Familiar Territory
by Hayden Fry's Moustache Ride on Nov 14, 2009 12:00 AM CST
in Iowa Hawkeyes Game Threads
32 comments
Last year Iowa was 5-4 and up against an undefeated Penn State squad looking for a shot at a national championship. The Hawkeyes had just come off an embarassing loss to a less talented team and were decided underdogs. No one gave Iowa much of a chance.
Anyone remember how that game turned out? Anyone? Anyone?
(It was good)
Admittedly, the stakes are a bit higher this year, but the similarities are definitely there. Embarassing loss to a less talented team? Check. Big underdogs? Check. Sumo-themed Photoshop describing what we're up against?
Check.
And yet....
I have a weird feeling about this game. The same type of feeling I had before Penn State last year. There isn't any evidence that we should win. We shouldn't. But there's this.......feeling.......in the far reaches of my soul. It could be a deep hatred for Ohio State that is clouding my thought process, or possibly just gas. But I feel like the Hawks have a legitimate chance.
Allow yourself to fantasize for a moment:
What if our defense plays out of their minds and they make Pryor look like a compilation of Arnaud, Scott, Clark, Forcier and Tolzien? What if they force turnovers and consistently give our offense a short enough field where they can score points? What if Vandenberg plays mistake-free football?
Alright, hands out of your pants.
Like I said before, there isn't much real-world evidence to support that any of this will happen.
But.......it just might.
Or, fuck, maybe it won't.
Keep the whiskey at arm's length either way.
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Go Hawks
Every week I pick Big 10 games for my gambling friend, I usually never bet on Iowa because I think with my heart, not with my head. The 17 point dog is just irresistable at this point, I really think that our D steps up and delivers the kind of performance legends are made of. I don’t just like Iowa to cover the 17, I like them to win. A full week of practice for Mandenberg, a perfect gameplan by the best college coach in the country, a full helping of Terrelle Pryor for a D line looking to feast on the turncoat. I just have this feeling something special is going to happen.
For Mandenberg to win 1 of the last 2 would be HUGE, to win in the Shoe, would be Epic.
No matter, its not the end of the world if we lose, we just keep on, go Vandenberg, I hope every Bass pro shop knows you on a first name basis after this week. Stay level headed, keep your composure, follow the gameplan and you will succeed. God blessed your right arm with a cannon, use it wisely.
GO HAWKS…..do I smell something??? :)
Fightin' Hawkeyes!!! KAKAAAAWWW!!!
Couldn’t agree with you more, man! There’s a fighting chance, and thats all we need. I got a real good feeling about this game….No pressure at all anymore. Nobody expects us to take this one, and the way this season has gone, NOTHING will surprise me, no matter how bad the odds are against us. Here’s to one of the biggest games in Iowa Football history……In Kirk we trust. Fight on, Fightin’ Hawks!!!
by InHeavenThereIsNoBeer on Nov 14, 2009 12:15 AM CST reply actions
I have a lot of love for this comment. Basically summed up all of my feelings about tomorrow. +1,000,000
by rinseandrepeat on Nov 14, 2009 2:42 AM CST up reply actions
"Alright, hands out of your pants."
Last time I checked, I was in America, I’m in the privacy of my own home, and I CAN DO WHAT I DAMN WELL PLEASE.
by With Ferentz Like These... on Nov 14, 2009 2:32 AM CST reply actions
I too have a positive feeling about this game.
I think with Stanzi out, the Buckeyes immediately assumed they would be winning and will be taking us more lightly than they should.
Buckeye Fans
maybe. But they take everyone lightly. Even when they get their ass kicked they won’t concede that the other team was better.
Sweatervest won’t. The players most likely won’t. If the Hawks are gonna win, they’re going to have do this themselves.
I’ve had a good feeling most of the week though.
Anybody know if Tim Dwight has some eligibility left?
In 100 years, we'll all be dead.
i think we're going to beat these fuckers,
KF’s time is now, he exercised his demons @ Spartan Stadium.
I think the D comes up big & frustrates Pryor enough for a game killing pick 6, epic Farve style.
this place smells like feet. i’ll bring a can of lysol next week.
by pfac51 on Nov 14, 2009 7:47 AM CST via mobile reply actions
This game is all about the little things
because in a big game, little things make a bigger difference.
We also need our punter back.
We need our FG kicker to go on a run.
We need our defense to force a couple of turnovers.
We need our offensive line back.
We need our luck back.
And then…I could see us winning.
The game that I am hoping to see is a cross between Ohio State vs. USC and Ohio State vs. Wisconsin. We need to play the defense that USC played against them. We need our first time starting QB to play about as well as USC’s did. We need our lines to play like Wisconsin did.
