The Game's "Honest" Assessment on the 2008 Iowa Football Season..

[The Game]

This is what we've all been waiting for all year long. How is the Game going to rip down the Hawks and their season this year? How bad is the Iowa going to get before it gets better? How will he rip I'll give some of my thoughts, and my season prediction.

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Offensively:

- I can't see how Jake Christensen is any worse than last season. I think he evolves into an average Big 10 quarterback this season, but I fully expect that Ferentz should yank him if he isn't in a rhythm by the Iowa State game. No excuse to not be in rhythm with Brodell/Moeaki/DJK/Myers.

If we go to Stanzi, I fear that it's a lost season with no experience at the quarterback position again.

- Offensive line should be alright, and it shouldn't be as bad as last year when Iowa did somehow win 6 games. Christensen shouldn't be running for his life this season especially since the whole o-line is back.

- Loss of James Cleveland should hurt a little bit, but Brodell/Moeaki/Stross should pick up the slack if Christensen doesn't hold onto the ball until the cows come home. This all depends on if Moeaki can stay off the injured list and Brodell has his speed back from his torn hamstring. I do expect Brodell to be back to full speed, but Moeaki probably won't stay away from the sidelines thus Brandon Myers will probably be called on as he's a quality backup.

- Runningback position should be full of guys who can/will contribute. I fully expect Greene to hold the majority of carries if he can stay out of academic troubles. Guillory should be good.

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Defensively

- Should be strong upfront. Mitch King is an All-American, and Kroul is very good. We'll finally get to see how strong Ballard/Clayborn are at the D-End spots, and hopefully they get some pressure on the qb. Something lacking last year.

- Linebacking should be fine. Edds will be an NFL player, and Coleman looks to be pretty good in spots. We'll see if Norm blitzes more or not.

- Cornerbacking, we play 10 yards behind so it really doesn't matter who's back there just as long as they can tackle.

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Kicking/Punting

-Donahue is the best punter in the Big 10 if he can get rid of the early shanks. He's got a leg.

-We'll see if Murray/Signor have improved since the Spring Game. If not, it definitely could cost Iowa one or two games.

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Season Prediction

August
30 Maine W

September
6 Florida International W
13 Iowa State W
20 at Pittsburgh L
27 Northwestern W

October
4 at Michigan State L
11 at Indiana L
18 Wisconsin W

November
1 at Illinois L
8 Penn State W
15 Purdue W
22 at Minnesota W

Wisconsin is going to be the game that we're not expected to win, and Indiana will be the game that we lose that we're not expected to. Iowa typically does that.

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If Christensen can find some rhythm, I might say they go 9-3. If he doesn't, and Iowa offense sputters/injuries mount up on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa goes 6-6 or below.

8-4, 5-3 should put them probably in the Alamo. Kirk Ferentz saves his job, and Iowa fans (including myself) settle down.

[feces hurling monkey]

I say we go a very average ho-hum mediocre middle of the road 6-6.

[scottsdalehawk]

I agree with most of your breakdown.

Defense has the potential to be very, very good. If JC can find a way to be a little above average then I could see 9 wins. I am going to predict 7 or 8.

[Jimmie Dimmick]

Iowa will be in every game on their schedule. the D will give the O these opportunities. whether or not they take them is what's going to be the question.

[MikeyJoe]

I'm going to move this to the football forum.

[Crazy Hawk]

All the games on the schedule are winnable, while all (but 2) could be loses as well.

JC will have some weapons around him if he can manage to get them the ball. Assuming the OL can give him time and open the occassional hole for whoever the hell it will be running through them.

As far as special teams go, I think the freshman kicker may come in and win the spot. I forgot his name...Moss something....

Defensively, they should be pretty salty. I hope to see them bring back the "I don't care about the ball I just want to kick your ass" attitude that was shown in prior years.

I'm definitely ready for football season.

