Iowa State @ Iowa
Its that time of year again... and I'm already rolling my eyes. Don't get me wrong, rivalry games are always big to the players and to the fans; but, I get so sick of the stupid arguements. Let's make a few deals here.
Cyclone fans don't bring up that they have won 7 of the last 9 and I won't bring up the fact that Iowa won 15 straight. I also won't bring up the fact that only 1 or 2 of those 7 were even close to blowouts compared to only 2 or 3 close ones during 'The Streak'.
Cyclone fans don't bring up the fact that Ferentz is overpaid (which he is) and I won't bring up the fact that you HAD to hire a former Iowa Assistant Coach to start beating the Hawkeyes. Although, I will admit Big Mac is the better coach. Ferentz likes to throw the ball too much... which is why we lose a lot of games we should have won. Carson Palmer wins the Heisman over Banks and Iowa goes to the air in a bowl game against Palmer and loses. In that game, Iowa took the OPENING kickoff to pay-dirt. Iowa also had a stellar offensive line and solid running back that year too. Why go to the air? To prove a point about the Heisman? Yeah, you didn't prove your point AND you lost the game. GG, Ferentz. For the record: for what Ferentz is now being paid, I best see a National Championship within the next 2 years.
Now onto the actual game now that we have some agreements out of the way. This game is going to be (to steal a joke from my wife) a JV game gone BAD. Even if Tate is healthy, he still doesn't have any real receivers to throw to. I don't care how good your quarterback is, if you don't have receivers who can catch... well... then you become old school Nebraska. Except Tate isn't an option quarterback. Iowa's defense is solid. Granted, we don't have 'names' like Greenway and Hodges anymore... but Ferentz staff knows how to make a good defense regardless of the names.
On the other side of the ball, you have a good quarterback and a stud wide receiver. Todd Blythe is a playmaker. No other way to put it. The problem is the fact that Meyer likes to run too much. Last week do you know how many catches Blythe had? ZERO. He had a big donut. Meyer, quit trying to be the poor man's Mike Vick and get the damn ball to the white guy. On defense... you've got 3 returning starters and a few redshirt freshman even playing.
The game is going to come down to 3 basic questions:
1) Can Iowa complete over 50% of their passes?
2) Can Ferentz get over his pass happy tendency and just run over the inexperienced Cyclone defense?
3) How many touches does Blythe have?
If Iowa completes over 50% of their pass AND maintains ball control (AKA, get ahead and pound the defense), Iowa wins... unless Blythe gets around 10 touches. Blythe gets 10 touches and the Cyclones are a threat to win no matter WHAT Iowa does. Yes, I think that guy is that good compared to the rest of the players out there. Tate is too, but he just doesn't have the receivers to make things happen.
Cyclone fans don't bring up that they have won 7 of the last 9 and I won't bring up the fact that Iowa won 15 straight. I also won't bring up the fact that only 1 or 2 of those 7 were even close to blowouts compared to only 2 or 3 close ones during 'The Streak'.
Cyclone fans don't bring up the fact that Ferentz is overpaid (which he is) and I won't bring up the fact that you HAD to hire a former Iowa Assistant Coach to start beating the Hawkeyes. Although, I will admit Big Mac is the better coach. Ferentz likes to throw the ball too much... which is why we lose a lot of games we should have won. Carson Palmer wins the Heisman over Banks and Iowa goes to the air in a bowl game against Palmer and loses. In that game, Iowa took the OPENING kickoff to pay-dirt. Iowa also had a stellar offensive line and solid running back that year too. Why go to the air? To prove a point about the Heisman? Yeah, you didn't prove your point AND you lost the game. GG, Ferentz. For the record: for what Ferentz is now being paid, I best see a National Championship within the next 2 years.
Now onto the actual game now that we have some agreements out of the way. This game is going to be (to steal a joke from my wife) a JV game gone BAD. Even if Tate is healthy, he still doesn't have any real receivers to throw to. I don't care how good your quarterback is, if you don't have receivers who can catch... well... then you become old school Nebraska. Except Tate isn't an option quarterback. Iowa's defense is solid. Granted, we don't have 'names' like Greenway and Hodges anymore... but Ferentz staff knows how to make a good defense regardless of the names.
On the other side of the ball, you have a good quarterback and a stud wide receiver. Todd Blythe is a playmaker. No other way to put it. The problem is the fact that Meyer likes to run too much. Last week do you know how many catches Blythe had? ZERO. He had a big donut. Meyer, quit trying to be the poor man's Mike Vick and get the damn ball to the white guy. On defense... you've got 3 returning starters and a few redshirt freshman even playing.
The game is going to come down to 3 basic questions:
1) Can Iowa complete over 50% of their passes?
2) Can Ferentz get over his pass happy tendency and just run over the inexperienced Cyclone defense?
3) How many touches does Blythe have?
If Iowa completes over 50% of their pass AND maintains ball control (AKA, get ahead and pound the defense), Iowa wins... unless Blythe gets around 10 touches. Blythe gets 10 touches and the Cyclones are a threat to win no matter WHAT Iowa does. Yes, I think that guy is that good compared to the rest of the players out there. Tate is too, but he just doesn't have the receivers to make things happen.