I think it is all possible. My greatest concern is a few unlucky bounces early (think Penn State’s first play X2) and then we could be in real trouble. I just know Ferentz game planned for this to be within a touchdown or less the whole way.
Also, in my dream scenario we are down 3 points at half and score early in the third. I am quite convinced that would really start to freak out the Ohio State fans and Pryor would feed of that. So, that is the scenario I am hoping for.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
Thanks to a friend, I subjected myself to the pain of watching last weeks Nebraska-Oklahoma game
I can’t help but think today’s game will go much like that. For those who were spared from watching, NU couldn’t move the ball. OU could, but kept turning it over or getting stopped short of the end zone. The only TD scored was set up by an INT returned to the 1 yard line. If Mandenberg can limit his miscues and the Hawks can exploit Pryor just a couple times, that may be enough to steal a win.
We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.
Ronald Reagan
Excellent model
I see Pryor being “fire and ice” in the game. He will make some amazing play or two that helps them to an improbable score but he will also do something incredibly boneheaded. Patience will be huge in this game for the Hawks. And that is their strength. I don’t see Pryor doing what jNU did to us…pass after pass for 3-5 yards in hopes that one breaks. I don’t see them rushing the ball for 175 yards either. There is a skewed understanding among the Ohio State coaching staff and players that their offense is a BIG PLAY offense while they are really just a middling offensive team. But their identity is BIG. I see an Arizona type game in the sense that OSU will have a long run/pass that will skew the stats but a lot fo in effective runs/pass too.
The plays to look out for from OSU are the bubble screens and quick throws to Posey, almost like a lateral. And…and…I am almost 100% sure they are going to run some trickery. I think Tressel knows this can be a tough game and early on I could see him doing a few reverses or something tricky.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
When there is nothing else, there is hope.
Today, hope beats Buckeyes.
any chance of A-Rob &
Sandeman / Greenwood playing today?
this place smells like feet. i’ll bring a can of lysol next week.
by pfac51 on Nov 14, 2009 8:51 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
One thing to chew on...
If Iowa wins this game…let’s play this out. They are a 16 point underdog. They have the worst record you could have in The Shoe. The are banged up. They are coming off a bad game and Ohio State is coming off a great game. Iowa’s most important player in years, is hurt and not playing.
If Iowa wins this game they go to the Rose Bowl. They become 10-1. They drop back into the Top 10 of the BCS.
This would be perhaps one of the three or four greatest victories in Iowa history, if they pulled it off. And if ANY team is going to pull it off….
it’s this one.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
GameDay just pontificated about Iowa...wow
I am dumbstruck by how little chance they all give Iowa. They also suggested that Ohio State is a much better version of jNU’s offensive scheme. What? Finally, they give Mandenberg NO CHANCE to do anything against this awesome OSU defense. “Ohio State’s defense may outscore Iowa’s offense” said Herbstreit.
This is why it is so hard to crack the national consciousness. Once these bozos are done constructing college football reality every Saturday morning, your left with a 9-1 team as the Sisters of the Poor. They even suggested that Iowa’s defense cannot handle this game. Sheesh.
It seems like yesterday they were pronouncing Ohio State dead and buried and vaunting Penn State. So what the fuck do they know is a given. But, this is why no one gives Iowa any chance.
Time to fuck up the apple cart.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
yet they claim
TCU is for real cause they “went on the road and beat Virginia and Clemson and have a nice in conference win against Air Force”. I want to fight Herbstreit.
"I'm not doing any good back here."
by Hawkaloogie on Nov 14, 2009 11:06 AM CST up reply actions
Desmond Howard thinks Iowa will lose by 21+. I concede that as a possibility. The shoe is a fucking house of horrors for Iowa. However, this is not the kind of quarterback that has given Iowa the most trouble this year. If, by some miracle, Iowa can get a lead or keep it close, Pryor is a fucking dope and he might decide he needs to win this game himself. That’s when Tyler motherfucking Sash and the secondary will spy him, turn Clayborn into a blocker, and blow Pryor the fuck up. Maybe Iowa is due for a 4-5 turnover game on the positive side. tOSU guys will call this deluded, but I think (hope) their players are looking at the line and see this game as a walkover. Sweatervest comments have been vanilla, but he sound like he doesn’t believe Iowa has a chance either. Herbstreit tried to find a sliver of a reason this will be a game, Howard is a Michigan homer and thinks there are only 2 teams in the big televen worth a shit. On the other hand, IU 10 PSU 0 at the end of the first quarter. Maybe IU isn’t so shitty after all.
