Intro to the Hawkeyes

[Lord McBuckethead]

No offense, but we heard this same stuff from the Kansas State fans. There is just a difference in the conference you play in versus ours. You may be average to good in your conference, but in ours you would be 12th or 13th depending on if you could beat Arkansas.

[Jack Lambert]

I'm not dismissing Iowa I know you have a tough program. I picture this year's Iowa kinda like LSU but with a worse offense and a much slower defense but every bit as tough. That's reflected in your scores this year where you hung tough with teams like Wisconsin and Northwestern but came up short. That's kinda how I picture this bowl game going. Iowa hanging tough and giving us a great game but in the end it's MSU 31 and Iowa 13.

Everyone thought Michigan was going to kill USCe last Outback bowl. Speed kills.

[Jack Lambert]

Our CBs are actually pretty athletic. This isn't 2002. They're young, deep, tall and can tackle. As for the RBs, they're all sophomores and our QB is a pro-style 6-5 240# type, so yea, he's not a huge threat to take off and run but I think WR is the only position we've had issues at.

Our guys sacked Tua four times. I don't think your O-line is as good as Bama's and Tua is not a Pro-style QB.

[Apoplectic]

Thought I'd drop by here as well as the Six Pack Speak forum and share some wisdom on this year's edition of Hawkeye football.

It's been an up and down year, typical for Iowa with games that shoulda/coulda been won and most within one possession. When Iowa is playing well, they're damn near unbeatable, but when they don't (which it's quite a challenge for college players to execute an NFL system), things can get hairy.

Usually, when the Hawks are out-athleted in a game (which they will be against MSU), they rely on clean play, capitalizing on opponent mistakes, hidden yards and field position to keep things close. If the opponent plays clean for the most part, we probably don't have much of a chance because we just don't have a bunch of guys on offense able to make game-changing, explosive plays.

What you will get is a team that plays with 100% effort until the end, very few penalties, good balance on offense, a good offensive and defensive line and hard hits if we can get a good angle on the ball carriers.

Our offense has been sporadic. We really need to pass to set up the run as we haven't been able to just line up and maul many defenses with the exception of Nebraska. We have three RBs who are all decent, but not spectacular. We have a QB who has been as inconsistent as any QB can be. At times dropping dimes and at others just dropping the ball. TEs are the best in the nation, but one has left for the NFL. The better of the two will be playing in the bowl game. Can explain more about that if anyone is interested. WRs are okay. Will give more detail on individual players in a later post. Obviously, your salty defense will be a big test for our middling offense.

Defense has been quite solid. DL is the strength and goes 8 deep with the best of the bunch a backup (true story). The LBs were all new and probably the weak point due to lack of footspeed/agility. Safeties are solid with one being B10 DB of the year. The corners have been inconsistent as well. Geared to not give up the big play, typically play a softer zone coverage and make teams earn their way down the field. If you guys can move our DL, we're sunk. They've been better vs the pass than the run this year, so it will be interesting to see how well the LBs can step up to stuff your very good run game. I haven't watched a bunch of your games, but will over the next couple weeks and have a better idea of how we matchup for further thoughts on a prediction.

Look forward to some good give and take with you guys and would be happy to try to answer any questions y'all might have.

i wish the game was at ur place - i?ve added ur stadium to my sports bucket list to see the wave

[dawgday166]

Our guys sacked Tua four times. I don't think your O-line is as good as Bama's and Tua is not a Pro-style QB.

I'm betting their Oline might be as good as Bama's. Bama's Oline sucks.

[louisvilledawg]

I honestly think our game could go either way. Two good offensive teams and we have struggled against good defenses on offense.

Our QB has a lot of physical talent but he reads defenses SLOOOOOWWWWWLLLLYYY. He's the best rushing QB in SEC history though per the stats.

Our RB's are both really good. Hill is explosive but a liability in pass protection and Aeris is a very good SEC back who isn't as explosive but is more consistent.

WR's are inconsistent at catching the ball but improved throughout the year. Our TE is a good player.

The o-line is big and our center is probably the top center prospect in the NFL draft and Daryl Williams our LG is a NFL guy next year. Our OT's are young and have struggled against elite pass rushers but are both good players who are still developing.

