As with most things in life...the truth usually lies somewhere between the extremes.
Iowa should be 6-6 and 4-4 in conference. Iowa lost to a terrible Minnesota team and to Penn State, Michigan State, and Nebraska. 3 teams with a pulse on defense and Iowa struggled against them all. Iowa put up points on very poor Big Ten defenses and 2 of the 4 out of conference teams with mediocre defenses (remember, it took Iowa 3 OT to put up 41 points on Iowa State). Iowa was basically shut out against a very average Pitt team until late in the game. I am not sure Iowa's offense was ever as good as we thought it was. Iowa couldn't capitalize on offense against Purdue and bury them when it had the chance either.
Nebraska isn't as good as they think they are either. They are very fortunate to be 9-3. 8-4 and 4-4 in conference is what they should likely be. Much like Iowa against Pitt, it took a comeback for the ages to win the Ohio State game. Ohio State is a very average team this year and it took that sort of comeback to beat them...AT HOME. Nebraska got destroyed by 2 of the 4 'quality' teams they played this year. Beat one impressively (Mich. St.) and another in a slugfest in unique circumstances (Penn St.) on the road. They also lost to below average Northwestern team who was 3-5 when they lost to them AT HOME. Sure Northwestern has won 4 in a row, but lets see who they have beat...Indiana, Nebraska, Rice, and Minnesota...yeah, that is quite the streak...sarcasm implied.
Both teams have had their ups and downs, but Iowa was simply more inconsistent and ultimately not as good as Nebraska this year. It seems that most teams fall into the below average, .500, above average, and great team areas. Most teams in those categories tend to have similar track records during a season.
Iowa is about a .500 team. As most .500 teams do, they lost to some teams they shouldn't have (Minnesota & Iowa State) and beat some teams they probably shouldn't have (Pitt and Michigan). Nebraska is a typical above average, but not great team. Split against the higher end teams (beat Mich. St., Penn St., but lose to Wis. & Mich.), lose a game they shouldn't (Northwestern), and win a game they shouldn't (Ohio St.).
At the end of the day, Iowa is just an average football team who lost to an above average team on the road. On the right day, Iowa could beat Nebraska, but if they played 10 times at a neutral site...Nebraska probably wins 7 of 10 this year.
I am a huge Iowa fan, but realistically Iowa is probably somewhere between the team that beat Michigan and the team that lost to Nebraska as most .500 teams are.
Iowa should be 6-6 and 4-4 in conference. Iowa lost to a terrible Minnesota team and to Penn State, Michigan State, and Nebraska. 3 teams with a pulse on defense and Iowa struggled against them all. Iowa put up points on very poor Big Ten defenses and 2 of the 4 out of conference teams with mediocre defenses (remember, it took Iowa 3 OT to put up 41 points on Iowa State). Iowa was basically shut out against a very average Pitt team until late in the game. I am not sure Iowa's offense was ever as good as we thought it was. Iowa couldn't capitalize on offense against Purdue and bury them when it had the chance either.
Nebraska isn't as good as they think they are either. They are very fortunate to be 9-3. 8-4 and 4-4 in conference is what they should likely be. Much like Iowa against Pitt, it took a comeback for the ages to win the Ohio State game. Ohio State is a very average team this year and it took that sort of comeback to beat them...AT HOME. Nebraska got destroyed by 2 of the 4 'quality' teams they played this year. Beat one impressively (Mich. St.) and another in a slugfest in unique circumstances (Penn St.) on the road. They also lost to below average Northwestern team who was 3-5 when they lost to them AT HOME. Sure Northwestern has won 4 in a row, but lets see who they have beat...Indiana, Nebraska, Rice, and Minnesota...yeah, that is quite the streak...sarcasm implied.
Both teams have had their ups and downs, but Iowa was simply more inconsistent and ultimately not as good as Nebraska this year. It seems that most teams fall into the below average, .500, above average, and great team areas. Most teams in those categories tend to have similar track records during a season.
Iowa is about a .500 team. As most .500 teams do, they lost to some teams they shouldn't have (Minnesota & Iowa State) and beat some teams they probably shouldn't have (Pitt and Michigan). Nebraska is a typical above average, but not great team. Split against the higher end teams (beat Mich. St., Penn St., but lose to Wis. & Mich.), lose a game they shouldn't (Northwestern), and win a game they shouldn't (Ohio St.).
At the end of the day, Iowa is just an average football team who lost to an above average team on the road. On the right day, Iowa could beat Nebraska, but if they played 10 times at a neutral site...Nebraska probably wins 7 of 10 this year.
I am a huge Iowa fan, but realistically Iowa is probably somewhere between the team that beat Michigan and the team that lost to Nebraska as most .500 teams are.
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