The Season

HawkeyeDenis

HawkeyeDenis

Well-Known Member
At this point the only game I feel confident about is the Purdue game.

1. Minnesota. Good QB. Decent running game. Iowa can't stop the run.
2. Purdue. Iowa is so bad, this could actually be a good girl fight.
3. Wisconsin. This could be bad, I mean really bad.
4. Penn State. An average team, but better than Iowa.
5. Michigan. Another bad beat down for Iowa.
6. Illinois. Ok. Iowa has a chance. But a loss wouldn't be a surprise.
7. Nebraska. Revenge time for the Huskers.

So out of the next 7 games. I see 2 wins. I see 2 losses for certain. Michigan and Wisconsin. Probable losses are Minnesota, Penn State and Nebraska.

It may seem like I am being a hater. But I will be watching or listening to every Saturday.
 
right now I think you're being a realist. anyone average Iowa will lose to. anybody decent will destroy Iowa. Iowa only has a shot against bad teams right now because that's what they are unless they get their **** together midseason which is REALLY tough to do.
 
Definitely agree. This team will be lucky to be bowl eligible the way they are playing. Something has to change soon. As fans we have got to stop excepting mediocrity
 
EdeBear said:
Definitely agree. This team will be lucky to be bowl eligible the way they are playing. Something has to change soon. As fans we have got to stop excepting mediocrity
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You can stop anytime you want, assuming you meant accepting. Turn off the tv, turn down the radio, stop reading the paper, stop logging on to Hawkeye web sites, become a Cyclone fan - oh wait, I take that last one back.
 
Logging onto HN to chat with folks hardly correlates to supporting terrible play on the football field, and I haven't bought memorabilia or been to a game in years. I was born a Hawkeye fan and i will die a Hawkeye fan. I've followed all my sports teams through all the highs and lows, but if you think I or a large number of fans are happy with the way these young men have played this year, you are fooling yourself.
 
The bad thing is this team has 7-5 talent but had 12-0 expectations that weren't meant. That leaves us with a team with 7-5 talent that might have packed it in. If that's the case it could get really ugly.
 
Has any team ever gone from 12-0 to 3-9 before? Because that is where this team is heading right now. It's really beginning to feel like the 2012 season all over again. CJ just looks lost, as did JVB that year. Granted, JVB did have a new OC, but still... Coaches aren't adjusting, not making changes. The team doesn't seem to have that chip on it's shoulder like last year. I remember during the Penn State game that year, after PSU went up 24-0 and Iowa made zero changes to the offensive scheme, that I commented to some people that Iowa would not win another game that year. That loss dropped them to 4-3, and they didn't win another game. I almost said that again on Saturday after NW went up 14 in the 4th. There's something seriously wrong with this team, other than some of the obvious issues people have pointed out.

From the opening drive of the game against NDSU through the end of the loss on Saturday, this team has looked completely different than the team of weeks 1 and 2. They've had occasional flashes of being the team we expected, like the 2nd quarter against NW, but those are few and far between. Every individual, every unit, team as a whole, players and staff both, needs to have a come to jebus meeting and decide what they want this season to be. Do they pack it in and finish 3-9, or perform like we've seen and possibly finish 10-2. It'll be hard, as there are some tough games ahead. They've got to decide what they want.
 
3-9 is realistic because nobody is expecting this team to improve. So far after 5 weeks, the team has not improved. Think about that for a minute.
 
PCHawk said:
The bad thing is this team has 7-5 talent but had 12-0 expectations that weren't meant. That leaves us with a team with 7-5 talent that might have packed it in. If that's the case it could get really ugly.
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This is why I think it feels so much worse than normal. I will only speak for myself but I thought this was a 9-3 or better team depending on a few bounces one way or another. Rarely do I think an 8 win season would be a disappointment, but this was one of those years, with 7 wins and no chance to win the West being about the worst case scenario.

Suddenly, 5-7 looks likely, with 7-5 being about a Best case scenario.

I will be saying this a lot this year.... I like/respect KF, always will (probably), but this is not ok. If people want to call me out for "accepting mediocrity" in the past, I could care less. That said, mediocrity is a couple steps above what i've seen in the last 3 games from the Hawkeyes. A mediocre Iowa team is at minimum 4-1 right now.

You can usually point to 1-2 primary weaknesses that can be addressed. We have 2-3 weakness on each side of the ball. This is an overall team issue, many culprits.

It's sad.
 
I just think we are at a point of a perfect storm of a 3-9 season. Along with the team looking extremely lost from the head coach to the players, it is apparent that there needs to be a top to bottom examination especially after such a hefty pay raise. Is Gary Barta that ignorant to allow a bad product to be on the field? I think everyone understands there are periods of ups and downs, but a good quality coach at least is consistent year in and out. No matter what people think Kirk Ferentz is not a consistent coach and there are more dips in the hawkeye program especially for someone making elite money. I think the board of regents needs to seriously look at the leadership at the University of Iowa and investigate if their recent investments in the football program including the upgrading of the facilities and pay raises were truly warranted and should the legal department look into the wording of Ferentz's contract. I can only imagine what the recruits are thinking after Saturday's loss and hearing from players saying that they were out coached. If the current trend continues and I expect it to with the lack of emotion by the football team and the coaching staff, I would pray that there needs to be an investigation by the regents...
 