Our d-line is sick. We have two potential first round picks at DE and DT and then we start two seniors who are very good and will probably be drafted next year as well. Our second team defensive line is pretty solid as well and has a lot of experience.

We're pretty solid at LB. Willie Gay is starting to come into his own and Errol Thompson is a very good MLB who makes plays and is a very good leader.

We have two corners who are probably going to play in the NFL. They're both long and physical. Our third CB- Smitherman is a good player as well.

Both of our safeties are seniors. Abrams is probably a first round pick and is an absolute badass. The other safety McLaurin is a very smart player who will play on Sunday's as well.

Our kicker is solid. Punter has been inconsistent but better lately. Return game is acceptable.

We have no one on our team named Abrams

[Jack Lambert]

I'm betting their Oline might be as good as Bama's. Bama's Oline sucks.

Put Bama's o line in the big 10 and see how much they improve. Every week in the SEC play they face 300 pound D lineman who run 4.7 to 5.0 forties. Does their O line even have a 3 star?

[dawgday166]

Put Bama's o line in the big 10 and see how much they improve. Every week in the SEC play they face 300 pound D lineman who run 4.7 to 5.0 forties. Does their O line even have a 3 star?

I'm pretty sure that historically, Iowa puts Olinemen into NFL on a pretty frequent basis. Not sure what they have this year tho. Bama may have 1 or at most 2 NFL Olineman on their starting Oline.

[Jack Lambert]

I'm pretty sure that historically, Iowa puts Olinemen into NFL on a pretty frequent basis. Not sure what they have this year tho. Bama may have 1 or at most 2 NFL Olineman on their starting Oline.

So has every p 5 school. Bama has a good o line and Iowa does not face the same quality of d line Bama faces every SEC Saturday. If Bama line isn't any good then no line in the SEC isn't any good.

[sleepy dawg]

This won't be a blowout like many MSU fans are thinking. Iowa is very good and so are we. Like MSU, they are underrated and better than their record indicates. We are very fortunate they'll be without their star TE. We don't need two bad ass TE's flying down the field every play creating mismatches.

Our results this year have been very much dependent on the quality of defense we're facing. We've dominated teams who don't have a good defense and we've lost and struggled to all those that do. Iowa has a good defense. In my opinion, the Outback bowl features the 2 best 8-4 teams in the country and I really wish we were playing a 9-3 or 10-2 team so we could get more credit because the uninformed fan won't realize just how good these 2 teams really are. Vegas has us as the number 8 team right now and Iowa as the number 16 team with only about 2.2 points separating us on a neutral field (with their best offensive player). There's a reason the line opened up so low. They have Iowa as a better team than A&M, UCF, Florida, and Auburn. The line is only bigger now b/c of betting, but Vegas expects this to be a close game and it very likely will be.

[Johnson85]

Yep. I think your defense is probably a bit better than ours, but our balanced offense might be a bit more effective than your run-heavy offense. Haven't watched enough of MSU to know a ton of what to expect yet, just going off of stats and what you guys have said.

Game will probably come down to mistakes/turnovers/special teams.

As far as offense, it wouldn't really matter. I've watched every game and I still don't know what to expect from our offense except that against bad defenses we will look like world beaters, and against really good defenses, we will look like the players didn't get to see the playbook until 15 minutes before kickoff.

[KnightHawk]

This won't be a blowout like many MSU fans are thinking. Iowa is very good and so are we. Like MSU, they are underrated and better than their record indicates. We are very fortunate they'll be without their star TE. We don't need two bad ass TE's flying down the field every play creating mismatches.

Our results this year have been very much dependent on the quality of defense we're facing. We've dominated teams who don't have a good defense and we've lost and struggled to all those that do. Iowa has a good defense. In my opinion, the Outback bowl features the 2 best 8-4 teams in the country and I really wish we were playing a 9-3 or 10-2 team so we could get more credit because the uninformed fan won't realize just how good these 2 teams really are. Vegas has us as the number 8 team right now and Iowa as the number 16 team with only about 2.2 points separating us on a neutral field (with their best offensive player). There's a reason the line opened up so low. They have Iowa as a better team than A&M, UCF, Florida, and Auburn. The line is only bigger now b/c of betting, but Vegas expects this to be a close game and it very likely will be.

