2015 Opponent Previews: Iowa

[Saunders]

SBNation: Iowa football will be very different than usual in 2015 (just kidding)

2014 was a missed opportunity; coming off of a bounce-back season, the Hawkeyes faced not a single team that ranked better than 24th in F/+, and the only two regular-season opponents that ranked better than 37th came to Iowa City. But they still barely finished above .500, ceding major ground to Minnesota. A top-30 team would have won 11 games or more. Iowa was 63rd, the third-worst showing of the last decade.

Ferentz set a high bar in winning nine or more games five times and registering four top-10 finishes between 2002 and '09. There has been little reason to hope another top-10 surge is possible, but Iowa still averaged 67,512 in home attendance last year. There's little reason for the athletic director to seek change. Yet.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/5/27/8654499/iowa-football-2015-preview-schedule-roster

Scout.com

It’s not just that Iowa has become truly average. It’s that it seems like the program has hit a hard ceiling.

No one wants to see head coach Kirk Ferentz gone. Going into his 17th year at the helm, he fits what Iowa wants in a head coach, he produces winning teams, and it always feels like the team is close to pulling off yet another out-of-the-blue surprise like it did in 2002 and 2009. But 2014 was supposed to be the year, and it didn’t happen.

Last year’s Hawkeyes were loaded with good, sound veterans. The schedule worked out nicely, and, on paper, everything shaped up well for something special. Instead, there was an unforgivable loss to a bad Iowa State team – rivalry, schmivarly – and a tough 38-31 defeat to Maryland, but that was nothing compared to the finishing kick, losing four of the last five games including a kick-in-the-gut overtime loss to Nebraska.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1548850.html

Athlon Sports: Iowa

Kirk Ferentz is entering his 17th season at the helm of the Iowa Hawkeyes football program. He’s seen amazing highs — two Orange Bowls and two Big Ten titles — and plenty of lows. For all of the heat he’s taken, Ferentz has still gotten Iowa to 12 bowls games in his last 14 seasons. That should once again be the target of the ’15 squad. The question is how many more solid but uninspiring seasons will keep Hawkeyes fans happy?

http://athlonsports.com/college-football/top-25/iowa-hawkeyes-2015-preview-and-prediction#sthash.5nYpAAo0.dpuf

Magazine says: 7-5 (4-4) 4th in Big Ten West

Off Tackle Empire: Iowa
If we're to talk about year sixteen of the Kirk Ferentz era it's best to understand the current state of Iowa football. It's been five seasons since the Hawkeyes brought home the Orange Bowl trophy. In that span Iowa has gone 34-30 overall. They have a losing record in the Big Ten at 19-21. They've gone 2-3 against Iowa State, 2-3 against Minnesota, 0-3 against Wisconsin and 1-3 in bowl games. Unbelievably, they've gone 2-2 against MAC schools.

http://www.offtackleempire.com/2015/6/15/8779463/b1g-2015-iowa-cocktail-party-preview

More to come...

 

[Hammerhead]

Scout.com

It’s not just that Iowa has become truly average. It’s that it seems like the program has hit a hard ceiling.

No one wants to see head coach Kirk Ferentz gone. Going into his 17th year at the helm, he fits what Iowa wants in a head coach, he produces winning teams, and it always feels like the team is close to pulling off yet another out-of-the-blue surprise like it did in 2002 and 2009. But 2014 was supposed to be the year, and it didn’t happen.

Last year’s Hawkeyes were loaded with good, sound veterans. The schedule worked out nicely, and, on paper, everything shaped up well for something special. Instead, there was an unforgivable loss to a bad Iowa State team – rivalry, schmivarly – and a tough 38-31 defeat to Maryland, but that was nothing compared to the finishing kick, losing four of the last five games including a kick-in-the-gut overtime loss to Nebraska.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1548850.html

I feel like that game was almost as much of a kick in the gut to us as it was to them. At least to me, that game never felt like we truly won it. Hopefully with that game being in Lincoln it'll be a much better outcome for us this year.

 

[Saunders]

Scout.com

It’s not just that Iowa has become truly average. It’s that it seems like the program has hit a hard ceiling.

No one wants to see head coach Kirk Ferentz gone. Going into his 17th year at the helm, he fits what Iowa wants in a head coach, he produces winning teams, and it always feels like the team is close to pulling off yet another out-of-the-blue surprise like it did in 2002 and 2009. But 2014 was supposed to be the year, and it didn’t happen.

Last year’s Hawkeyes were loaded with good, sound veterans. The schedule worked out nicely, and, on paper, everything shaped up well for something special. Instead, there was an unforgivable loss to a bad Iowa State team – rivalry, schmivarly – and a tough 38-31 defeat to Maryland, but that was nothing compared to the finishing kick, losing four of the last five games including a kick-in-the-gut overtime loss to Nebraska.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1548850.html

I feel like that game was almost as much of a kick in the gut to us as it was to them. At least to me, that game never felt like we truly won it. Hopefully with that game being in Lincoln it'll be a much better outcome for us this year.

Yeah, I hope so too considering I'm traveling 1,500 miles to take my son to his first game!

 

[Saunders]

Added Athlon preview.

 

[Saunders]

Added Off Tackle Empire Preview.

 

[papersun87]

Who can ever guess what Iowa's going to do. They usually field a just stingy enough defense that most of their schedule is beatable, but they're never good on offense, and they play up/down to the level of their competition better/worse than just about everyone.

They could lose to FCS runner-up Illinois State in week one and still finish 10-2 or clobber them and finish 6-6.

 

[Flood]

I don't care much for this 'rivalry'. Maybe it will develop over time. But so far, it seems based on geography, that we are neighbors, more than anything. I'd rather end the season against one of the other history-laden blue blood programs in the league like OSU or Michigan. But we're stuck in the West.

Wisconsin would be better, since there are more similarities. They don't have the history either, but at least they have some decent recognition.

This would be like ending the Big 12 seasons with a 'rivalry' against Texas Tech or someone similar. Just not too much to get excited about most of the time.

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

This game has always felt like the CU vs NU "rivalry"

 

[cornographic]

 

[jmfb]

Iowa City is a beautiful place in the fall- along the river with rolling hills and leaves changing

Airliner has good pizza, Amanas have great food. Good 4 hour road trip from Omaha. Well worth the trip

But Iowa fans are unusual

Hatred for NU even back in the 80s and 90s when we really didnt play much- didnt get that at all

Must be a jealousy thing

Not very "football smart" fans

Got really tired about "how bout them hawks" talk- from uninformed fans when I used to spend a lot of time in CR- QC- DM

Did like their homer radio personalities - Jim Zwabel and Ed Podolak though