The Hawkeyes Will be Dogs: Six 2013 point spreads involving Iowa

[STILLBUSTER]

Davis had to know what he was walking into. I can't imagine him taking the position without at least making a call to O'Keefe before accepting. I don't necessarily buy that Davis underestimated the talent in skilled positions.

If he underestimated the talent at his disposal, it didn't stop him from glossing it -- i.e., remember how much of a "weapon" CJ was supposed to be. (For the record, I believe he is; it was epic failure to not use him until the last few games of the season.)

Regardless of his assessment of his talent pool and regardless of how short / long his leash was, it was simply a top-bottom horrible coaching job from all parties. The lack of attempt at player development (i.e. QB position), schematic adjustment (i.e. vertical attack) or involvement of what few "weapons" (i.e. CJ) were available was sickening.
As last season progressed it became painfully obvious the m.o. was "flush it". There's been plenty of instances cited to support that.

As for the early spreads -- not shocked at all. Why expect any respect from the books (something Iowa had the first 10 years of this century) when you barely made an effort to be competitive?

 

[hwk23]

If he underestimated the talent at his disposal, it didn't stop him from glossing it -- i.e., remember how much of a "weapon" CJ was supposed to be. (For the record, I believe he is; it was epic failure to not use him until the last few games of the season.)

Regardless of his assessment of his talent pool and regardless of how short / long his leash was, it was simply a top-bottom horrible coaching job from all parties. The lack of attempt at player development (i.e. QB position), schematic adjustment (i.e. vertical attack) or involvement of what few "weapons" (i.e. CJ) were available was sickening.
As last season progressed it became painfully obvious the m.o. was "flush it". There's been plenty of instances cited to support that.

As for the early spreads -- not shocked at all. Why expect any respect from the books (something Iowa had the first 10 years of this century) when you barely made an effort to be competitive?

Pretty much agree. The anti-synergy of KF/GD/JVB led to a terrible passing offense. If you have an NFL caliber QB and WR, you don't have a lack of talent at Iowa. Coaches should have tried to scheme towards JVBs strengths, i.e long and mid range passes. JVB and the GD offense were not a good match obviously.

GDs offense may not be my preference, but it's here now and I think it might work with a playmaker QB that can extend plays, create and find other than the primary target.

 

[Eda]

If he underestimated the talent at his disposal, it didn't stop him from glossing it -- i.e., remember how much of a "weapon" CJ was supposed to be. (For the record, I believe he is; it was epic failure to not use him until the last few games of the season.)

Regardless of his assessment of his talent pool and regardless of how short / long his leash was, it was simply a top-bottom horrible coaching job from all parties. The lack of attempt at player development (i.e. QB position), schematic adjustment (i.e. vertical attack) or involvement of what few "weapons" (i.e. CJ) were available was sickening.
As last season progressed it became painfully obvious the m.o. was "flush it". There's been plenty of instances cited to support that.

As for the early spreads -- not shocked at all. Why expect any respect from the books (something Iowa had the first 10 years of this century) when you barely made an effort to be competitive?

Disagree greatly with the flush it comment (and much of the overall post).

The fact that JVB played all year is reason enough that "flush it" was not the thoughts of anyone on staff.

Buster, your posts as of late are becoming borderline loony toons!

 

[LawVHawk]

If Ferentz loses more than six this season, is he Iowa's head coach next year? Strikes me that he's not.

 

[theobserver]

If Ferentz loses more than six this season, is he Iowa's head coach next year? Strikes me that he's not.

Agreed. I observe that Ferentz is hanging on by a very thin thread. The athletic department fund has more than enough money to buy him out. If he can't improve much after last season, he doesn't deserve to be in charge of Iowa's football program.

 

[OUTofTOWNHAWK]

Disagree greatly with the flush it comment (and much of the overall post).

The fact that JVB played all year is reason enough that "flush it" was not the thoughts of anyone on staff.

Buster, your posts as of late are becoming borderline loony toons!