[PipeDaddy]

Season Prediction

August
30 Maine W

September
6 Florida International W
13 Iowa State W
20 at Pittsburgh L
27 Northwestern W

October
4 at Michigan State L
11 at Indiana L
18 Wisconsin W

November
1 at Illinois L
8 Penn State W
15 Purdue W
22 at Minnesota W

Wisconsin is going to be the game that we're not expected to win, and Indiana will be the game that we lose that we're not expected to. Iowa typically does that.

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If Christensen can find some rhythm, I might say they go 9-3. If he doesn't, and Iowa offense sputters/injuries mount up on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa goes 6-6 or below.

8-4, 5-3 should put them probably in the Alamo. Kirk Ferentz saves his job, and Iowa fans (including myself) settle down.

Decent breakdown, but I have a few disagreements - I'll get to those in a second. Here are my predictions:

August
30 Maine W

September
6 Florida International W
13 Iowa State L
20 at Pittsburgh L
27 Northwestern W

October
4 at Michigan State L
11 at Indiana L
18 Wisconsin L

November
1 at Illinois L
8 Penn State L
15 Purdue W
22 at Minnesota W


Now, about KF saving his job... his job isn't up for discussion. Barta is on board with him, and ticket sales are fine. So he's fine. Highly overpaid, but fine. We could win 3 games this season and he'd still be back next season. I honestly believe that.

And I hope Iowa makes the Alamo Bowl. I spent half a day there on vacation in June and want to go back for several days. Very cool city.

[Verbal]

Not bad, Game. Couple things I'll add:

-I want a defensive backfield of Spievey & Bernstein at corners, Wilson & Greenwood/Morrow at safety. Fletcher, Dalton and Tillison can back-up

-Coleman will be a dandy, but I expect Angerer to get a lot of time in the middle as well. Edds is the man at one outside LB, and I think Hunter will beat out Tarpinian for the other spot.

-I agree with CrazyHawk that Trent Mossbrucker will get a chance in camp to be the starter. If he's the best kicker in camp, he should start. Neither Murray nor Signor have earned a thing.

-I agree that Donahue has an All Big-Ten leg.

-A lot of people are excited about the D-line with King & Kroul and Ballard & Clayborn. I think the depth will be fantastic as well, with guys like Hundertmark, Klug, Binns and Geary.

-I agree that Jake can only get better. I actually think he'll be an upper-tier Big Ten QB and will get something like 3rd team or honorable mention honors this year.

-I really want a guy like Jewel Hampton to come into camp and just kick some ass. I'd love to have a 4-year starter at RB, and I think Hampton will be something special. If he doesn't click right away, I'm confident that a committee of Guillory, Greene and O'Meara will be good enough to keep defenses honest.

-The O-line will be improved as a unit. Ferentz has got to get the best 5 guys out there, though, and those guys are Eubanks (C) Bruggeman (G), Doering (G), Olsen (T) and Bulaga (T). Guys like Calloway, Kuempel and Vandervelde would be solid back-ups, IMO.

-The receivers will be one of the better groups in conference. Look for Stross to put up All Big Ten numbers and DJK will keep improving. Brodell should not start, IMO.

-I think Moeaki could be great, but I'm a huge Brandon Myers fan -- all he does is make plays.

My season prediction:

Maine- W
FIU- W
ISU- W
@Pitt- W
NW - W
@MSU- L
@IU - W
Wisc - L
@Ill - W
PSU - L
PU - W
@Minn- W

9-3. Outback Bowl if Big Ten (read: Penn State) gets a second team into the BCS. Otherwise, Alamo. An all-around solid year, and a whole lot of guys coming back for '09.

Just a little over 7 weeks and we can get this show on the road...

[atemp]

Decent breakdown, but I have a few disagreements - I'll get to those in a second. Here are my predictions:

August
30 Maine W

September
6 Florida International W
13 Iowa State L
20 at Pittsburgh L
27 Northwestern W

October
4 at Michigan State L
11 at Indiana L
18 Wisconsin L

November
1 at Illinois L
8 Penn State L
15 Purdue W
22 at Minnesota W


Now, about KF saving his job... his job isn't up for discussion. Barta is on board with him, and ticket sales are fine. So he's fine. Highly overpaid, but fine. We could win 3 games this season and he'd still be back next season. I honestly believe that.