Nice, well informed post. Thanks!

What I'm starting to see is that we will need to be running straight at you between the tackles. Perimeter runs aren't going to work due to the speed of your DEs and LBs. Our OL is very good at pass blocking, it will come down to which version of Nate Stanley shows up. He's been well regarded by NFL draft guys, but hasn't been consistent at all.

[Dawgology]

Statistically both of these teams are VERY similar. At no point this season has Iowa been blown out. Their defense has kept them in every game they have played. It appears that their offense focuses on the pass a bit more but neither their passing or running game is anything to write home about....much like MSU.

I think this will be a line of scrimmage game. Whoever wins the battle upfront will win the game. If our Oline can get some push or Fitz can complete some passes we could get rolling on them but this season it appears our offense can't compete against legit defenses so I don't see that happening. Our D will need to get pressure on the QB and cause some turnovers or pick-6's for us to score.

That being said, I predict a MSU win. 7-2

Our D gets a pick 6 and their D gets a safety. HAHAHA

[KnightHawk]

Statistically both of these teams are VERY similar. At no point this season has Iowa been blown out. Their defense has kept them in every game they have played. It appears that their offense focuses on the pass a bit more but neither their passing or running game is anything to write home about....much like MSU.

I think this will be a line of scrimmage game. Whoever wins the battle upfront will win the game. If our Oline can get some push or Fitz can complete some passes we could get rolling on them but this season it appears our offense can't compete against legit defenses so I don't see that happening. Our D will need to get pressure on the QB and cause some turnovers or pick-6's for us to score.

That being said, I predict a MSU win. 7-2

Our D gets a pick 6 and their D gets a safety. HAHAHA

We did beat Penn St. 6-4 several years ago. Set football back about 30 years.

[Dawgology]

We did beat Penn St. 6-4 several years ago. Set football back about 30 years.

Going to have to look up that barnburner on youtube.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

What many of my fellow Hawkeyes have failed to mention is that our team hasn't showed up for a bowl games in many years. No, last year against BC in sub zero temps doesn't count.

[Jack Lambert]

We did beat Penn St. 6-4 several years ago. Set football back about 30 years.

We have that one beat with a 3-2 lose to Auburn.

[PMDawg]

No offense, but we heard this same stuff from the Kansas State fans. There is just a difference in the conference you play in versus ours. You may be average to good in your conference, but in ours you would be 12th or 13th depending on if you could beat Arkansas.

No offense, but this sounds a lot like what our own fans said heading into the Kentucky game.

Iowa is a tough team, and similar to us in a lot of ways. I don't expect a lot of offense either way. It's hard to predict bowl games anyway, because you never know which teams will "care". I think it will be low scoring and close. We have 3 early rounders on defense - will they even chance injury to play? I suspect so, but will they be "all in"?

[Jack Lambert]

What many of my fellow Hawkeyes have failed to mention is that our team hasn't showed up for a bowl games in many years. No, last year against BC in sub zero temps doesn't count.

Every school is subject to that unless the school is a G 5 in a NY6 Bowl. Also some P5 schools who do not go to NY6 bowls a lot will get fired up for them but those who go every year might have a let down.

[Hawkeyegoofball]

I'm pretty sure that historically, Iowa puts Olinemen into NFL on a pretty frequent basis. Not sure what they have this year tho. Bama may have 1 or at most 2 NFL Olineman on their starting Oline.

Off the top of my head, Iowa has at least 8 OL in the NFL on 53 man rosters. Alabama has like 9 or 10 (but, a WHOLE lot more skill players). 6 of the 8 for Iowa in the NFL are starters - including Marshall Yanda for the Ravens, widely considered the best OL in the NFL. There's also Blythe for the Rams, Bulaga for the Packers, Rieff for the Vikings, Schereff for the Redskins, etc.

Interesting tid-bit: One of Alabama's better 2018 OL (4 year starter, but not in the same class as Jonah Williams) is Ross Peirschbacher, who hails from...wait for it...Iowa.

Iowa churns out solid NFL OL. HC Kirf Ferentz was the OL coach @ Iowa back in the 80s as well as OL coach for the Browns (on the same staff as Belechick and Saban) in the 90s before the move to Baltimore imploded the staff.