Why KF philosophy may hurt Iowa's playoff chances

Seth53 said:
And again, wayyyyy premature, but……

KF has been a coaching gentleman throughout his tenure @ Iowa.
I.e. he doesn’t run up the score in order to score style points.
While I do admire this, this year, in my opinion, he needs to run up the score on the remaining teams on our schedule if we want to make the playoffs.

KF needs to put the foot on the throat of the remaining teams as we start the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half of the season. To not add 1-2 extra scores when we could will probably hurt us. Reasons:

- Iowa is not highly thought of nationally. We’re not sexy. We don’t have a household name at any one position. Pundits don’t like to have to think about us. We're easy to dismiss. Hell, the national pundits want to dismiss us.
- Our 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half schedule is already coming under fire. Simply winning close will hurt us.
- We’re mired with about 6-8 other teams in the 8-15 ranking range…we need to separate from the pack.
- This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get into the playoffs. Kirk.3 needs to show this wrinkle this year.
- OSU got hot last year late, ran it up vs Wisky, ushered themselves into the playoffs and you know what happened.

I know this goes against the very fabric/being of KF and staff, but this year, with this opportunity and this remaining schedule, I think he needs take no prisoners if Iowa is to be seriously thought of by the selection committee. The opportunity may never present itself again.
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If there are 4-5 teams that finish 13-0, along with Iowa, and we skate by to get there, trust me, Iowa doesn't get into the playoffs.
 
PCHawk said:
I looked at the teams ahead of us in the rankings and it looks like 5th place is worst case scenario if we win out. But it's also a very likely scenario. I agree with the op. We aren't in a position where it's wise to leave 7 points on the field by running 3 strait fullback dives. The op isn't saying we need to go into games with a different game plan. We just need to NOT do things we normally do just to try NOT to score.
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There ya go my friend....you're a genius! :cool:
 
If we are 13-0 and beat OSU in Indy we're in. If we have a loss or it is MSU we beat, we're out. A Big 10 team who is conference champion and beats the defending national champion is in provided they are undefeated. If we're out we are going to the Rose Bowl and that isn't too bad.
 
Seth53 said:
And again, wayyyyy premature, but……

KF has been a coaching gentleman throughout his tenure @ Iowa.
I.e. he doesn’t run up the score in order to score style points.
While I do admire this, this year, in my opinion, he needs to run up the score on the remaining teams on our schedule if we want to make the playoffs.

KF needs to put the foot on the throat of the remaining teams as we start the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half of the season. To not add 1-2 extra scores when we could will probably hurt us. Reasons:

- Iowa is not highly thought of nationally. We’re not sexy. We don’t have a household name at any one position. Pundits don’t like to have to think about us. We're easy to dismiss. Hell, the national pundits want to dismiss us.
- Our 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half schedule is already coming under fire. Simply winning close will hurt us.
- We’re mired with about 6-8 other teams in the 8-15 ranking range…we need to separate from the pack.
- This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get into the playoffs. Kirk.3 needs to show this wrinkle this year.
- OSU got hot last year late, ran it up vs Wisky, ushered themselves into the playoffs and you know what happened.

I know this goes against the very fabric/being of KF and staff, but this year, with this opportunity and this remaining schedule, I think he needs take no prisoners if Iowa is to be seriously thought of by the selection committee. The opportunity may never present itself again.
Click to expand...

If 40 points AT Evanston--with a missed PAT, missed FG, etc.--and scoring with our 3rd- and 4th-string RBs--isn't enough at this point, then all we can do is join the other sheep kneeling at the feet of Stanford and their 6 points in Evanston.

One thing KF probably knows better than any of us: writers, coaches, pollsters and committee members will look for ANY reason to keep a B1G school not named O$U, MSU or UMich out of the playoff if said reason is available.

Win out by 6 points per game and it will be, "They weren't dominant". Win out by 26 points per game and it will be, "Their schedule was weak". Go all Baylor or TCU and it will be, "They aren't as good as those teams they're trying to emulate".

It is what it is...
 
Seth53 said:
If there are 4-5 teams that finish 13-0, along with Iowa, and we skate by to get there, trust me, Iowa doesn't get into the playoffs.
Click to expand...

I think the only scenario that would leave us out as undefeated was the one I listed above and it would have to be these exact teams:

Baylor, Utah, LSU & Clemson

When is the last time we had multiple teams that went undefeated in the regular season... let alone 5?

Check that.... it wouldn't have to be these exact teams. Baylor or TCU; Clemson or Florida State
 
Seth53 said:
If there are 4-5 teams that finish 13-0, along with Iowa, and we skate by to get there, trust me, Iowa doesn't get into the playoffs.
Click to expand...

There's probably an 8% chance Iowa finishes 13-0 and a 1% chance that there would be 4-5 teams who would finish 13-0. Together, that makes me think it's not worth speculating about.
 
Seth53 said:
If there are 4-5 teams that finish 13-0, along with Iowa, and we skate by to get there, trust me, Iowa doesn't get into the playoffs.
Click to expand...

Trust me. If and that is a big IF, Iowa goes 13-0 and the 13th win is over an undefeated OSU team, Iowa will be in the playoffs.

There are none of those teams mentioned above Iowa that will have a win as good as the possible win over an undefeated OSU team. If it happened, that win would seal the deal.
 
For me this thread has two components.

If we got undefeated I'm thinkin we're in regardless of style points,

But style points may help us in a different way. If 40-10 demolitions help the team with swagger and get inside our opponents heads, then THAT may help us to win out. On the other hand if we cling to the theory that it's rude to play to your potential, then that limited psychology could result in a loss to an inferior team.

One thing I liked about Saturday was that Weigers was allowed to throw the ball. With him as QB we added 7 points. OldKirk wouldn't have done that. If all this team does is play to its potential it will be in the CCG. If we get lucky in the CCG then we are in the CFP. And if we make it to the CFP this team may shock the world, and itself.
 
OUTofTOWNHAWK said:
Problem is- If given the chance CJ needs to come out of games. So it will be hard to run up the score without him in the game.
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Agreed, any mid 4th quarter lead of 20+ needs to see depth building 2nd and 3rd teams getting significant game reps, at least on offense. Plus, keeping key offensive guys healthy.

Man, who wouldn't sign up for having even 14+ point leads in every 4th qtr here on out.
 
ibahawkeye said:
I think the only scenario that would leave us out as undefeated was the one I listed above and it would have to be these exact teams:

Baylor, Utah, LSU & Clemson

When is the last time we had multiple teams that went undefeated in the regular season... let alone 5?

Check that.... it wouldn't have to be these exact teams. Baylor or TCU; Clemson or Florida State
Click to expand...


This was my thoughts. If there is an undefeated team from each of the power 5 schools, Iowa might very well get left out. Everyone thought the Big 12 got screwed last year. Would they really do it 2 years in a row in favor of a team like Iowa?
 
Just out of curiosity, what in the hell does thinking we need style points have anything to do with knowing more than Kirk about football?
 
If Iowa gets to 13-0, they won't be left out of the playoff.

And we won't have to worry about there being 5 unbeaten teams - there likely won't be more than 2.

Just win, the rest will take care of itself.
 
I do agree, if we beat an undefeated OSU team in Indy, to go 13-0, we'd be in.

But we may not play OSU....could be MSU or scUM.

If that happens, and we win, I'd hope we have some style points/scores along the way.
 
Let's take care of business in the regular season regardless of score and we will be in a real good warm weather bowl.
 
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