This is not a great NW team

In the few games I've seen NW play they have won while doing thier best to loose. In both games they had turnover issues inside the opponents 10 yard line. If they play mistake free football they will be difficult to beat.
 
Cyclones17 said:
Question, when has Northwestern ever been that good? They have had winning seasons in the past but they always take advantage of the easiest Non conference schedule out there. Besides beating Iowa every now and than, I never remember them beating a good team. Except last year, I think that NW team was pretty decent
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They weren't that bad in the mid to late 90's under Gary Barnett, they won a couple of Big Ten titles and went to the Rose Bowl once. If Barnett would have stayed instead of going to Colorado I think they would have had more success then they have had in the 2000's.
 
CallMeDragon said:
Not taking any team lightly at this point in the season (especailly a team that seems to have our number every year), but I truly believe that Iowa will jump out to an early lead and give them a heavy dose of A-Rob and Coker. After last week's debacle against Penn State, I don't think this NW team has the mojo or talent to fight back against a quality opponent.

I expect Iowa to be very focused and methodical in their appraoch...fewer penalties...better execution in the red zone...and win the turnover battle. Maybe not a Michigan State type of route, but I like Iowa to win comfortably in this one.
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I echo these thoughts. We will be ready to play.
 
The issue is...

BALDIES7980 said:
This is a game Iowa needs to come out strong and clean in their execution and BURY them like OSU does. Its time for a mental and physical beat down for the Cats'. They've earned it. Get Coker and the 2nd teamers in for more experience and leave no doubt.
And we can hope that PSU at least puts OSU threw a tough game and it will leave us in good position.
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we don't have the roster to do to Northwestern what Ohio State does. That doesn't mean that Iowa can't beat Ohio State or stand a chance (last year Iowa gave OSU everything it wanted) but rather Iowa doesn't have the personnel to attack Northwestern like Ohio State does.
 
I don't think that Iowa can afford to take anyone too lightly. We just don't have that kind of talent.

I don't think NW is that bad of a team. They have played well against us recently and have a lot of confidence (against us). They have definitely been their own worst enemy this year with penalties and turnovers at inopportune times. If they clean it up, it could be a tough game.

I think if we get out to an early lead, we could end up blowing them out. If we let them hang around - well, let's not play every game praying that a wide-open receiver drops the winning TD pass at the end of the game...
 
I liken NW to Mich and IU this year, talented QB with very average support from the RB and WR positions. Persa will run and throw it all over the field and will put some points on the board early. But in the end our talent and depth will be too much for them. They are dangerous, but not good.
Fitzgerald will always believe we broke his leg "on purpose" and always hate us. Wouldn't want it any other way.
 
When's the last time we lost to a "great" jNW team? They come to play, and more often than not, the breaks seem to go their way. Just the way the game is.
 
Wouldn't it be nice to see Iowa come out with some fire against NU for once? These past few years have been brutal. I don't think Northwestern has ever been a game the Hawks completely overlook, but it just seems like they have lacked a certain motivation in the past. I just hope that this is the year that things finally click. After all, the NU defense is coming off a game where they allowed 35 to a very average PSU offense. Go Hawks!
 
NW is one of the few teams that has consistenly out-coached us these last 5 yrs.

Remember, NW was without Bacher for virtually all the game last year & our backup wasn't ready (slightly diff circumstances, I know)...but the point still stands.

This week, for me (and in light of last week's POOR performance) comes down to the coaching staff putting a team with CLEARLY superior personnel...in a position to win the football game. Time to get the NW monkey off our back.
 
I say this every year against NW, but Iowa should blow them off the field. However, aside from maybe 1 game against a decent team all year, Iowa likes to take things down to the wire. We already had out good game against MSU, so I expect this thing to come down to the last possession, per ususal.
 
Yes, they gave up 35 points to Penn St. But, at one point, they did have them down 21-0. We can't overlook them.
 
