No excuse

[Madclone1]

There is simply no excuse for the Hawks losing today. They were outplayed, and out-coached. I'll have to wait and see how the season plays out before I could make an honest assessment of which team was better, but ISU was the better team today, and it wasn't even close.

Iowa's defense was completely unable to slow down Jantz. He made play after play, and while we had a few broken coverages (the TD in the North endzone and the one that got called back spring to mind), Jantz made far more pin-point passes. It wasn't just a few lucky breaks here and there.

ISU did all they could to GIVE this game away, and they still won. Turnovers, penalties. Didn't matter, Iowa wasn't able to take advantage of the Cyclone's mistakes. ISU manhandled Iowa in the trenches on BOTH sides of the ball (which shocked me, I figured the o-lines would dominate the game for both teams).

And how's about a little love for Money Reynolds, who truly was money today?

I said a couple weeks ago that I expected a competitive game, and that if ISU got a big play or two on special teams, I could easily see them winning it. Well, they had several good special teams plays.

I was losing it when we didn't go for a chance at a field goal at the end of the 4th quarter. I knew we wouldn't, but it still pi*sed me off. And it happened again after ISU offered us a window of opportunity on the offsides penalty to turn 4th and 6 into 4th and 1, yet we didn't go for it. You can't play not to lose, especially on the road, and ESPECIALLY when it's a rivalry game and the stadium is going as nuts as JTS was.

But that didn't cost us the game. Did it cost us a CHANCE to win the game? Sure. But the play of Steele Jantz and the rest of the Cyclones is what really lost this game for the Hawks.

You are classy . . thanks. Great game by both teams.

 

[Cycsk]

That was the worse iowa redone defense I can remember seeing. Not used to seeing norm Parker giving up 44 points......we will see if isu just gOt a lot better or this is a down year for their D.

It was a great game today, this was college football at it's finest moment! Hope the hawks turn it around.

OTs make the number of points deceptive, particularly when they keep handing you the ball only 5 yards from the red zone.

 

[Rural]

Agreed. ISU's last punt was with 12:00 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

I can see why you agree but for not punting we still managed to end up with not much in the point department (in reg).

 

[tm3308]

I can see why you agree but for not punting we still managed to end up with not much in the point department (in reg).

The fact that you guys missed field goals and gave us a few gift fumbles doesn't mean our defense was good. We had no business even GETTING to overtime. ISU should have won this one easily.

 

[tm3308]

I'd also like to add that while I said I'd have to see how the seasons play out a little bit before I could look back and say who had the better team (by that I mean team for the year), I wouldn't be at all shocked if that still ends up being Iowa State. If Jantz can even approach the level of play that he was at today consistently, you guys are going to win quite a few games.

 

[bosco]

ISU did all they could to GIVE this game away, and they still won. Turnovers, penalties. Didn't matter, Iowa wasn't able to take advantage of the Cyclone's mistakes. ISU manhandled Iowa in the trenches on BOTH sides of the ball (which shocked me, I figured the o-lines would dominate the game for both teams)

Iowa's drives after two ISU turnovers did lead directly to 10pts. Not arguing just pointing it out.

 

[Trainer]

I'd also like to add that while I said I'd have to see how the seasons play out a little bit before I could look back and say who had the better team (by that I mean team for the year), I wouldn't be at all shocked if that still ends up being Iowa State. If Jantz can even approach the level of play that he was at today consistently, you guys are going to win quite a few games.

Not to derail the thread, but what do you think todays performance means for the rest of Iowa's season?

 

[tm3308]

Iowa's drives after two ISU turnovers did lead directly to 10pts. Not arguing just pointing it out.

They took advantage of the two early miscues (and fumbled the other right back for at least a 7-point swing), and got 3 points after one of the missed field goals. But on plays like that, you need to be scoring TD's. FG's won't cut it on the road. We didn't do a lot to really slow up the momentum that ISU was building.

 

[RhoadsRage]

tm3308 ..classy post as usual.

I think most regulars on this site realize tm is the best Hawk poster on this site, and he proved it once again here. Nice job tm3308, and good luck the rest of the year. :yes:

 

[CycloneErik]

First hawk fan I've seen today admit that. Are they gonna take your Hawk card away from ya. Nice post.

I've seen two. I expect them both to lose their cards.

 

[ChickenWing]

I don't know why Hawk fans are complaining about their coaches. They recognized Kirby Van Der Kamp was our best player in the UNI game and they successfully took him out of the game. It was nice to have other players step up.

