Sid Hartman: Iowa’s easier schedule

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BleedGopher

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per Sid:

Iowa’s easier schedule

The Hawkeyes’ 9-0 season sure looks impressive, but no team has benefited from an easier schedule. Iowa doesn’t have to play Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State this season. The combined record of their opponents this year is 43-39 — and that includes Division I-AA Illinois State (7-2), who the Hawkeyes faced in their season opener.

Only four other of their opponents have winning records in Pittsburgh (6-3), Wisconsin (8-2), Illinois (5-4) and Northwestern (7-2).

However, Minnesota has not had good luck against Iowa, the Gophers’ opponent Saturday night, after the Hawkeyes hold a wrestling dual meet in the afternoon when 32,000-plus fans are expected to jam Kinnick Stadium for the “Grapple on the Gridiron” with No. 1 Oklahoma State.

Yes the Gophers did beat Iowa 51-14 at TCF Bank Stadium last season after Iowa marched 76 yards on 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead. However, the Hawkeyes beat the Gophers by a combined scored of 54-20 in 2012 and 2013. One thing in the Gophers’ favor is Iowa doesn’t have a running back this year like Mark Weisman, who rushed for 177 yards in 2012 and 147 yards the following season. In 2013 alone, the Hawkeyes rolled up a 464-165 total yards advantage, including a 246-30 margin on the ground. The Gophers did limit Weisman, who has graduated, to 21 yards on 14 carries and outrushed Iowa 291-84 last season.

After that decisive Gophers victory and a 7-6 record last season, many Hawkeyes fans and boosters wanted to get rid of longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. To buy out Ferentz, however, it would have cost the Iowa athletic department $13 million on a contract that has five years to go at $3.5 million per season.

Well, it is a different story this season. Everybody in Iowa loves Ferentz, a great guy, because the Hawkeyes are undefeated.

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-schedule-starts-getting-tougher/347325412/

Go Gophers!!
 

Sorry Sid but Weisman was a fullback playing runningback. Not having Weisman does not favor the Gophers.
 

SoMplsHawkI said:
Sorry Sid but Weisman was a fullback playing runningback. Not having Weisman does not favor the Gophers.
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I remember one of your fellow Iowa fans coming here last year before the season saying how Weisman was one of the top RBs in the conference.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Sid:

Iowa’s easier schedule

The Hawkeyes’ 9-0 season sure looks impressive, but no team has benefited from an easier schedule. Iowa doesn’t have to play Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State this season. The combined record of their opponents this year is 43-39 — and that includes Division I-AA Illinois State (7-2), who the Hawkeyes faced in their season opener.

Only four other of their opponents have winning records in Pittsburgh (6-3), Wisconsin (8-2), Illinois (5-4) and Northwestern (7-2).

However, Minnesota has not had good luck against Iowa, the Gophers’ opponent Saturday night, after the Hawkeyes hold a wrestling dual meet in the afternoon when 32,000-plus fans are expected to jam Kinnick Stadium for the “Grapple on the Gridiron” with No. 1 Oklahoma State.

Yes the Gophers did beat Iowa 51-14 at TCF Bank Stadium last season after Iowa marched 76 yards on 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead. However, the Hawkeyes beat the Gophers by a combined scored of 54-20 in 2012 and 2013. One thing in the Gophers’ favor is Iowa doesn’t have a running back this year like Mark Weisman, who rushed for 177 yards in 2012 and 147 yards the following season. In 2013 alone, the Hawkeyes rolled up a 464-165 total yards advantage, including a 246-30 margin on the ground. The Gophers did limit Weisman, who has graduated, to 21 yards on 14 carries and outrushed Iowa 291-84 last season.

After that decisive Gophers victory and a 7-6 record last season, many Hawkeyes fans and boosters wanted to get rid of longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. To buy out Ferentz, however, it would have cost the Iowa athletic department $13 million on a contract that has five years to go at $3.5 million per season.

Well, it is a different story this season. Everybody in Iowa loves Ferentz, a great guy, because the Hawkeyes are undefeated.

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-schedule-starts-getting-tougher/347325412/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Ummm has Sid been paying attention to Iowa at all this year? They are the #2 rushing offense in the Big Ten and have been doing it the past three weeks without Canzeri (who apparently might be ready to play tomorrow if needed). Iowa's running game and our injuries along the DL are not a good combo heading into this one. Hopefully the backups can step in and have a huge game because no doubt Iowa is going to try and pound it on us if they can.
 

SoMplsHawkI said:
Sorry Sid but Weisman was a fullback playing runningback. Not having Weisman does not favor the Gophers.
Click to expand...