Bloom said:
Wouldn't it be nice to see Iowa come out with some fire against NU for once? !
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Can you remember last year? We scored 10 points right out of the gate, and if Stanzi had kept throwing the short routes that NW was giving us, it would have been 14-0 or 21-0. Instead, he got greedy, threw long and either INC or INT, and we missed opportunities to bury them in Q1.

Then the injury.

Then the BW3 TD called back.

We came out with fire last year. Go watch the tape.
 
I have no doubt Northwestern won't be making the same mistakes they made against other teams. They will be well-prepared and probably execute the best they have all season.

Just like Iowa State managed to do on many occasions.

It is going to be a dogfight and it would not surprise me if Northwestern won...ESPECIALLY if Iowa plays as poorly as they did last week.
 
A funny parallel is this .... how often have the "elite" teams we've beaten said the same things about us?

Northwestern plays a "style" of game that can tire out our D and keep the ball away from our O. Those factors alone are enough to keep the game close .... UNLESS Iowa's O executes with great precision.

IF Iowa's O executes very well ... then it's possible that Iowa could win handily. However, how often does Iowa execute efficiently in cold weather?
 
Remember how you told us that Indiana wasn't a good team at all, John? Yeah.....still don't feel comfortable at all about this game. NW has our # and it makes me want to throw up.
 
One thing is this ... I don't believe in one team having the "number" of another. However, what I do believe is that a team can be less intimidated by a team that they already have a history of competing with and/or beating. Iowa doesn't intimidate Indiana or Northwestern ... and, as a result, if we allow them to hang with us on the score board .... then they even odds when it comes to winning the game.
 
Reason Iowa has struggled has next to nothing to do with...

hoopthemottle said:
Can you remember last year? We scored 10 points right out of the gate, and if Stanzi had kept throwing the short routes that NW was giving us, it would have been 14-0 or 21-0. Instead, he got greedy, threw long and either INC or INT, and we missed opportunities to bury them in Q1.

Then the injury.

Then the BW3 TD called back.

We came out with fire last year. Go watch the tape.
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"coming out with fire." More with playing well for the whole game.

2005 Iowa leads 24-7 at one point and still led 27-14 with under 5 minutes to go. Iowa was ready to play.
2006 6-3 Iowa team plays winless Northwestern team (in conference). Iowa is horrendous and loses 21-7.
2007 Iowa actually falls behind 14-0 in first quarter but wins going away 28-17.
2008 - Iowa jumps out to 17-3 lead before losing 22-17.
2009 - Iowa leads 10-0, Stanzi injured and Northwestern wins 10-0.

Issue has not been how Iowa has started. We've started very well in 3 separate losses, all double-digit leads only to lose. Have to be prepared to play the entire game and not make crippling mistakes.
 
83Hawk said:
I have no doubt Northwestern won't be making the same mistakes they made against other teams. They will be well-prepared and probably execute the best they have all season.Just like Iowa State managed to do on many occasions.

It is going to be a dogfight and it would not surprise me if Northwestern won...ESPECIALLY if Iowa plays as poorly as they did last week.
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Yep!

It's the "Iowa" factor. The Hawks have a knack of seemingly catching the "inferior" teams when they have their best performance of the season and / or when the Hawks have their worst game of the season. Despite the "paper" advantage of Iowa, NW has the emotional / mental edge. Like it or not, all this adds up to these teams being equals. (The record bears this out: 4-4 over the last 8 meetings; 1-3 over the last 4. Even Jon posted how evenly matched NW and Iowa are in terms of offense production.)

It doesn't matter that NW might not be a "great" team. Indiana is a bad team and the Hawks didn't "win" that game. NW is significantly better than IU in every phase and is good enough to beat Iowa.
 
Barring a key injury or late-game garbage time touchdown by Northwestern, I think we win this one by 20. Their offense has scored 32 points on us in the last two years combined, despite being +7 in turnovers.

Take care of the ball and this one shouldn't be close.
 
No secret formula for the Hawks.

1. Win turnover battle.
2. Pound them on the ground.
3. Go up top deep to DJK and MM.
4. Keep their offense off the field.
5. Keep Persa in the pocket.

Do this,and Iowa will win.
 
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