Why Iowa Should Not be a Rivalry

[Redux]

Lol yes every team including Iowa should be three deep at every position because losing your starters and their backups isnt an excuse.

Amen, you are exactly right! A coach blaming injuries is really pointing the finger back at himself, most of the time.

If only being three deep were a viable option for Big Ten teams. Maybe for.the SEC where talent doesnt mind waiting on bemch for a cjance to shine. Round here talent leaves if it doesnt get its chance to shine. That or it sees the roster as crowded and picks the next school on the list. Regardless of tenure in the Big Ten, Nebraska was absolutely gutted on offense this year. The woes in the passing game I dont excuse, too much talent to not be effective. Ameer still was a beast. But when we lost Spencer Long, that hurt.

 

[clone]

I think we agree alot about the league. The series though I just think would be better suited at the front of the year. It has a feel to it that would be a fun/tough opener for both teams. I just don't know that it has that end of the year Black Friday appeal. The problem for us is that we were used to the round robin of the Big 8 and the final game was ALWAYS the conference title game with OU. We never got that back even with Colorado. We hated the Buffs because there fans were pretty much sh#t to us. If Iowa is to take that role and offer that flavor we currently both lack, we both need to step up in a big way next year and both be competing for the division crown.

yup. the big8 was really the big2. Lots of folks forget that.

 

[Whistlebritches]

I think we agree alot about the league. The series though I just think would be better suited at the front of the year. It has a feel to it that would be a fun/tough opener for both teams. I just don't know that it has that end of the year Black Friday appeal. The problem for us is that we were used to the round robin of the Big 8 and the final game was ALWAYS the conference title game with OU. We never got that back even with Colorado. We hated the Buffs because there fans were pretty much sh#t to us. If Iowa is to take that role and offer that flavor we currently both lack, we both need to step up in a big way next year and both be competing for the division crown.

yup. the big8 was really the big2. Lots of folks forget that.

Except for the last seven years of the Big 8 when Colorado was pretty darn good as well.

 

[Mavric]

I think we agree alot about the league. The series though I just think would be better suited at the front of the year. It has a feel to it that would be a fun/tough opener for both teams. I just don't know that it has that end of the year Black Friday appeal. The problem for us is that we were used to the round robin of the Big 8 and the final game was ALWAYS the conference title game with OU. We never got that back even with Colorado. We hated the Buffs because there fans were pretty much sh#t to us. If Iowa is to take that role and offer that flavor we currently both lack, we both need to step up in a big way next year and both be competing for the division crown.

yup. the big8 was really the big2. Lots of folks forget that.

Except for the last seven years of the Big 8 when Colorado was pretty darn good as well.

True, but Oklahoma wasn't nearly as good during that time. So it was still mostly the Big 2, just the teams changed.

 

[Hawkeye2011]

Exactly my point about the B1G. Most weekends it is a very physical smash mouth football game that some people may very well get hurt. The days of Nebraska breezing through the schedule to be healthy for the conference or national championship are long gone. It is just not that way in the B1G. If Iowa is not already, we will become a rivalry in a few short years. Also get used to 2, 3 or 4 loss seasons. If you win a B1G conference championship, you will know that you did something, unlike the days of the Big 2.

To help make the rivalry, I'll also volunteer to stop back now and then just to stir the pot a bit!

I am confused, though. It seems like just a few days ago, Bo was a lowlife no-good, and all of a sudden he is the mesiah?

 

[Redux]

Exactly my point about the B1G. Most weekends it is a very physical smash mouth football game that some people may very well get hurt. The days of Nebraska breezing through the schedule to be healthy for the conference or national championship are long gone. It is just not that way in the B1G. If Iowa is not already, we will become a rivalry in a few short years. Also get used to 2, 3 or 4 loss seasons. If you win a B1G conference championship, you will know that you did something, unlike the days of the Big 2.

To help make the rivalry, I'll also volunteer to stop back now and then just to stir the pot a bit!

I am confused, though. It seems like just a few days ago, Bo was a lowlife no-good, and all of a sudden he is the mesiah?