We have no real reason to care about polls any more anyway
Let ’em say whatever they want.
by Brock Sampson on Nov 14, 2009 11:31 AM CST up reply actions
It is interesting how
in college football polls are only useful for three things:
1) to determine who will play for the National Champioonship
2) to determine if Notre Dame will play in a BCS bowl
3) to help networks hype up a game during the season and at Bowl Time.
They do not:
1) strictly determine who plays in a bowl game or which game they will play
2) determine seeding of ANYTHING
3) determine who is a conference champion or will not play in a certain bowl.
I was reading that in 1991 Iowa played in the Holiday Bowl after they were 10-1 and ranked 7th in the nation. In that bowl game they played BYU who had a record of 7 and something and was unranked. Because Michigan went undefeated they played in the Rose Bowl. Michigan was Iowa’s only loss. So who slipped into a major bowl game ahead of Iowa?
Notre Dame. Who was ranked #18.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
by StoopsMyAss on Nov 14, 2009 11:49 AM CST up reply actions
Bowl selection isn't that simple
It’s all about the contracts, who can pick who and when they can pick them.
To say Notre Dame got a better bowl than Iowa that year, fine. But what were the Big 10 affiliations in 91? What were ND’s contracts like? Also, in 91, Notre Dame was 10 &3 and only a few years removed from a National Championship, drawing big crowds and ratings.
Nobody would have guessed that 18 years later they would only have won 4 bowls, one of them quite minor and never really been close to another NC, which wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
In 100 years, we'll all be dead.
Thursday night, Mark May
picked Iowa in an upset. Lots of people don’t like this guy, but I’ve always been impressed with his emphasis on D and blocking and tackling. He is the only talking head this season I’ve never seen go against Iowa. Maybe he has, but certainly not as often as the rest of the ESPN/MSM bozos.
I agree with you Stoops, if any Iowa team can do it, its this one. Sixty minutes of football. Six seconds at a time.
Mark May's been more correct this year
Kinda disturbing.
Sam Lickliter. Never forgive. Never forget. Beat IU.
by ReadingRambler on Nov 14, 2009 10:38 AM CST up reply actions
May’s biggest problem is his PSU hate and Pitt love. Otherwise I think he tries to at least appear objective.
All that shit is scripted
the WWL is not a sports journalism enterprise. They “produce” college football, the story. They are perpetually trying to “create” a narrative that reads like a novel. They manufacture storylines, not report stories.
Mark May plays the role of “contrarian” and “Notre Dame hater.” His justification is defense and line play because he was a big ugly when he played.
Lou Holtz plays the role of “ND lover” and “conventional wisdom man” while Reece Davis plays “SEC is god” man.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
by StoopsMyAss on Nov 14, 2009 11:53 AM CST up reply actions
They *used* to be a sports journalism enterprise...
But that has definitely changed. I can’t really put my finger on it as to when they morphed into more of a sports infotainment network (maybe around the time Disney bought ABC? Or maybe around the time FOX News really started to take off?), but they’re definitely not the same entity they were 10+ years ago. In college (late 90s), I fucking LOVED ESPN, and SportsCenter especially. The writing was outstanding, the anchors were witty and fun to listen to, there was excellent commentary beyond just “Outside the Lines”… hell, even fucking Berman was still fairly enjoyable. And they weren’t quite so far up the ass of Team X just yet. Sure, the coverage of the Yankees or Bulls or Tiger or whoever was probably a skosh favorable, but nothing like the OMG I LOVE YOUR COCK, SEC/USC/FLORIDA/DUKE/YANKEES, ET AL!!! crap they churn out today.
by Bucketochicken on Nov 14, 2009 12:04 PM CST up reply actions
Grr.
8==D ~[HFMR]
Twitter: @scrappled
"When it’s third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time" - Max McGee
by Run Up The Score on Nov 14, 2009 10:32 AM CST reply actions
Would be nice IF THEY WOULD DO IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE FOR A CHANGE.
Sam Lickliter. Never forgive. Never forget. Beat IU.
by ReadingRambler on Nov 14, 2009 10:38 AM CST up reply actions
Agreed
I would gladly take our recent record versus Penn State and apply it to OSU.
Or JNW for that matter….
No self-respecting man from Iowa goes anywhere without beer
by Hayden Fry's Moustache Ride on Nov 14, 2009 11:10 AM CST up reply actions
Sometimes the best games ...
Are those in which one team has everything to lose and the other has nothing to lose. We have nothing to lose.
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Nov 14, 2009 12:06 PM CST reply actions
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