 

[jsmith86]

I don't know why Hawk fans are complaining about their coaches. They recognized Kirby Van Der Kamp was our best player in the UNI game and they successfully took him out of the game. It was nice to have other players step up.

Then you don't know a whole lot about hawk fans. jk, jk. But only sort of.

 

[tm3308]

Not to derail the thread, but what do you think todays performance means for the rest of Iowa's season?

To be honest, I'm not that optimistic. We've bounced back from an early season loss to ISU before (2002), but that was different. In 2002, we collapsed with turnovers to blow a big lead. It wasn't a combination of serious flaws, it was just a rival (who was pretty good that year) making the necessary plays to beat us.

Today was a combination of ISU making some great plays, and some serious flaws on Iowa's part.

It's clear that our kick coverage hasn't improved from last year. I said weeks ago that if ISU was going to win this game, they would have to make a big play or two on special teams. And Lenz did just that. Our coverage units aren't good, but he's a good returner, too. That's not a good combo.

Our d-line couldn't generate pressure at all. In the first quarter, the blitz with Kirksey when he got a sack was a perfect example of what Norm likes to do with his blitzes. When things are going right, our blitzes are just a called shot. It throws the offense off a little because it's out of the ordinary. But in the second half especially, we HAD to blitz just to have a chance of generating pressure. That's when Norm's defenses are in serious trouble.

Coker is not Shonn Greene, nor will he ever be. He doesn't have the quick feet or acceleration that Greene had. Greene wasn't a burner, but he hit top speed very quickly, and he EXPLODED through the hole. Coker doesn't. McCall does explode through the hole, which is going to make his absence even more damaging the rest of the way. Coker is a very good back, and he's going to be a very important player for us in his time here. But he and McCall form a terrific tandem. He's not the workhorse that Greene was. He did look much better in the 4th quarter, however.

I was very unimpressed with the o-line today. They didn't get much of a surge at all, and while some of the pressure that Vandy felt was phantom pressure, not all of it was. And this was against a defense whose front 4 was considered the weak link of the unit.

I know it seems "Debby Downer-ish" to say this now. But There wasn't much that was encouraging outside of some of the throws Vandy made, and our receivers are pretty damn good when given a chance. We definitely didn't deserve to win today, and in a way I'm glad we didn't. You can learn a lot more from a loss than from a win.

 

[tm3308]

I think most regulars on this site realize tm is the best Hawk poster on this site, and he proved it once again here. Nice job tm3308, and good luck the rest of the year. :yes:

Same to you guys. I actually got my tickets for free through the high school football coaches association, and I'm hoping to get the same deal for the Texas game in a few weeks. If ISU is playing like this when the Horns come to town, there is no way that I want to miss that game.

 

[Trainer]

To be honest, I'm not that optimistic. We've bounced back from an early season loss to ISU before (2002), but that was different. In 2002, we collapsed with turnovers to blow a big lead. It wasn't a combination of serious flaws, it was just a rival (who was pretty good that year) making the necessary plays to beat us.

Today was a combination of ISU making some great plays, and some serious flaws on Iowa's part.

It's clear that our kick coverage hasn't improved from last year. I said weeks ago that if ISU was going to win this game, they would have to make a big play or two on special teams. And Lenz did just that. Our coverage units aren't good, but he's a good returner, too. That's not a good combo.

Our d-line couldn't generate pressure at all. In the first quarter, the blitz with Kirksey when he got a sack was a perfect example of what Norm likes to do with his blitzes. When things are going right, our blitzes are just a called shot. It throws the offense off a little because it's out of the ordinary. But in the second half especially, we HAD to blitz just to have a chance of generating pressure. That's when Norm's defenses are in serious trouble.

Coker is not Shonn Greene, nor will he ever be. He doesn't have the quick feet or acceleration that Greene had. Greene wasn't a burner, but he hit top speed very quickly, and he EXPLODED through the hole. Coker doesn't. McCall does explode through the hole, which is going to make his absence even more damaging the rest of the way. Coker is a very good back, and he's going to be a very important player for us in his time here. But he and McCall form a terrific tandem. He's not the workhorse that Greene was. He did look much better in the 4th quarter, however.

I was very unimpressed with the o-line today. They didn't get much of a surge at all, and while some of the pressure that Vandy felt was phantom pressure, not all of it was. And this was against a defense whose front 4 was considered the weak link of the unit.