We didn't have a problem blasting the Hawkeyes when we were in the Big 8 Big 12 or the Big Ten save for this year. And please, the Big 8 was no less daunting than the Big 10 back then. I get it, Iowa is a loyal longtime Big Ten member. What's funny is you're basically saying the reason Nebraska lost to Iowa is because all the other teams in our conference beat Nebraska up before the Hawkeyes got a shot. Thankyou for admitting that, we felt the same way here in Nebraska.

 

[Hawkeye2011]

We didn't have a problem blasting the Hawkeyes when we were in the Big 8 Big 12 or the Big Ten save for this year. And please, the Big 8 was no less daunting than the Big 10 back then. I get it, Iowa is a loyal longtime Big Ten member. What's funny is you're basically saying the reason Nebraska lost to Iowa is because all the other teams in our conference beat Nebraska up before the Hawkeyes got a shot. Thankyou for admitting that, we felt the same way here in Nebraska.

When in the Big 8 (well, Big 2 as mentioned before) Nebraska always had the luxury of rolling into the end of the season very healthy partly because the competition, or lack of it, during the regular season. It will not be that way for Nebraska any more.

Part of the reason for an Iowa win was that the rest of the conference kicked the crap out of your players, I agree. I need no thanks for that. Based on that argument, think if you would have played Iowa sooner in the season, and then played Ohio State on Black Friday. Nebraska would be far more embarrassed today, because they could have lost by 70. You cannot play every team in the B1G the first week of the season. It is a long season and there will be some injuries. Iowa has them every year. The indy 500 is 500 because the Indy 2 would be pretty boring (a bit like the old Big 8). The race is as much about making it to the end as it is about being fast. You have to be strong at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the race to win. That is why winning it means something. With the Big 8 it was really only about 1 game at the end of the year. A conference championship trophy from the old Big 8 really does not mean allot, other than you beat Oklahoma with a team that was healthy due to a season full of weak competition.

I also hear all the whining about turnovers. Could it be that the defensive play had something to do with them? It may not have just been about how weak Nebraska was, but maybe it has something to do with how good Iowa defense was. Iowa did force the turnovers, whether it was from hard hits, reading the play, or pressure from the pass rush causing a bad pass. Nebraska fans pretty well talk about these turnovers like they gave Iowa the game. Maybe, just maybe, Iowa won the game because they forced these turnovers.

As far as Iowa State? Because both are in state, there will always be some rivalry. Some may speak of it as a "super bowl", but most do not. In some of Iowas weak years (mainly due to injuries, but that excuse only counts for Nebraska) it has been a big game to rally around, but that is about it.

Nebraska did not "lower" itself by coming into the B1G. They came from a weak conference that they used to dominate back when they were good. Today, besides being in a tougher conference, Nebraska is just not as good as they used to be. This includes the coaching staff (read all of the threads), the players (read all the threads), and the fans (read all of the threads).

Iowa and Nebraska is a rivalry, and will continue to get stronger. Nebraska does have some history, but it is just that, history. It is no longer a national powerhouse with the kind of prominence that will have kids begging to play there (read all of the threads). Anybody that does not think that it will be a huge game in Iowa City next year is nuts! Yes, that is a rivalry!

 

[Redux]

If you would have read any other thread besides the one with Hawkeye in it youd know 90% of us feel its a stronger league but thanks for the heads up. Trying to discredit Nebraskas accomplishments in the Big 8 is silly, cute try though.

Now I know why yall dont want to play before the final week, youre terrified to play Nebraska healthy, that is so cute.

 

[robsker]

A Husker vs. Hawkeye rivalry is natural and makes sense. Both are upper-mid-conference level (landing typically somewhere between 3rd and 7th or so in the conference). Each program --- not historically, but over the past decade or so --- are basically equally competitive. The games of late that have been played are competitive with victory on both sides. There is a border element to the rivalry as well. It makes total sense.

From a national perspective such a rivalry is meaningless --- like a Mississippi/Mississippi State or BYU/Utah type rivalry. This is because neither team (Iowa or NU) is nationally competitive. But that does not mean the game is not of interest locally. Iowa is NU's only real likely rival --- or, at least, its most natural rival.

 

[Hawkeye2011]

If you would have read any other thread besides the one with Hawkeye in it youd know 90% of us feel its a stronger league but thanks for the heads up. Trying to discredit Nebraskas accomplishments in the Big 8 is silly, cute try though.