PCHawk said:
The bad thing is this team has 7-5 talent but had 12-0 expectations that weren't meant. That leaves us with a team with 7-5 talent that might have packed it in. If that's the case it could get really ugly.
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Completely disagree. On defense, we only lost Nate Meier, Cole Fisher, and Jordan Lomax (so 8 returning starters). On offense, we lost Tevaun Smith, HKC, fullbacks and Blythe and Walsh. In addition, our punter is an upgrade, kickoffs are a push, and while we know next to nothing about our placekicker, he at least isn't missing extra points, so that may be a wash. In the end, virtually every player of consequence was back from a team that went 12-0. Those players were good enough to beat Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Northwestern on the road (nearly all double digit win teams) and nearly beat a college football playoff team in MSU.

Without knowing the team, if someone told you that Team X was returning a 2nd team All Conference Senior QB, 3 of 5 starting offensive linemen, 2 of their top 3 RBs, their top pass-catching WR, their top pass-catching TE, 3 out of 4 DLs, 2 out of 3 LBs, and 3 out of 4 DBs (including the reigning Thorpe Award winner), and was coming off a 12-0 regular season and a Rose Bowl berth, and had a non-conference schedule that consisted of 2 awful FBS teams and an FCS team along with arguably all of their toughest conference games at home this year....most college football fans would probably call that 9-10 win team.

We'll be lucky to get 5 wins this year. If 2006 was the year of the Fat Cat players....then 2016 is the year of the Fat Cat coaches.
 
SpiderRico said:
Completely disagree. On defense, we only lost Nate Meier, Cole Fisher, and Jordan Lomax (so 8 returning starters). On offense, we lost Tevaun Smith, HKC, fullbacks and Blythe and Walsh. In addition, our punter is an upgrade, kickoffs are a push, and while we know next to nothing about our placekicker, he at least isn't missing extra points, so that may be a wash. In the end, virtually every player of consequence was back from a team that went 12-0. Those players were good enough to beat Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Northwestern on the road (nearly all double digit win teams) and nearly beat a college football playoff team in MSU.

Without knowing the team, if someone told you that Team X was returning a 2nd team All Conference Senior QB, 3 of 5 starting offensive linemen, 2 of their top 3 RBs, their top pass-catching WR, their top pass-catching TE, 3 out of 4 DLs, 2 out of 3 LBs, and 3 out of 4 DBs (including the reigning Thorpe Award winner), and was coming off a 12-0 regular season and a Rose Bowl berth, and had a non-conference schedule that consisted of 2 awful FBS teams and an FCS team along with arguably all of their toughest conference games at home this year....most college football fans would probably call that 9-10 win team.

We'll be lucky to get 5 wins this year. If 2006 was the year of the Fat Cat players....then 2016 is the year of the Fat Cat coaches.
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It's hard to argue anything you say. The only thing is I think last year the team kind of got on a roll and played above their talent level. Its hard to replicate that at the start of a new season. Especially when the players think they are better than they are.

Now we have no one to pass to and no time to pass the ball because of lack of talent. If we have to pass on 3rd down we should punt instead to save 10 yards of field position.
 
SpiderRico said:
Completely disagree. On defense, we only lost Nate Meier, Cole Fisher, and Jordan Lomax (so 8 returning starters). On offense, we lost Tevaun Smith, HKC, fullbacks and Blythe and Walsh. In addition, our punter is an upgrade, kickoffs are a push, and while we know next to nothing about our placekicker, he at least isn't missing extra points, so that may be a wash. In the end, virtually every player of consequence was back from a team that went 12-0. Those players were good enough to beat Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Northwestern on the road (nearly all double digit win teams) and nearly beat a college football playoff team in MSU.

Without knowing the team, if someone told you that Team X was returning a 2nd team All Conference Senior QB, 3 of 5 starting offensive linemen, 2 of their top 3 RBs, their top pass-catching WR, their top pass-catching TE, 3 out of 4 DLs, 2 out of 3 LBs, and 3 out of 4 DBs (including the reigning Thorpe Award winner), and was coming off a 12-0 regular season and a Rose Bowl berth, and had a non-conference schedule that consisted of 2 awful FBS teams and an FCS team along with arguably all of their toughest conference games at home this year....most college football fans would probably call that 9-10 win team.

We'll be lucky to get 5 wins this year. If 2006 was the year of the Fat Cat players....then 2016 is the year of the Fat Cat coaches.
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Question, why does the D look so noticeably slower then?
 
HawkGold said:
Question, why does the D look so noticeably slower then?
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Tough to look fast when no one gets off a block.

But unless something comes out to the contrary, I'm going to stand by my belief that something happened internally between the win against Iowa State and the loss against NDSU. You don't go from playing the way we did to the way we are playing now without there being some sort of internal strife occurring.
 
SpiderRico said:
Tough to look fast when no one gets off a block.

But unless something comes out to the contrary, I'm going to stand by my belief that something happened internally between the win against Iowa State and the loss against NDSU. You don't go from playing the way we did to the way we are playing now without there being some sort of internal strife occurring.
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That's an interesting thought. The Miami game was a bit suspect, but not really indicative. Then the Capt demotion. If one isn't motivated they will look slow.
 
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