If you think they could have recruited better skill talent and added a former QB to run the offense up in Madison, more power to you but again, your response made 0 sense. When I say "even for you" I mean, you rarely make a bit of sense. Try making more sense and I won't have to draw you a map.
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Get over yourself buddy. There weren’t a lot of logical options. And that’s the problem with Ferentz. He wins because of the system. But we rarely upset anyone outside of an occasional “in conference” opponent that we know extremely well. The issue is primarily the absolute lack of real talent at qb, receiver & occasionally at the rb position when it comes to breakaway speed. Iowa has to win via defense & special teams & have the game close enough in the 4th to knock the wall down with one score.

In bowl games or conference title games you are facing high powered offenses & the margin gets thinner. And big plays create the difference. That’s where Ferentz falls short. He had some of this offensive talent early in his tenure, but it’s been very sporadic since.
 
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oldhawk12 said:
Get over yourself buddy. There weren’t a lot of logical options. And that’s the problem with Ferentz. He wins because of the system. But we rarely upset anyone outside of an occasional “in conference” opponent that we know extremely well. The issue is primarily the absolute lack of real talent at qb, receiver & occasionally at the rb position when it comes to breakaway speed. Iowa has to win via defense & special teams & have the game close enough in the 4th to knock the wall down with one score.

In bowl games or conference title games you are facing high powered offenses & the margin gets thinner. And big plays create the difference. That’s where Ferentz falls short. He had some of this offensive talent early in his tenure, but it’s been very sporadic since.
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Not sure what I need to get over? I am pretty great though, so that's not likely happening anytime soon.

I asked that you assemble some sentances together and create a thought that made sense since you're first contribution to this thread was complete dog shit that had nothing to do with what I posted. If you can't comprehend that, then I'm not the one who needs to get over anything.

I get your just a giant troll that no one likes on here but Iowa's offense was a thing of beauty last weekend. Iowa did exactly what it needed to win the game and it was glorious. If you didn't enjoy that game as an Iowa fan, then you sir, are not an Iowa fan so just come clean.

Kirk Ferentz is a HOF coach at Iowa and built his entire program on D and ST with a complementary offense. We 100% agree. He falls short of being elite but that's not a Kirk Ferentz thing, it's an Iowa thing and I have over a hundred years of data to back that up. What else ya got champ?
 
oldhawk12 said:
Get over yourself buddy. There weren’t a lot of logical options. And that’s the problem with Ferentz. He wins because of the system. But we rarely upset anyone outside of an occasional “in conference” opponent that we know extremely well. The issue is primarily the absolute lack of real talent at qb, receiver & occasionally at the rb position when it comes to breakaway speed. Iowa has to win via defense & special teams & have the game close enough in the 4th to knock the wall down with one score.

In bowl games or conference title games you are facing high powered offenses & the margin gets thinner. And big plays create the difference. That’s where Ferentz falls short. He had some of this offensive talent early in his tenure, but it’s been very sporadic since.
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I need clarification. Is it because of "the" system or is it because of "his" system? I think we need to start there.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
I need clarification. Is it because of "the" system or is it because of "his" system? I think we need to start there.
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I like how he uses that as an idictment.

Using a system is smart. Playing to your strengths, is smart. Having a core of beliefs and ideals is smart....and let me tell ya, what every single other coach since the dawn of time has used as well.

Kirk has deviated from his "system" and "ideals" and beliefs a lot more than people think but at the core of everything, he's still the same guy they hired 24 years ago.
 
Why is winning a game 42-38 more impressive then winning 15-6? I'd argue that it's not. I'd also argue that I'd rather be ELITE in one area of either offense or defense then to middle of the road ranked O or D. At least Iowa has an identity. At least we know who we are year in and year out.

When this band breaks up people are going to miss it
 
InGoodCo said:
I like how he uses that as an idictment.

Using a system is smart. Playing to your strengths, is smart. Having a core of beliefs and ideals is smart....and let me tell ya, what every single other coach since the dawn of time has used as well.

