Obligatory "Is Iowa a Rival" Thread
- Thread starter Mavric
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FrankWheeler
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runningblind
All-American
So it IS possible for Drew Stevens to miss late 4th quarter field goals...
I'm sure he will have those yips sorted out by Thanksgiving though.
I'm sure he will have those yips sorted out by Thanksgiving though.
This thread is hilarious. People ridiculing the Iowa program because of lack of offense, calling us a "poverty" program yet Nebraska is 1-9 vs that program in the last 10 meetings. Is it an "ugly" style of football? Maybe. But we'll take wins over stats and style points any day. Ferentz>Campbell btw (6-2 vs Campbell). I'm not sure if Bielema will leave Illinois when Ferentz retires but it's way more of a possibility than many here probably think. And yes, the money is there.
Wistrom Disciple
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Iowa is a lot like Minnesota. Sturdy, consistent, and they find ugly ways to win. No shame in that and most Nebraska fans would take that at this stage of the program. It isn't a coincidence that Iowa's best era ever (the past 10-15 years) comes as Nebraska has experienced the lowest era in decades. We had some administrators who thought 9 win seasons weren't enough and failed to have foresight which resulted in where we are now. Iowa was wise to stick with Ferentz as his consistency in being above average was enough to keep the admin, fans, and boosters happy enough.
However, the ceiling at Iowa and Minnesota has been and will likely remain 7-9 wins per year with an Outback Bowl appearance. Neither will be considered a "power" in the sport and most outside their states will consider their programs as an afterthought. There is a reason that Nebraska is a lightning rod for national media in the sport. There is nothing wrong with Iowa being content with their program. That said, most Nebraska fans have higher long-term aspirations.
I would say the last 23 years (the entire Ferentz era outside the first 2 seasons of rebuild) have been the strongest stretch overall with other moments of greatness like the mid 80's and 60's. The fanbase isn't "content" with 8 or 9 wins, of course we want to win B1G titles (Ferentz has done that) and compete for national titles, and we have narrowly missed the college football playoff on a few occasions. But we have realistic expectations. The only programs that legitimately contend year after year in today's landscape of limited walk-ons and scholarships are a tiny handful, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio St, etc. And almost all of them are located in recruiting hotbeds. Obviously Iowa and Nebraska do not have that advantage. Iowa plays to it's strengths. The midwest is a great place for home grown linemen and TE's. Ferentz routinely turns 3 star linemen and TE's into NFL players. That's what it takes to win in the B1G unless you're Ohio St and have all 5 star players at every position. Firing coaches for winning "only" 8 or 9 games is how you become what Nebraska has turned into and Wisconsin is quickly on their way. Stability is vastly underrated.
No offense man but this take bolded at the end is exactly what’s wrong with the mindset of our fan base. Iowa has won 10 games 4 times in the past decade and might make it a 5th time this year. Us? We’ve done it ZERO times with our highest being 9 wins in year 2 Mike Riley.
As a husker fan it pains me to say this but a large percentage of our fans need to wake up and realize that until things change on the field, we are also an afterthought outside of the state of Nebraska. I’m not sure what lightning rod you’re referring to, out on the west coast Nebraska is never mentioned except for when we fall flat on our face. 2 weeks ago should’ve been enough proof the national media doesn’t care about Nebraska when they ranked Cincinnati ahead of us despite having a same record and us having the head to head advantage.
This elitist take on Nebraska football relative to other conference peers that is not grounded in reality is a horrendous look when we continue to go out and play games like we did this last Friday on national TV.
Wistrom Disciple
Starter
No offense taken. I don't view aspiring to be in the national conversation as a negative. Call it elitist if you'd like, but the ceiling for Nebraska has been and should always be a national title. That doesn't mean coming up short is a failure, but aspiring to be the best is not an irrational goal. For other programs, namely Iowa & Minnesota, their ceiling is not a national title and if their fans are happy with that, more power to them.
I think most fans would be pleased to get back to the Pelini era 9-win seasons with regularity. In the current era, that will put Nebraska at the cusp of the playoffs in most years. My hope this year was to reach that level and keep the momentum towards becoming a mainstay in the playoff conversation.
Regarding the lightning rod comment, outside of Ferentz firing his son and their racism issues within their program, when is the last time Iowa has been extensively discussed in the national media? Furthermore, outside of Fleck's hiring, can you tell me the last time Minnesota football was discussed extensively on a national media outlet? For Nebraska, we were heavily chastised for wanting to play football during the Covid season, Rhule is on ESPN/Pat McAfee regularly, the Mahomes/Raiola chatter is abundant, etc. Nebraska is far more relevant with the media nationally, though admittedly I do wish it was more because of our on the field performances.