Now I know why yall dont want to play before the final week, youre terrified to play Nebraska healthy, that is so cute.

Not discrediting anything, just agreeing that the Big 8, overall, was a much weaker conference week in and week out. Not much to disagree on there.

A Husker vs. Hawkeye rivalry is natural and makes sense. Both are upper-mid-conference level (landing typically somewhere between 3rd and 7th or so in the conference). Each program --- not historically, but over the past decade or so --- are basically equally competitive. The games of late that have been played are competitive with victory on both sides. There is a border element to the rivalry as well. It makes total sense.

From a national perspective such a rivalry is meaningless --- like a Mississippi/Mississippi State or BYU/Utah type rivalry. This is because neither team (Iowa or NU) is nationally competitive. But that does not mean the game is not of interest locally. Iowa is NU's only real likely rival --- or, at least, its most natural rival.

Very well said!

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Exactly my point about the B1G. Most weekends it is a very physical smash mouth football game that some people may very well get hurt. The days of Nebraska breezing through the schedule to be healthy for the conference or national championship are long gone. It is just not that way in the B1G. If Iowa is not already, we will become a rivalry in a few short years. Also get used to 2, 3 or 4 loss seasons. If you win a B1G conference championship, you will know that you did something, unlike the days of the Big 2.

To help make the rivalry, I'll also volunteer to stop back now and then just to stir the pot a bit!

I am confused, though. It seems like just a few days ago, Bo was a lowlife no-good, and all of a sudden he is the mesiah?

No one thinks he is a mesiah, especially right now. He's a good coach, has some anger management issues he needs to work through, but he is doing a MUCH better job over the past few years especially this year controlling his emotions up to the Iowa game. He'll live with his national television meltdown at aTm for the rest of his career, is that fair? Yes and no, he controls his actions and ultimately will have to deal with those actions for a long time. All Iowa fans I talk to think he's crazy and hate Nebraska, they obviously don't pay enough attention to the program to know how he truly is as a coach. If he can put his pride aside, if he can stop hiring his friends and trying to create the coaching legacy, if he can get the right assistants around him, Nebraska will accomplish what it wants to accomplish. We have just as good of athletes as anyone in the B1G if not better than most teams out there. I'd take Bo Pelini over Kirk Ferentz any day of the week, Kirk is paid WAY too much for what he's accomplished or not accomplished in the B1G and his conservative play has killed several games for Iowa that they could've won.

I know you'll say that Iowa fans hate Nebraska because all they talk about is the past, not true, Iowa fans like to bring that up because their argument towards Nebraska may be weak for whatever their arguing point might be. I've lived in this state my entire life, born in Southern Iowa, raised in Des Moines, there is a reason why I'm not a Iowa fan. I don't get why I can't stand up for my team and support my team without Iowa fans running their chops to me about how I'm not being "realistic" or they run their mouths to how much they hate Nebraska. I don't get the hate, to me it seems like a jealousy type of thing, but that may be off base. Yeah yeah, I know, "We're not jealous of Nebraska!" Your program isn't better than Nebraska's and I don't get where your sense of entitlement comes from. Seeing the "Cooter Ray" segments on Channel 13 is ridiculous considering both states are full of "hicks" and are largely agricultural states. Christ we have one of the largest State Fairs in the world, yeah, we're not "hicks" or anything here in Iowa.

The B1G is a weak conference this year, we had a lot of injuries, it happens, but it isn't because the B1G is that "much tougher to play in." It comes down to bad luck and possibly some issues on the strength and conditioning side. Iowa should know something about that when several of their players ended up in the hospital due to issues from a tough workout they did that their strength and conditioning coach should have known about so it could have been prevented. The B1G just plays different ball than the Big XII did, it's more power football, with bigger players, we had to switch up our recruiting to help with that issue, takes a few years to fix that. Doesn't mean it's harder, it's just different, no way to spin it IMO.