Kirk has deviated from his "system" and "ideals" and beliefs a lot more than people think but at the core of everything, he's still the same guy they hired 24 years ago.
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I ask, what other coach would be sitting at 6-1 becoming pretty much one dimensional and having to navigate thru the totality of injuries to one side of the ball along with many to a single unit? Not many.

Still being competitive with that happening is remarkable. Some fans or should I say people will never admit or appreciate that.
 
InGoodCo said:
Not sure what I need to get over? I am pretty great though, so that's not likely happening anytime soon.

I asked that you assemble some sentances together and create a thought that made sense since you're first contribution to this thread was complete dog shit that had nothing to do with what I posted. If you can't comprehend that, then I'm not the one who needs to get over anything.

I get your just a giant troll that no one likes on here but Iowa's offense was a thing of beauty last weekend. Iowa did exactly what it needed to win the game and it was glorious. If you didn't enjoy that game as an Iowa fan, then you sir, are not an Iowa fan so just come clean.

Kirk Ferentz is a HOF coach at Iowa and built his entire program on D and ST with a complementary offense. We 100% agree. He falls short of being elite but that's not a Kirk Ferentz thing, it's an Iowa thing and I have over a hundred years of data to back that up. What else ya got champ?
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Why don’t you start with simply speaking for yourself. But you can’t do that. You are one of these guys that’s real tough on the internet.
 
The conundrum is simple. If we had an offense that could be even semi-productive, this team would compete not only for conference but national championships every year.

The Iowa D has been on the field for 532 plays which is an INSANE stat. Yards per play is 4.28 which again, is an INSANE stat. 9 total TDs allowed. Again INSANE!!!

The Iowa offense on the other hand ranks 138 in the country. That’s the conundrum. How can you have such a solid and consistent D and one of the worst offenses in the country?
 
CP87 said:
The Athletic on the possibility of Iowa making the CFB playoffs: https://theathletic.com/4964333/2023/10/16/college-football-playoff-iowa-brian-ferentz/

From the piece (I bolded a couple of the parts I think are interesting):

Iowa football has become a joyless enterprise, which is unfair to the players in a program positioned to be one game away from the College Football Playoff. Since 2018, Ohio State and Michigan are the only Big Ten teams with more victories.

The Hawkeyes are compelling in a way that boggles the mind. Parker and his defense are a Michelin-star restaurant serving up world-class dishes downwind of a sewage plant.

And that could be enough to put the team on the doorstep of the Playoff. Judging by the conversation around the program, though, Iowa feels like an 0-7 team hoping to eke out a win at some point down the stretch.

The people of Iowa City deserve to be able to take a deep breath without choking on the fumes in the air.


The piece is taking a ton of flak in the comments from Iowa fans who ARE enjoying the season, and particularly the excellence in 2 phases and the consistent ability to beat teams who outclass us in the beauty pageant of CFB.

For all of the crap I have given BF over the past 2 years, I wouldn't have wanted him to call the past 3 games any differently (I am sure he appreciates my esteemed approval). After the Williams TD vs. Wisky, I thought we had it in the bag as long as our offense didn't screw up. As more and more crap gets heaped on BF from the outside, are we going to get protective and start defending our beloved OC?
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The Athlete is the MFing Goods

Read it every day
 
The point is that we could have a better offense. And having a better offense is the Iowa way no matter what recent history shows.
 
InGoodCo said:
Why is winning a game 42-38 more impressive then winning 15-6? I'd argue that it's not. I'd also argue that I'd rather be ELITE in one area of either offense or defense then to middle of the road ranked O or D. At least Iowa has an identity. At least we know who we are year in and year out.

When this band breaks up people are going to miss it
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Watching your team win a game 15-6 is immensely more enjoyable than watching your team lose a game 42-38. But if I had a choice, I'd prefer to watch a team win 42-38 over 15-6. Ultimately I think our next coach, like Fickell will be at the short end of the 42-38 games way more often than what we're used to losing now.
 
oldhawk12 said:
Why don’t you start with simply speaking for yourself. But you can’t do that. You are one of these guys that’s real tough on the internet.
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That is rich. Ya see that pic on my profile? That is me. I don't act tough on the internet, in fact, I don't even hide my identity as I have shared tons of personal things from my social media accounts and my bands on this site for well over a decade. I speak for myself, as myself and I wouldn't engage in any sort of violence on or off the internet because I am adult.
 