Here it is again. You call him loony toons yet you dont have anything to add of your own. Either make a point or keep off the keyboard. You and others cry about having to wade through others views well your post that make no effort to join in on the convo is a waste of space.


How do you know what the staff was thinking?

Why did they not use CJ more?

Why is this offense that has 5 plays so hard to learn?

Why dont you think a little instead of calling others names that have atleast put a point of view together?

Bet you wish you could respond with a laffy pic? Dont let your Ghost shine through too much though.

 

[kmurp]

Agreed. I observe that Ferentz is hanging on by a very thin thread. The athletic department fund has more than enough money to buy him out. If he can't improve much after last season, he doesn't deserve to be in charge of Iowa's football program.

It would take more than that to get me to spend 18 million if I were in charge.

 

[dave3912]

If Ferentz loses more than six this season, is he Iowa's head coach next year? Strikes me that he's not.

Losing more than 6 games would possibly still leave KF with 5-7 record. Which would be better than the 4-8 record of 2012. Simple math shows that 7 loses is better than 8 loses and is an improvement. Then throw in the fact that the 2012 schedule appears on paper to be a lot easier than 2013 is/could/will be. Plus it all depends on how they lose. If they get blown out a bunch of games, is different than losing a bunch of tough conference games by a few points in the 4th quarter.

Losing is still losing, not debating that but it is how the team and staff come together this year is whether not I believe Ferentz gets canned for a losing record or not.

 

[SmokeTownHawk]

Phil Steele shared some early season betting lines on his blog late in the week and it would seem as though Vegas is not high on the Hawkeyes this year.

Yeah, yeah, I know that the betting lines are there to try to get equal action on both teams so the house can win on the juice. Still, the expectations for Iowa will be low. Here were some of the early lines I saw on Steele’s blog and there are more lines for other ‘marquee’ games this year:

Iowa at Iowa State (-4): I don’t believe Iowa has been the underdog in this game since 2000 or something like that. This game could wind up being one of the marquee Pillow Fights of the year as I don’t expect either team to finish over .500 this year. If I were forced to make a wager at this juncture, I’d take Iowa State and give the four. There are too many questions surrounding Iowa’s defensive line and whomever wins the quarterback battle for Iowa will be making their first ever road start in a stadium that doesn’t get as much credit for being hostile as it deserves. The 5pm start will make it all the more raucous. The one thing I like for Iowa at this point is they will have had two games under their belt to just one for Iowa State.

Michigan State (-9) at Iowa: Holy cow bells, how far has Iowa’s star fallen? Up until the start of the 2011 season, Iowa had gone over 40 games without having lost by double-digits. That ‘streak’ is long gone now but this line seems way too generous. I’d take the points and put my pretend dollars on Iowa to cover.

Iowa at Ohio State (-23): This might be the lock of the year that I have seen so far, and I will admit that I haven’t spent too much time on betting lines just yet. But if I were forced to wager, I’d lay the 23, take Ohio State, go outside and mow my yard, the neighbors yard, come it at halftime to see the Buckeyes had this number covered already. I think this game is going to be horrifically ugly, as in Ohio State could score 60 or more.

Northwestern (-12) at Iowa: Wow. The Cats as a 12-point favorite in Iowa City? While I am not high on this year’s Iowa team I’d certainly wager a 12 pack of Mt Dew on that one, taking the Hawkeyes. I’d hope Iowa could cover that number at home. If it doesn’t, I’ll link back to this item and wave the white flag.

Michigan (-10-5) at Iowa: So the Golden Nugget Casino likes Northwestern better than Michigan this year and lumps MSU, NW and Michigan in a similar area as they all visit Iowa City and you can throw a blanket over the point spreads in those three games.

Iowa at Nebraska (-14): I am surprised to see this line so low…perhaps they are taking into account the moribund angles to the last two meetings between these teams and how a below average Iowa defense was able to gum up the Husker works last year in Iowa City. I would have expected a higher number than this, however, given the three totals we see for Iowa’s home games listed above.

Knowing how Iowa under KF drops more than their share of gimmes I'd say that being 'dogs for half the season is great news!

