Originally posted by Vintage - I really don't think that playing for a BCS nat'l title once every ~7 years is that outrageous. Sh!t, LSU does it every what, 4 years? WTF does LSU offer that Iowa doesn't?? Seriously. Ever been to Baton Rouge, y'all?!? I have. It's a sh!thole!! Iowa City is fackin' Napa Valley compared to Baton Rouge.
We have NO excuses...we should be competing for much bigger stakes than we are.
I'll bite on your "Why?" questions, even though it's in my better judgement not to. Why can't Iowa be an elite program? What does LSU offer?
For one, Iowa doesn't have warm weather all year round. In fact, it's cold half the year. Makes much more difference than you think. Second, Iowa doesn't have the luxury of being in the middle of a recruiting hot bed like most southern schools (LSU, Alabama, Florida, Texas, etc.). Recruiting is the biggest part of the battle in college football, and it's a huge uphill battle at Iowa every single year. The SEC also allows over-signing of recruits, which will ultimately take better players away from teams like Iowa.
You may not like to hear the geography explanation, but it is reality. Take Nick Saban, for example. I think a lot of people (me included) would consider him one of the best college football coaches in the nation. But, what did he do when he didn't have the luxury of coaching in the south where all the talent is in his backyard and he can over sign every year?
Saban went 34-24-1 in five seaasons at Michigan State. He's lost only 4 more games than that in twice the number of seasons at LSU and Alabama. Saban was 48-16 at LSU and is currently 54-12 at Alabama.
Like you, I too would love to see the Hawkeyes become an elite, powerhouse program, but it's just not realistic. That doesn't mean I'm settling for mediocrity either. The fact is, the uphill battle of recruiting great players to Iowa will keep the Hawkeyes as perpetual underdogs to the nation's elite.
The continually rising influence of mass media will make it even more difficult going forward. The aforementioned teams like LSU, Alabama, Florida, Texas, etc. get pimped out on ESPN so much that every kid in the nation would love to go to those schools. They get their pick of the litter.
Originally posted by ChosenChildren - 99% of the Iowa fan base will be happy averaging 7 or 8 wins per season. That means that in some years Iowa will win more than that, and in some years they will win less.
Not sure what side of the coin I fall on. I'm certainly not "happy" with 7-8 wins a year, but I will make an exception taking a look at the circumstances. This year, in my mind, was one of those years considering the number of playmakers we had to replace. I went into the season thinking that if things went exactly right, Iowa could have been playing Nebraska for the right to be in the Big Ten title game.
My expectations for Iowa are to compete for 10 wins every year. My expectations are also for Iowa to beat teams like Minnesota, Iowa State, Indiana and Northwestern every year. This year and last year were unacceptable as far as that is concerned. But, if Iowa puts itself in position to win 10 games every year, I believe the conference titles and contending for BCS games will take care of itself. Laying out a number like 3-4 Big Ten titles every 10 years or 2-3 BCS games every 10 years is pretty difficult.
Originally posted by Vintage
Don't you think this is one of the deepest roots of the problem?!?
FAT CATS.
I give money. I know people who give a lot more than me. NONE of us is satisfied with the direction of the FB program.
It shouldn't be like this.
Then stop going to Iowa home games. And, get A LOT of people to do the same. That's the only way it will change. Do you think Iowa will care if people don't show up to the bowl game this year? No. They get money from the bowl people. Hit them in the pocketbook by not showing up to their home stadium and they might take notice.
I'm not one calling for wholesale changes. I still believe in Kirk Ferentz as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. And, I've never bought the money argument either. Why do I care? I'm not paying his salary. I also believe it takes a little more for Iowa to get a good/great coach. I do think Kirk needs to make some changes, though. Iowa needs a new defensive coordinator, there's just no other way to say it. Norm Parker has served Iowa very well, but some new blood is needed. I think a fiery personality like Mike Stoops or some young blood like Mark Stoops would be a great hire. As far as Mike goes, it could also help open up a recruiting pipeline in the southwest considering he's a familiar face and did have solid talent at Arizona. Ken O'Keefe also needs to be replaced. I don't think Iowa needs a completely new offensive scheme, this one still works just fine, but his game management of the playbook is not good. He out-thinks himself way too many times, much like he did this weekend on Iowa's two trips to the Nebraska 35-yard line.
Only problem here is that I believe Kirk would promote from within, and I don't know if that's the answer. I also heard from a former Iowa football player buddy of mine who's still relatively in tune with the program that he believes Brian Ferentz will be on the coaching staff at Iowa someday.
