Will Iowa stay #5?

[InGoodCo]

This board is approaching Husker level nonsense. Stop talking about playoffs or even Indy for that matter. This team is still likely going to lose a minimum of 3 games. The ranking is nice for publicity and recruiting but we are not a top 10 caliber team. There are several unranked teams that could beat us. And please, Georgia would beat Iowa by 30. They would beat every team that we have played by 30 and the two cream puffs by 50.

We can only comment on what we've seen so far. I think Iowa will lose 2 games this season, I thought that before the year started and not a ton has changed for me. Winning football games is hard. Going undefeated is next to impossible and Iowa has only done it 1 time in over a hundred years during the regular season. As of this point in the year, Iowa is still in the mix. Let us enjoy it.

 

[Fryowa]

If were still ranked this high in 3 weeks then we deserve to be.

This.

\thread

 

[ssckelley]

We were down at half to a team that South Dakota State put 42 points on, and you're talking CFP? That's the kind of delusion we make fun of ISU and nebraska fans for. Iowa State and Indiana have both shown themselves to be fake news, and we struggled with Kent state as well. I think I'd start with winning the west, which is probably the only realistic of those goals.

This is a really good Iowa team by past standards, and a truly elite defense even in a national sense. But there is no way this kind of offense is going to get us through a B1G season without 2-3 losses. We're in the weakest B1G West in the short history of the division, so 2-3 losses can still probably keep us at the top of the pile. But people saying OSU aren't all that just because of the Oregon game are in left field. Their depth will keep them rolling.

And let's assume Iowa makes the CFP. Do you think that a 58-3 steamroll by Georgia in front of literally every college football fan and every recruit in the nation would help things, as opposed to a strong showing in say, a NY6 bowl? Alabama and Georgia are in a completely different zip code than Iowa or anyone in the B1G. We'd be praying for a continuous clock rule if we played them. That's not a knock against this team, it's just the reality of college football right now.

I think playing in the CFP would be good for recruiting, that means Iowa won the Big Ten and was playing for the National Championship. Granted I think Iowa would get steamrolled by Georgia but no way would it be that bad. The defense is still really good and I know the offense would wear them down but not to the tune of 58 points.

But I doubt with this offense Iowa will reach the CFP anyway, heck I think there is a good chance they get beat this Friday at Maryland. But with the lofty rankings it's natural to talk about it. My fingers are crossed that the coaches will keep improving this team like they do every other year. I think Iowa has a good shot at winning the West and it could all come down to that Wisconsin game.

 

[Luftgekuehlt67]

Every year is different, but 2015 will stick in my mind for a long time.

Ran the table.

Hung with MSU till the final moments of the B10 title game.

MSU gets blanked 38-0 by Abalama in the CFP.

We go on to get humbled in the Rose Bowl 45-16 (and the game was nowhere near that close) by Stanfrod.

The Big Ten West is the weaker division of a conference that has not been nationally relevant for the better part of 2 decades now. It's "OSU and Friends". A similar situation in hoops is Gonzaga out in the WCC.

It's OSU and 13 hopeful spoilers. It could vary from year to year, but this is the trend.

Bielema may shake things up, but right now the Big Ten West is 3 feel good, try-hard overachievers (Wisconson, Iowa, and Northwestren) plus 4 programs that can't stop slamming their dicks in the car door (Perdue, Illinios, Minnestoa, and Nebarska).

It is what it is. If you are an Iowa fan with CFP expectations, you are probably also the sort of person who starts yet another "Petras!!!" thread.

And I would take a CFP berth in a heartbeat, btw. I said "expectations".

 

[HuckFinn]

This board is approaching Husker level nonsense. Stop talking about playoffs or even Indy for that matter. This team is still likely going to lose a minimum of 3 games. The ranking is nice for publicity and recruiting but we are not a top 10 caliber team. There are several unranked teams that could beat us. And please, Georgia would beat Iowa by 30. They would beat every team that we have played by 30 and the two cream puffs by 50.

Well. That is an entertaining post.

 

[HuckFinn]

Well we stayed #5 and Penn St jumps us to #4.

Obviously that cannot be true.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

Obviously that cannot be true.

Huh?

 

[HuckFinn]

Huh?

Sarcasm, man

 

[vork22]

While I agree with you about not being a playoff team. All you can do is play the games on yours schedule which we've done and won all 4 of those games. Are Indiana and ISU as good as they were projected to be? No, but to play the hypothetical "there are several unranked teams that could beat us" card is a stretch, nor can it be proven.

Unless I missed something earlier, is there a reason you chose Georgia as the team your using to make such a comparison? They're currently ranked number #2 and look like a playoff team, but there schedule so far leaves a lot to be determined with regards to how good they really are as well. Why not just use Bama as a team to measure Iowa with and then said based on how good Bama looks that Iowa isn't a top 10 team?

Not trying to call you out, but we still have to lose games and are as deserving of the ranking at this point as much as anyone. If were still ranked this high in 3 weeks then we deserve to be, but I simply don't see how they can totally be discredited at this point in the season. That said I agree that rarely do you see a team as inept offensively as we are ranked this highly.

Sorry, I was triggered by another post claiming that we matched up well with Georgia. I’m also not saying that we haven’t taken care of business, I just can’t fathom how people on this site could watch this offense against the last two teams and talk about playoffs or winning the B1G.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

I’ll agree 4 is too high and perhaps 5 is too but find me 13 teams that have better resumes after 4 weeks than Iowa.

I see what you're saying, and this early it's impossible to tell.

That said, Iowa does not have a win vs. A team with a winning record.

And I Think the defense is really good, but again, not sure we've played a strong offense.

We need to find a power run game and the Oline to quickly gel...and of course Petras to continue to improve.... and some kind of consistency in pkaycalling... and.... shit, I don't know...