And I hope Iowa makes the Alamo Bowl. I spent half a day there on vacation in June and want to go back for several days. Very cool city.


I could see Iowa losing that B10 home opener to Northwestern...

[HawkLax6]

Not bad, Game. Couple things I'll add:

-I want a defensive backfield of Spievey & Bernstein at corners, Wilson & Greenwood/Morrow at safety. Fletcher, Dalton and Tillison can back-up

-Coleman will be a dandy, but I expect Angerer to get a lot of time in the middle as well. Edds is the man at one outside LB, and I think Hunter will beat out Tarpinian for the other spot.

I doubt Wilson will be starting this year. If he does, it won't be until far into the season.

I also expect Angerer to get some more playing time based on the few things coach has said. Also, I see Tarp getting the nod over Hunter at the beginning. From the small talk from KF and what happened this past spring, Tarp seems like one of those guys KF likes a lot and will play even if someone sounds better.

[The Game]

Whatta dead thread for talking Hawkeye Football.

[Platon Karataev]

There are probably only two games where one could consider Iowa to be a strong (-10 or better, I'd guess) favorite: Maine and Florida International. On the other hand, the game at Illinois (probably preseason ~#15) is the only one where Iowa would likely be +10 right now, and they still have Ron Zook as head coach.

That leaves a pretty wide margin of swing games. I would probably list Iowa as a favorite against Northwestern, Minnesota, and Purdue. I'd probably put them as underdog against Michigan State, Indiana (poor road performances), Pittsburgh, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Iowa State they will be favored against as always, but I refuse to pick them to win against Iowa State. The lack of energy against Iowa State the last few years (16-0 first half in a 23-3 loss, 14-3 first-half deficit, 12-0 halftime deficit in a 15-13 loss) leads me to that unfortunate conclusion.

I think Iowa wins 4 games at minimum. I think that they will 8 games at max. The results against Iowa State and Indiana will likely determine if Iowa makes a bowl game. The ability of the squad to "steal" a win against Pitt, Michigan State, Michigan State, or Wisconsin will determine the average temperature of Iowa's late December destination.

[Gushawk]

-I agree that Jake can only get better. I actually think he'll be an upper-tier Big Ten QB and will get something like 3rd team or honorable mention honors this year.

Are you Mr. Hawk in disguise operating under an ironic new handle?

Agree with the first sentence; am skeptical as to the second. I was looking at last year's conference stats in Lindy's on a plane the other day and good God was our offense atrocious.

[Verbal]

-I agree that Jake can only get better. I actually think he'll be an upper-tier Big Ten QB and will get something like 3rd team or honorable mention honors this year.

Are you Mr. Hawk in disguise operating under an ironic new handle?

Agree with the first sentence; am skeptical as to the second. I was looking at last year's conference stats in Lindy's on a plane the other day and good God was our offense atrocious.

Looking at this year's crop of Big Ten QBs, it's not unrealistic to predict Jake being the 5th best or so and getting honorable mention honors. If he really improves, 3rd team isn't much of a stretch either. I think Boeckman and Painter are 1st and 2nd team respectively, and it's wide open after that. I'm not even convinced Juice is the best QB on his own team, I think Kellen Lewis will take a huge step backward without Hardy to throw to, Bacher threw 19 mother-scratching INTs last year, and Hoyer is inconsistent (at best) in East Lansing. Looking at the rest of the league, Weber is decent but has no help in Minnesota, Michigan will struggle like hell on offense this year with whoever starts for them, PSU will start an unproven senior but will have the luxury of winning with defense, and Evridge is a question mark in Madison-- he may not even win the job.