You're right. Weisman had some initial success but by last year the rest of the league had him pegged. There is such a thing as riding a horse too long. Iowa's running backs this year are more effective.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Ummm has Sid been paying attention to Iowa at all this year? They are the #2 rushing offense in the Big Ten and have been doing it the past three weeks without Canzeri (who apparently might be ready to play tomorrow if needed). Iowa's running game and our injuries along the DL are not a good combo heading into this one. Hopefully the backups can step in and have a huge game because no doubt Iowa is going to try and pound it on us if they can.
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I think the Gophers can limit Iowa's rushing. They limited Michigan's and OSU didn't rush for that many yards. I'm more worried about their QB's scrambles and how much their defense limits the Gophers.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I remember one of your fellow Iowa fans coming here last year before the season saying how Weisman was one of the top RBs in the conference.
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Gee, you ran into a fan that didn't know what he was talking about. What are the odds of that happening? Remember, there are no qualification exams for sports fans.
 

cjbfbp said:
Gee, you ran into a fan that didn't know what he was talking about. What are the odds of that happening? Remember, there are no qualification exams for sports fans.
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Just pointing out that Sid isn't the only one who thought Weisman was a good RB.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I remember one of your fellow Iowa fans coming here last year before the season saying how Weisman was one of the top RBs in the conference.
Click to expand...

Well, he did average 4.3 YPC with 599 carries and 2602 yds. in his career. He could pick up the blitz and rarely fumbled so I can't really disagree with my fellow Hawk.
But we are better at running back this year...
 




GophersInIowa said:
Just pointing out that Sid isn't the only one who thought Weisman was a good RB.
Click to expand...

Mark Weisman was a fullback forced to play running back out of necessity. He did what he was asked to do and had some success for sure, but he was playing out of position.
 

SoMplsHawkI said:
Well, he did average 4.3 YPC with 599 carries and 2602 yds. in his career. He could pick up the blitz and rarely fumbled so I can't really disagree with my fellow Hawk.
But we are better at running back this year...
Click to expand...

I don't consider a guy who didn't finish in the top 10 in rushing yards or yards per rush to be one of the top RBs in the conference. But that's just me.
 

StPaulHawkeye said:
Mark Weisman was a fullback forced to play running back out of necessity. He did what he was asked to do and had some success for sure, but he was playing out of position.
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Yeah, I get that. I was just saying he wasn't a top RB in the conference.
 



Puh-lease. All of a sudden Weisman was no good? Was it just one lone Iowa fan that was pushing "Weisman for Heisman"? I think not.
 

Missing the most interesting part of Sid's column:

"After that decisive Gophers victory and a 7-6 record last season, many Hawkeyes fans and boosters wanted to get rid of longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. To buy out Ferentz, however, it would have cost the Iowa athletic department $13 million on a contract that has five years to go at $3.5 million per season.

Well, it is a different story this season. Everybody in Iowa loves Ferentz, a great guy, because the Hawkeyes are undefeated."

Sid got it a little wrong. Many Iowa fans were calling for Kirk's head in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Even a few in 2013.

We've been told how it was only a "small minority" of Iowa fans that wanted Kirk gone. Reading football boards in those years, and this past Summer, there were plenty of voices who wanted him out.

Idiots..:rolleyes:
 


The irony in all of this is that Iowa's current #5 ranking is based on "how strong' their schedule has been to date. Road wins at Wisconsin and Northwestern are considered solid. They also get points for power 5 non conference wins over Pitt and Iowa State. It may all be a mirage but if Herky wins out, they are in the final four.
Of course that can all change this weekend.
 

All we have to do is get a good hit on Wattley and he'll cough it up. He didn't play earlier this year because of fumbling.
 

Iceland12 said:
Missing the most interesting part of Sid's column:

"After that decisive Gophers victory and a 7-6 record last season, many Hawkeyes fans and boosters wanted to get rid of longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. To buy out Ferentz, however, it would have cost the Iowa athletic department $13 million on a contract that has five years to go at $3.5 million per season.

Well, it is a different story this season. Everybody in Iowa loves Ferentz, a great guy, because the Hawkeyes are undefeated."

Sid got it a little wrong. Many Iowa fans were calling for Kirk's head in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Even a few in 2013.

We've been told how it was only a "small minority" of Iowa fans that wanted Kirk gone. Reading football boards in those years, and this past Summer, there were plenty of voices who wanted him out.

Idiots..:rolleyes:
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THIS!! One of my coworkers is from Marshalltown (Methtown), Iowa and is an Iowa alumnus. I just reminded him of this. His response was "Yea, but that was never ME!" BS! It absolutely was! Nice try.
 




Cool, Jeopardy! I'll take Japan-US relations for $200, Alex
 


Iceland12 said:
We've been told how it was only a "small minority" of Iowa fans that wanted Kirk gone. Reading football boards in those years, and this past Summer, there were plenty of voices who wanted him out.