Go Hawks...find a way. At this point I don't care about style points...grind out wins and stress my blood pressure...

 

[ssckelley]

That said, Iowa does not have a win vs. A team with a winning record.

How big of a deal is this only being 4 games into the season? Iowa has contributed to those 4 teams not having a winning record. Georgia only win over a team with a winning record is UAB, Oklahoma is ranked 6th and they don't own a win over a team with a winning record either, neither does Cincinnati (ranked 7th), or Florida (ranked 10th). A win this Friday changes that and we will still question how good this Iowa team really is.

Interesting tid bit, the next 3 games Iowa will play against teams with a winning record (Maryland, PSU, and Purdue), after that there is a chance none of the remaining games will be against teams with a winning record (Wisc, NW, Minn, Ill, and Nebby). But I still think Iowa State and Indiana will rebound and have decent seasons.

 

[kicker22]

Sorry, I was triggered by another post claiming that we matched up well with Georgia. I’m also not saying that we haven’t taken care of business, I just can’t fathom how people on this site could watch this offense against the last two teams and talk about playoffs or winning the B1G.

All good. I missed the Georgia connection in the previous post you cited and couldn't for the life of me figure out why you'd bring in arguably one of the top 2 teams in the country as a referrence lol.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

The whole idea of what we are ranked and deserve to be is interesting. I mean resume wise are we deserving? Well I would have said yes if Indiana and ISU were any good. Just because they were last yr doesn't mean they are now and neither of them have a win worth bragging about yet and both are out of the rankings. So they were rated too high to begin with come to find out right? Long way to go yet but all we can do is talk about at this point right now with any certainty.

Can Iowa play with the GAs and Bamas? I think defensively we can frustrate them and keep them under 30 pts. How much under that is the question and could our O approach it? Seems tough to think we could if I'm being honest. I could see us losing like 28 to 17 or something like that to em both. We'd struggle to score on them if we don't win the field position and turnover battles.

We can lose to about anyone if we don't keep doing exactly what we have been. But on our best day we can beat about anyone....

 

[kicker22]

How big of a deal is this only being 4 games into the season? Iowa has contributed to those 4 teams not having a winning record. Georgia only win over a team with a winning record is UAB, Oklahoma is ranked 6th and they don't own a win over a team with a winning record either, neither does Cincinnati (ranked 7th), or Florida (ranked 10th). A win this Friday changes that and we will still question how good this Iowa team really is.

Interesting tid bit, the next 3 games Iowa will play against teams with a winning record (Maryland, PSU, and Purdue), after that there is a chance none of the remaining games will be against teams with a winning record (Wisc, NW, Minn, Ill, and Nebby). But I still think Iowa State and Indiana will rebound and have decent seasons.

I definitely agree with you. IMO you could even make an argument that through 4 games, those teams that don't have winning records may have played better competition then some with winning records or even some undefeated. I'm not saying they're top 25 worthy, but look at who our opponents have played through 4 games.

Indiana- 2-2 with losses to Cincy and Iowa
ISU-2-2 with losses to Iowa and Baylor
Kent State- 1-3 Texas A&M, Iowa, and Maryland
Colorado St. 1-3 (won't bother with opponents)

Respectable schedules to most despite no teams being above .500 after 4 games. I'm more comfortable with where we are with our current schedule then I would be with #16 Coastal Carolina (4-0 with wins against Citadel, Kansas, Buffalo, and UMASS). I think the bottom line is that by focusing on opponent winning percentages it takes away from the fact that for the most part were scheduling teams that are actually putting together tough/decent nonconference schedules and I think that easily gets overlooked and held against us.

 

[kicker22]

Every year is different, but 2015 will stick in my mind for a long time.

Ran the table.

Hung with MSU till the final moments of the B10 title game.

MSU gets blanked 38-0 by Abalama in the CFP.

We go on to get humbled in the Rose Bowl 45-16 (and the game was nowhere near that close) by Stanfrod.

The Big Ten West is the weaker division of a conference that has not been nationally relevant for the better part of 2 decades now. It's "OSU and Friends". A similar situation in hoops is Gonzaga out in the WCC.

It's OSU and 13 hopeful spoilers. It could vary from year to year, but this is the trend.

Bielema may shake things up, but right now the Big Ten West is 3 feel good, try-hard overachievers (Wisconson, Iowa, and Northwestren) plus 4 programs that can't stop slamming their dicks in the car door (Perdue, Illinios, Minnestoa, and Nebarska).

It is what it is. If you are an Iowa fan with CFP expectations, you are probably also the sort of person who starts yet another "Petras!!!" thread.

And I would take a CFP berth in a heartbeat, btw. I said "expectations".

My only issue with this is the fact that I don't think the BIG has been irrelevant nationally for the last two decades and two I definitely don't see any comparison with Gonzaga. Even with our lack of success in the playoffs the BIG has been one of the top 3 (arguably top 2) conferences in the country for the last decade. Sure they've come up short, but when I think nationally irrelevant the past two decades I think ISU and Nebraska (regardless of conference affiliation) not the Big Ten Conference as a whole.

 

[Will C]

If the O line can develop we could have a great season. They are young. One season of growth may not be enough.

 

[IowaPhan]

There’s a reason why Maryland and their puppy West Virginia aren’t ranked, they have flash in some positions, but lack efficiencies in too many areas within all game phases. So, Maryland hasn’t really played anyone. They can beat Howard by 60, but KF would never run up a score to be popular – he has too much development to attend to. While play calling by Iowa’s offense often seems self-destructive, the entire program effort is more disciplined than Maryland’s. If we don’t win “straight at ‘em,” we’ll win from around the edges of the game, as we will Friday night.