And hey, we're 7 weeks from kickoff yet. I'm entitled to a little Kool Aid. :cool:

[Gushawk]

Putting yourself in the shoes of a fan of each other Big Ten team, how many times would you say you'd swap your likely starting QB for Jake?

Wisconsin? Maybe. Penn State? Maybe. Michigan? Maybe. No one else I think would think particularly hard about it.

[The Game]

Putting yourself in the shoes of a fan of each other Big Ten team, how many times would you say you'd swap your likely starting QB for Jake?

Wisconsin? Maybe. Penn State? Maybe. Michigan? Maybe. No one else I think would think particularly hard about it.

Indiana? Yes. (Kellen Lewis)
Northwestern? Maybe. (CJ Bacher)
Ohio State? Yes. (Todd Boeckman)
Wisky? No. (Allan Evridge)
Michigan State? Yes. (Brian Hoyer)
Penn State? Doubtful. (Daryll Clark)
Illinois? Probably. (Juice Williams)
Michigan? Probably not. (Steven Threet (?))
Purdue? Yes. (Curtis Painter)
Minnesota? Maybe. (Adam Weber)

[cloudhawk]

Weber sucks, but I would take Painter, Lewis, Hoyer and that Ill back-up if he is still eligible, Bacher is a maybe as well

Cloudhawk= my thoughts

[The Game]

I think I would take Juice over Jake.

Much more upside, and he's mobile - something Jake hasn't shown.

[Gushawk]

Although I have absolutely nothing to base it on, I suspect Wisconsin will get better and more consistent QB play than Iowa this year.

[Debit One]

With no second thoughts I take Lewis, Bacher, Boeckman, Hoyer and Painter over JC, probably take Juice and whoever Michigan wants to run out there over JC, and likely end up wishing that I had taken Evridge over JC.

[Gushawk]

With no second thoughts I take Lewis, Bacher, Boeckman, Hoyer and Painter over JC, probably take Juice and whoever Michigan wants to run out there over JC, and likely end up wishing that I had taken Evridge over JC.

I'd take Weber as well. He did more with far less last year, and improved considerably as the season wore on. That leaves me concluding that PSU is the only team with a QB situation that is less desirable than ours, which is why I can't buy the "upper echelon" prognostications.

[The Game]

On 2nd thought, I would like to change my opinion.

12-0. National Champs.

[The Game]

Wow.

That is pretty damn close.

[SL]

If we go to Stanzi, I fear that it's a lost season with no experience at the quarterback position again.

Wow.

That is pretty damn close.

No, not really.

[The Game]

If we go to Stanzi, I fear that it's a lost season with no experience at the quarterback position again.

Wow.

That is pretty damn close.

No, not really.

I was talking about the record.

Looks like for the 2nd year in a row, I might be spot-on with the record, and almost spot-on with the games they win/lose.

[Dolomitey]

Nah, Verbal far was pretty spot-on and he even whiffed on Jake and probably Brodell/Stross.

[The Game]

He had Iowa going 9-3 with losses to Wisconsin/Penn State/Michigan State. I had Iowa 8-4 with losses to Michigan State/Pittsburgh/Indiana/Illinois.

Hmm.. Spot on?

[PlannedSickDays]

Putting yourself in the shoes of a fan of each other Big Ten team, how many times would you say you'd swap your likely starting QB for Jake?

Wisconsin? Maybe. Penn State? Maybe. Michigan? Maybe. No one else I think would think particularly hard about it.

Indiana? Yes. (Kellen Lewis)
Northwestern? Maybe. (CJ Bacher)
Ohio State? Yes. (Todd Boeckman)
Wisky? No. (Allan Evridge)
Michigan State? Yes. (Brian Hoyer)
Penn State? Doubtful. (Daryll Clark)
Illinois? Probably. (Juice Williams)
Michigan? Probably not. (Steven Threet (?))
Purdue? Yes. (Curtis Painter)
Minnesota? Maybe. (Adam Weber)


spot on

[Gushawk]

I will admit I was very wrong about PSU's QB. Much better than Jake, in retrospect.