As someone who has followed Iowa football since 1969, I would already rank 2010 as one of the more frustrating seasons I can remember. From my perspective, it is much more frustrating when the team has high expectations than say the 1970s when I knew going into each year that the team would likely have a losing record.
In thinking about it, I would compare the 2010 season to 1997. In 1997, Iowa had a lot of experienced and talented returning players on a team that had very high expectations (coming off a 9-3 1996 season that ended with a 27-0 whitewash of Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl). I remember thinking that the state of Iowa rarely produces skill players of the caliber of Tim Dwight or Tavian Banks, and in 97, the Hawks had both in their senior season. Matt Sherman was a senior quarterback who had been starting since the middle of his redshirt freshmen season. The Hawks had some very talented veterans returning on defense (Jared DeVries, Vernon Rollins). All in all, I really believed that the 1997 team was really going to have a great chance to win the Big Ten.
As it turned out, the Hawks lost every close game they played in 1997, including painful losses to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Northwestern (Hawks came from ahead to lose to the Wildcats 15-14). The Hawks suffered a key injury at linebacker (Rollins blew out his knee and never played again) and at QB (Sherman injured in the Michigan game). Despite having Dwight, Iowa's poor special teams play contributed to two of the losses (especially at Northwestern).
When it ended, the 97 team ended up with a disappointing 7-4 regular season, then was dominated by Arizona State in the Sun Bowl to finish 7-5. It was extremely frustrating as a fan, especially given the great career that Tim Dwight had at Iowa to see it end that way.
While I'm not saying that the Hawks will be 3-9 in 2011 (98 Hawks were 3-8, getting blown out in each of Hayden's final five games), I would say that Iowa football will be taking a step back in 2011, which adds to the feeling of frustration at what has occurred in 2010.
In thinking about it, I would compare the 2010 season to 1997. In 1997, Iowa had a lot of experienced and talented returning players on a team that had very high expectations (coming off a 9-3 1996 season that ended with a 27-0 whitewash of Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl). I remember thinking that the state of Iowa rarely produces skill players of the caliber of Tim Dwight or Tavian Banks, and in 97, the Hawks had both in their senior season. Matt Sherman was a senior quarterback who had been starting since the middle of his redshirt freshmen season. The Hawks had some very talented veterans returning on defense (Jared DeVries, Vernon Rollins). All in all, I really believed that the 1997 team was really going to have a great chance to win the Big Ten.
As it turned out, the Hawks lost every close game they played in 1997, including painful losses to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Northwestern (Hawks came from ahead to lose to the Wildcats 15-14). The Hawks suffered a key injury at linebacker (Rollins blew out his knee and never played again) and at QB (Sherman injured in the Michigan game). Despite having Dwight, Iowa's poor special teams play contributed to two of the losses (especially at Northwestern).
When it ended, the 97 team ended up with a disappointing 7-4 regular season, then was dominated by Arizona State in the Sun Bowl to finish 7-5. It was extremely frustrating as a fan, especially given the great career that Tim Dwight had at Iowa to see it end that way.
While I'm not saying that the Hawks will be 3-9 in 2011 (98 Hawks were 3-8, getting blown out in each of Hayden's final five games), I would say that Iowa football will be taking a step back in 2011, which adds to the feeling of frustration at what has occurred in 2010.