Examples of Iowa fans and being classy: Flipped off twice in my red truck that has a Husker sticker on it and one of those times was while one of my sick children was in the truck with me. Walked into Jethro's in Waukee with my family, kids included, was wearing a Nebraska shirt, drunk Iowa fan stands up from bar and wants to start a fight with me in front of my children cause I'm wearing a Nebraska shirt. Just laughed at him and walked away, real classy. This is just a few of the things I have to deal with and the reasons why I'm not an Iowa fan. I hate your fans, I hate your school, I hate your team...............will it become a rivalry? Maybe, but it's not going to be forced down our throats either. You can't force rivalries, they just have to happen. Just because we share a border doesn't mean we'll end up being rivals.

 

[Redux]

+100

 

[Hawkeye2011]

The B1G is a weak conference this year, we had a lot of injuries, it happens, but it isn't because the B1G is that "much tougher to play in." It comes down to bad luck and possibly some issues on the strength and conditioning side. Iowa should know something about that when several of their players ended up in the hospital due to issues from a tough workout they did that their strength and conditioning coach should have known about so it could have been prevented. The B1G just plays different ball than the Big XII did, it's more power football, with bigger players, we had to switch up our recruiting to help with that issue, takes a few years to fix that. Doesn't mean it's harder, it's just different, no way to spin it IMO.

Examples of Iowa fans and being classy: Flipped off twice in my red truck that has a Husker sticker on it and one of those times was while one of my sick children was in the truck with me. Walked into Jethro's in Waukee with my family, kids included, was wearing a Nebraska shirt, drunk Iowa fan stands up from bar and wants to start a fight with me in front of my children cause I'm wearing a Nebraska shirt. Just laughed at him and walked away, real classy. This is just a few of the things I have to deal with and the reasons why I'm not an Iowa fan. I hate your fans, I hate your school, I hate your team...............will it become a rivalry? Maybe, but it's not going to be forced down our throats either. You can't force rivalries, they just have to happen. Just because we share a border doesn't mean we'll end up being rivals.

Agreed. Bigger, more physical in the B1G does take a different type of team makeup.

As far as at Jethro's, if i was there I would have stood up with my Hawkeye jacket on and we both would have kicked his a$$. At the very least I would have had words with him. As you can see in my posts, I am all for "trash talkin'", but there is no room for that. As with all schools, the bottom 20% of fan bases are made up of ignorant folks that are pretty much idiots.

As far as a conference, the analogy of "a rising tide will raise all boats" should be in all of our best interest. the revenue sharing that we do and the B1G Network go a long ways in doing that. A strong conference means better players, better fans, and better football. The challenge is that a really great conference made up of several strong teams may beat up on each other enough that we may never have a National Championship from within the conference. It is a tough accomplishment to win all of your games when you are in the B1G. This is not a 2 team league.

One last quote:

"If he can put his pride aside, if he can stop hiring his friends and trying to create the coaching legacy, if he can get the right assistants around him, Nebraska will accomplish what it wants to accomplish."

Wellll.......If I was 6'5", 325 pounds and could run a 4.4, I'd be a hell of a football player too! That is a whole lot of if's!

 

[Redux]

Theres no room at all for that disrespectful crap. Nebraska wants a rival we can respect. No Iron Bowl felony sh#t. I hope Iowa can be tht rival. I really do. The good natured trash talking is aces in my book. Well tell you how rich our history is. Youll tell us it doesnt matter since you have none, ;-).

I personally havent met a bad Iow fan yet and I could tell at the game the kther day how much the Hawkeye faithful want this to become a real rivalry. Your fans were loud, louder than ours towards the end. Seriously good luck in your bowl, the big ten needs an imaage boost, hopefully we can all provide that with some post season trophies.

 

[Hawkeye2011]

Theres no room at all for that disrespectful crap. Nebraska wants a rival we can respect. No Iron Bowl felony sh#t. I hope Iowa can be tht rival. I really do. The good natured trash talking is aces in my book. Well tell you how rich our history is. Youll tell us it doesnt matter since you have none, ;-).

I personally havent met a bad Iow fan yet and I could tell at the game the kther day how much the Hawkeye faithful want this to become a real rivalry. Your fans were loud, louder than ours towards the end. Seriously good luck in your bowl, the big ten needs an imaage boost, hopefully we can all provide that with some post season trophies.

We can definitely drink to that!