Wistrom Disciple
Starter
I fully agree that stability is vastly underrated. It is admirable that Iowa has stuck by Ferentz. I wish we would have done so with Pelini as that conference transition was extremely underestimated. There is nothing wrong with being content and we should have had the foresight to keep stability as we integrated into the Big Ten.
That said, I think you may have been a little off to say that Iowa isn't content with the 7-9 wins and Outback Bowl (or equivalent) appearance every year. The last Big Ten title was a split in 2004 and there is no indication that Iowa will be a true challenger to change that anytime soon. If Iowa's admins/boosters have higher aspirations, they would have looked for a replacement long ago. That racism scandal was the perfect opportunity to replace Ferentz, but the admins punted (pun intended) on the opportunity.
Again, I think Iowa did right by themselves in keeping Ferentz in place. He has maintained a solid record and greatly benefitted from a generous Big Ten scheduling apparatus. I do not think it is a coincidence that Iowa's best 10-15 year stretch has been aided by only facing Ohio State five times since 2011. In that same period, Nebraska has faced Ohio State nine times. FWIW, Iowa is set to face the Buckeyes next year and Nebraska is set to face them the next two years.
I’ll never know the answer to this statement but how much is Nebraska national media spotlight natural and how much of is forced, borderline cheesy on our part?
I like Matt Rhule but clearly the guy loves to hear himself talk. His scripted halftime speeches that are mysteriously filmed and then posted shortly thereafter just doesn’t seem natural to me when I see the product on the field. How much of the mcafee show was espn reaching out to us vs the Rhule machine simply trying to get exposure? The mahomes/raiola thing honestly does more harm than good in my opinion. I’d argue most non Nebraska fans find the mahomes thing comical and borderline weird, particularly when the mannerisms on the field are identical except for the part that matters- consistent play and winning.
The national media coverage and exposure is oddly very similar to what this program has been for a decade now which is the cover of the book being dramatically different from a story that lacks actual substance
I hate to break it to you, but Nebraska's ceiling is the same as Iowa's. Compete for a berth in the B1G title game every few years and a berth in the CFP every few years. And oh btw one of the few times we played Ohio St in 2017 we pummeled Urban Meyer 55-24. We've also been to 2 Orange Bowls and 1 Rose bowl since 2002, and were undefeated going into the B1G title game against Michigan St in 2014/15. We were a goal line stand away from being in the playoff. So yes we have been in the national conversation. How many times has Nebraska been in the discussion in those 23 years? College kids today weren't even born during the heyday of the 90's for Nebraska and it doesn't matter to them anymore than it does to Minnesota recruits about their dominance back in the day. Winning in the B1G requires dominating the line of scrimmage, the sooner Nebraska figures that out the better off they will be.I fully agree that stability is vastly underrated. It is admirable that Iowa has stuck by Ferentz. I wish we would have done so with Pelini as that conference transition was extremely underestimated. There is nothing wrong with being content and we should have had the foresight to keep stability as we integrated into the Big Ten.
That said, I think you may have been a little off to say that Iowa isn't content with the 7-9 wins and Outback Bowl (or equivalent) appearance every year. The last Big Ten title was a split in 2004 and there is no indication that Iowa will be a true challenger to change that anytime soon. If Iowa's admins/boosters have higher aspirations, they would have looked for a replacement long ago. That racism scandal was the perfect opportunity to replace Ferentz, but the admins punted (pun intended) on the opportunity.
Again, I think Iowa did right by themselves in keeping Ferentz in place. He has maintained a solid record and greatly benefitted from a generous Big Ten scheduling apparatus. I do not think it is a coincidence that Iowa's best 10-15 year stretch has been aided by only facing Ohio State five times since 2011. In that same period, Nebraska has faced Ohio State nine times. FWIW, Iowa is set to face the Buckeyes next year and Nebraska is set to face them the next two years.
Hard to be rivals at 1-9…. Iowa owns us. Rivals split the W-L record. For all the trash we talk about them, they find a way to beat us. The same way we beat teams for years. Physicality, disciplined, relentless….
Eh ... not really. People get caught up in the record. Most of those games have been hard-fought, down-to-the-wire games.
Oklahoma has beaten Oklahoma State over 80% of the time in their history. Is that not a rivalry?
Washington beats Washington State two-thirds of the time. Is that disqualifying?
Similar percentage for Michigan over Michigan State. And North Carolina/North Carolina State. And Purdue/Indiana. And Utah/BYU. And on and on...
Good points. I’m just not used to us being at such a recent disadvantage in the W-L column.