I know it seems "Debby Downer-ish" to say this now. But There wasn't much that was encouraging outside of some of the throws Vandy made, and our receivers are pretty damn good when given a chance. We definitely didn't deserve to win today, and in a way I'm glad we didn't. You can learn a lot more from a loss than from a win.

Thank you.

 

[GrindingAway]

Classy post tm3308.

If you were typical of the rest of your fan base I might actually be able to cheer for the other Iowa school after this weekend.

 

[CycloneErik]

Classy post tm3308.

If you were typical of the rest of your fan base I might actually be able to cheer for the other Iowa school after this weekend.

Me, too. I'd be proud to do it, even.

 

[UI2015]

To be honest, I'm not that optimistic. We've bounced back from an early season loss to ISU before (2002), but that was different. In 2002, we collapsed with turnovers to blow a big lead. It wasn't a combination of serious flaws, it was just a rival (who was pretty good that year) making the necessary plays to beat us.

Today was a combination of ISU making some great plays, and some serious flaws on Iowa's part.

It's clear that our kick coverage hasn't improved from last year. I said weeks ago that if ISU was going to win this game, they would have to make a big play or two on special teams. And Lenz did just that. Our coverage units aren't good, but he's a good returner, too. That's not a good combo.

Our d-line couldn't generate pressure at all. In the first quarter, the blitz with Kirksey when he got a sack was a perfect example of what Norm likes to do with his blitzes. When things are going right, our blitzes are just a called shot. It throws the offense off a little because it's out of the ordinary. But in the second half especially, we HAD to blitz just to have a chance of generating pressure. That's when Norm's defenses are in serious trouble.

Coker is not Shonn Greene, nor will he ever be. He doesn't have the quick feet or acceleration that Greene had. Greene wasn't a burner, but he hit top speed very quickly, and he EXPLODED through the hole. Coker doesn't. McCall does explode through the hole, which is going to make his absence even more damaging the rest of the way. Coker is a very good back, and he's going to be a very important player for us in his time here. But he and McCall form a terrific tandem. He's not the workhorse that Greene was. He did look much better in the 4th quarter, however.

I was very unimpressed with the o-line today. They didn't get much of a surge at all, and while some of the pressure that Vandy felt was phantom pressure, not all of it was. And this was against a defense whose front 4 was considered the weak link of the unit.

I know it seems "Debby Downer-ish" to say this now. But There wasn't much that was encouraging outside of some of the throws Vandy made, and our receivers are pretty damn good when given a chance. We definitely didn't deserve to win today, and in a way I'm glad we didn't. You can learn a lot more from a loss than from a win.

I agree with everything besides the Oline comment. I think they did fairly good, with all the guys in the box ISU was bringing. The push wasnt great, but they did good enough. Coker missed some holes and ISU's defense played very good.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Do you think they realize how pathetic they sound when every time they lose, they insist that the series should just end? I don't ever remember that talk when Hayden Fry was running up the score on us every year.

It's funny, I was talking to my brother after the game. He has no affiliation to either team, other than me being an ISU grad. Because of that, I've gotten him to follow the Cyclones more. He said today, he wore a Cyclone shirt because he's so sick of Hawkeye fans. Said he still likes the Hawkeyes as well. Likes the team, likes Ferentz, but said he can't stand how terrible the fans are regardless of if they win or lose. So, there's an essentially non-biased person seeing the same thing we do. If only we could get Hawkeye fans to see it as well...

some of these folks would differ with the non-excuses. funny **** in here. I couldn't resist, just for a bit.

The better team won today. - Page 4 - HawkeyeNation Forum

 

[UI2015]

Do you think they realize how pathetic they sound when every time they lose, they insist that the series should just end? I don't ever remember that talk when Hayden Fry was running up the score on us every year.

It's funny, I was talking to my brother after the game. He has no affiliation to either team, other than me being an ISU grad. Because of that, I've gotten him to follow the Cyclones more. He said today, he wore a Cyclone shirt because he's so sick of Hawkeye fans. Said he still likes the Hawkeyes as well. Likes the team, likes Ferentz, but said he can't stand how terrible the fans are regardless of if they win or lose. So, there's an essentially non-biased person seeing the same thing we do. If only we could get Hawkeye fans to see it as well...

I think all fanbases have those people, which is why I try not to be one. All fans like to embrace a win, and hate losing. But Hawkeyenation was over the top today. Its a shame some fans ruin it for the rest of us. I don't want the series to end, but I do understand why some people do.