InGoodCo said:
That is rich. Ya see that pic on my profile? That is me. I don't act tough on the internet, in fact, I don't even hide my identity as I have shared tons of personal things from my social media accounts and my bands on this site for well over a decade. I speak for myself, as myself and I wouldn't engage in any sort of violence on or off the internet because I am adult.
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Yep, I don't know of anyone else honestly who flat out puts their pic in their profile.

Well besides you and me of course.
 
Hawkboys said:
Watching your team win a game 15-6 is immensely more enjoyable than watching your team lose a game 42-38. But if I had a choice, I'd prefer to watch a team win 42-38 over 15-6. Ultimately I think our next coach, like Fickell will be at the short end of the 42-38 games way more often than what we're used to losing now.
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No way, the 15-6 game is way better because every play is so important when points are at a premium. I was absolutely certain we were going to lose 9-7 and if you had a fitness tracker on me from the time the game was 7-6 until the final Castro interception it would have gone berzerk. Especially on the near interception that Richman prevented. We won the game with that play. When you have an 11 TD monstrosity you don't get worked up about a 4 and a half yard run.
 
For awhile I thought "conundrum" was exactly the best word.
It's not, though. It's very straightforward. It's the three legged table. The special teams is just that good. The defense is just that good. And that's enough to go 6-1 so far, against 2 patsies, ISU, and a B10 where there's a more dichotomy than most years.

Not terribly different results from most "good" years. Other than, there's very little middle ground in the B10 this year. About the only threat from the middle tier this year is Maryland and, apparently Iowa. There's no MSU, Wisconsin, or even an Indiana/Illinois/Purdue that can rise up out of the crowd. Saturday is as big, or bigger than the WI game. MN already has a win in the bag at Nebraska. And could win in WI, too. Beat Iowa, and they're likely the best in the B10 west. There could be a ton of chaos in the B10 west if Iowa doesn't win out.
 
dagdaj said:
For awhile I thought "conundrum" was exactly the best word.
It's not, though. It's very straightforward. It's the three legged table. The special teams is just that good. The defense is just that good. And that's enough to go 6-1 so far, against 2 patsies, ISU, and a B10 where there's a more dichotomy than most years.

Not terribly different results from most "good" years. Other than, there's very little middle ground in the B10 this year. About the only threat from the middle tier this year is Maryland and, apparently Iowa. There's no MSU, Wisconsin, or even an Indiana/Illinois/Purdue that can rise up out of the crowd. Saturday is as big, or bigger than the WI game. MN already has a win in the bag at Nebraska. And could win in WI, too. Beat Iowa, and they're likely the best in the B10 west. There could be a ton of chaos in the B10 west if Iowa doesn't win out.
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Except Minnesota already has two conference losses and still has to go to Ohio State. They have a tough road to Indy from that standpoint.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Except Minnesota already has two conference losses and still has to go to Ohio State. They have a tough road to Indy from that standpoint.
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Certainly, the vagaries of the split conference and imbalanced schedule are troublesome for them.
I was kind of looking at it as (not so much technical standing as much as head-to-head-to-head) who's truly "the best".
But, geez....I forgot they lost to Northwestern.
Chaos already exists apparently, in the B10 west. Who knew. Then again, it always kinda does.
Awfully good year to be the only mid tier team to be finding success. Well, at least in the West. Maryland's kinda doing the same thing in the east.

There's very little middle ground in the B10 at the moment. Not often 2 out of 3 (or more) of Wisconsin/Iowa/MSU are "down". Throw in that every year someone like Purdue, Indiana, or Minnesota makes at least a weak argument they belong in the mid tier that season.

Could it be that it's just the early days of feeling out the portal movement? I still contend that the portal movement will create more parity for the bulk of teams. Sure, it will favor the top teams as well, but it is marginal compared to the benefits others will see.
 
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