 

[eveningnewsteam]

Losing more than 6 games would possibly still leave KF with 5-7 record. Which would be better than the 4-8 record of 2012. Simple math shows that 7 loses is better than 8 loses and is an improvement. Then throw in the fact that the 2012 schedule appears on paper to be a lot easier than 2013 is/could/will be. Plus it all depends on how they lose. If they get blown out a bunch of games, is different than losing a bunch of tough conference games by a few points in the 4th quarter.

Losing is still losing, not debating that but it is how the team and staff come together this year is whether not I believe Ferentz gets canned for a losing record or not.

They go 5-7, hes gone.

 

[FreedComanche]

They go 5-7, hes gone.

Let's meet and place a wager on this between each other. I will bet you a sizable amount that if he goes 5-7, which I predicted a few months back, he will NOT be fired.

FreedComanche

 

[STILLBUSTER]

Disagree greatly with the flush it comment (and much of the overall post).

The fact that JVB played all year is reason enough that "flush it" was not the thoughts of anyone on staff.

Buster, your posts as of late are becoming borderline loony toons!

My posts "as of late"? Today is the first I've posted since May 28th and my 3rd post since May 15th. (I've not bothered to join the fray as OoTH, Comanche, HiGL and others have more than covered the valid points.)

The tenor of my post must have tripped the bias of your "critics filter"; ya know, we all sound the same.

I'll let it slide but, for the record, you know there's nothing but high-quality comments, well-reasoned arguments and thought-provoking analysis gushing from this keyboard.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

Let's meet and place a wager on this between each other. I will bet you a sizable amount that if he goes 5-7, which I predicted a few months back, he will NOT be fired.

FreedComanche

Yes he will

 

[dave3912]

They go 5-7, hes gone.

Even,

I was responding to Laws point of not showing improvement would mean KF would be fired. But 4-8 in 2012 to 5-7 2013 would actually be in improvement.

 

[dave3912]

Yes he will

And how do you know this? Gut feeling?

 

[eveningnewsteam]

And how do you know this? Gut feeling?

No. His seat is red hot going into this year.

 

[FreedComanche]

Yes he will

Ok, not trying to convince you. Let's meet and bet.

FreedComanche

 

[whammer33024]

Here it is again. You call him loony toons yet you dont have anything to add of your own. Either make a point or keep off the keyboard. You and others cry about having to wade through others views well your post that make no effort to join in on the convo is a waste of space.


How do you know what the staff was thinking?

Why did they not use CJ more?

Why is this offense that has 5 plays so hard to learn?

Why dont you think a little instead of calling others names that have atleast put a point of view together?

Bet you wish you could respond with a laffy pic? Dont let your Ghost shine through too much though.

but how does buster know the staff decided to "flush it"? the examples he provided were obvious proof.

can i call you loony tunes for saying that the iowa playbook only has 5 plays? because obviously that's not true. i obviously know you're exaggerating but i'm just making a point

i agree with you though, so many people on here say things like "you're crazy" or "you're an idiot" without having any examples to argue with. both sides of that coin have become exhausting.

 

[tubahawk]

No. His seat is red hot going into this year.

True, but as Jon is pointing out in the OP, the team is projected to be underdogs for 6 of the games. Most of the decision makers in the Athletic Department are aware of what lies ahead this season and are not likely insisting on a 7-5 or better season. A 4-5 win season likely gives KF one more year to get this turned around (assuming this team doesn't lay an egg week after week).

 

[FreedComanche]

True, but as Jon is pointing out in the OP, the team is projected to be underdogs for 6 of the games. Most of the decision makers in the Athletic Department are aware of what lies ahead this season and are not likely insisting on a 7-5 or better season. A 4-5 win season likely gives KF one more year to get this turned around (assuming this team doesn't lay an egg week after week).

He's safe no matter what happens this season.

If the season is horrible, you'll hear most people saying what they are saying now, "kirk ferentz has brought so much success to Iowa football that he deserves a chance to turn things around."

And I am not saying he doesn't deserve a chance to turn things around. I just think there is no hope that he will.

FreedComanche