Idiots..:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Indeed there were lots of fans who wanted him gone, but those feelings weren't completely unwarranted. Ferentz was given a 10 year contract after the 2010 Orange Bowl appearance (and victory over GA Tech). His annual compensation (about $4 million) placed him among the highest paid football coaches in the country. He followed that season with the following seasons:

8-5 (with a bowl victory)
7-6 (with a bowl loss)
4-8
8-5 (with a bowl loss)
7-6 (with a disgracefully lopsided bowl loss to a 6-6 Tennessee)

After those five seasons, I believe he still had five seasons left with a really hefty buyout.

Gopher coaches in recent years have had much, much more modest compensation levels and contracts of normal lengths. Give a Gopher coach that level of compensation with that length of contract and see if Gopher fans aren't complaining about not getting their money's worth after five years like that.

Ferentz's team has probably performed well enough this season to quiet the firing calls for the rest of his contract, but there is no guarantee that his teams won't return to a lower level of performance for the rest of his duration.
 

cjbfbp said:
Indeed there were lots of fans who wanted him gone, but those feelings weren't completely unwarranted. Ferentz was given a 10 year contract after the 2010 Orange Bowl appearance (and victory over GA Tech). His annual compensation (about $4 million) placed him among the highest paid football coaches in the country. He followed that season with the following seasons:

8-5 (with a bowl victory)
7-6 (with a bowl loss)
4-8
8-5 (with a bowl loss)
7-6 (with a disgracefully lopsided bowl loss to a 6-6 Tennessee)

After those five seasons, I believe he still had five seasons left with a really hefty buyout.

Gopher coaches in recent years have had much, much more modest compensation levels and contracts of normal lengths. Give a Gopher coach that level of compensation with that length of contract and see if Gopher fans aren't complaining about not getting their money's worth after five years like that.

Ferentz's team has probably performed well enough this season to quiet the firing calls for the rest of his contract, but there is no guarantee that his teams won't return to a More NORMAL level of performance for the rest of his duration.
Click to expand...

There you go. Fixed it. ;)
 


cjbfbp said:
Indeed there were lots of fans who wanted him gone, but those feelings weren't completely unwarranted. Ferentz was given a 10 year contract after the 2010 Orange Bowl appearance (and victory over GA Tech). His annual compensation (about $4 million) placed him among the highest paid football coaches in the country. He followed that season with the following seasons:

8-5 (with a bowl victory)
7-6 (with a bowl loss)
4-8
8-5 (with a bowl loss)
7-6 (with a disgracefully lopsided bowl loss to a 6-6 Tennessee)

After those five seasons, I believe he still had five seasons left with a really hefty buyout.

Gopher coaches in recent years have had much, much more modest compensation levels and contracts of normal lengths. Give a Gopher coach that level of compensation with that length of contract and see if Gopher fans aren't complaining about not getting their money's worth after five years like that.

Ferentz's team has probably performed well enough this season to quiet the firing calls for the rest of his contract, but there is no guarantee that his teams won't return to a lower level of performance for the rest of his duration.
Click to expand...

Completely correct assessment.
At the time of the contract, it was mostly applauded as "locking up" Coach Ferentz. There were persistent rumors of him leaving for a better helmet school or the NFL. In the 5 years you highlight, Iowa replaced both the OC and the DC; there was a significant breaking in period, especially with Greg Davis who many thought was still operating under the assumption that Vince Young was Iowa's QB.
As it turns out, Without that huge buyout clause in his contract, this season might not be happening. If Iowa can make the B1G Championship game and, if things shake out that they get a Rose Bowl invitation, it would firmly solidify Coach Ferentz's place with Hayden Fry.

That said, I'm worried about Saturday's game. Minnesota is a solid and dangerous team. They have the motivation. The atmosphere will be electric. These are the types of games you dream of as a fan.
 

Teams in major conferences get favorable schedules all the time. Iowas schedule has certainly been no meat grinder but I wouldn't say it's been much easier then Wisconsin in several of the last year's, but many others.

Iowa's 9-0 record has way, way more to do with how unbelievably and miraculously healthy they have stayed throughout the year. It's been nothing short of amazing and when you get that kind of luck, you had better take advantage of it and to their credit, Iowa is doing just that.

Northwestern did the same thing just a few years back. One of the top 3-4 teams in the nation in fewest games lost to injury and they rode it to a 10-win season. Followed it up with a pair of 5-7 campaigns, I believe.
 

cjbfbp said:
I think the Gophers can limit Iowa's rushing. They limited Michigan's and OSU didn't rush for that many yards. I'm more worried about their QB's scrambles and how much their defense limits the Gophers.
Click to expand...
Good thing Bethard's hurt, should limit his mobility
 

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