Previewin': Iowa
by Beauford on Jul 31, 2009 10:09 AM CDT
in Michigan Football
8 comments
Maize n' Brew mercilessly drifts through yet another preview; this one long overdue. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Previously: Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State
Explanation and indemnifications found: here
The Hawkeyes finished last season with a bang, beating Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks in the Outback Bowl 31-10 (of the SEC, no less!). As damn near the only Big Ten team to have anything approaching a resounding bowl victory, Hawkeye fans come into this season with super-high expectations, especially given the effusive praise the defense has received this off season. Of the teams that SCM, MnB Dave, and I have had "roundtable-like-substance" discussions about, Iowa was among the most divergent in opinion, with SCM checking in as "not too concerned" about the Iowa game, and MnB Dave stating it would be the toughest road test of the season. I landed in the middle. On the administrative side, Kirk Ferentz recently signed a 7-year 21-million dollar contract extension. This figures to keep him in Iowa for a long time; he is already the second longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten.
More Previewin' Dead Ahead.
2009 Schedule:
| 9/05 | Northern Iowa | 12:05 PM | |
| 9/12 | @ Iowa State | 12:05 PM | |
| 9/19 | Arizona |
|
3:35 PM |
| 9/26 | @ Penn State | 8:00 PM | |
| 10/03 | Arkansas State | TBA | |
| 10/10 | Michigan | 8:05 PM | |
| 10/17 | @ Wisconsin | 12:00 PM | |
| 10/24 | @ Michigan State | 7:00 PM | |
| 10/31 | Indiana | TBA | |
| 11/07 | Northwestern | TBA | |
| 11/14 | @ Ohio State | TBA | |
| 11/21 | Minnesota | TBA |
A "meh-ish" OOC slate, followed by the typical Big Ten fare. I will point out that Iowa has a brutal road schedule this year, traveling to Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State - all of which figure to be angling for a New Years Day bowl.
One thing the media will harp on that is off base:
With the early departure of Shonn Greene, destroyer of defenses; worlds, to the NFL, people have been focusing on Jewel Hampton and Jeff Brinson as the flag carriers for the Hawkeye running game that was so effective last year (26th in the nation). What might matter more is the development of the interior offensive line who must find replacements at Center and Guard respectively. New starters-ish (see below) Rafael Eubanks and Dace Richardson look to step into the starting roles. Eubanks is certainly no slouch, a 4-star to Scout who competed for the starting position last year with departed senior Rob Bruggeman. Eubanks had started at Center as a Freshman and a Sophomore before Bruggeman ultimately won the job last year. However, Eubanks should do just fine in the middle. Dace Richardson looks to get the start at Right Guard. Dan Doering was named a starter last year until injury side-tracked much of the season. A 5-star all-world recruit in 2005 with offers from Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and anywhere else he mentioned as possibly having a shot, Iowa is downright USC-esque with their offensive line replacements. Lose a starter? Plug in another top-100 recruit. Richardson is another 5-star recruit. All have seen significant time in back-up rolls or, in Eubanks case, as a former starter, so it's not as if they're true freshman or anything.
The line looks like this, where ** denotes returning starter:
| LT: Bryan Bulaga** | Jr. |
| LG: Julian Vandervelde** | Jr. |
| C: Rafael Eubanks | Sr. |
| RG: Dace Richardson |
Sr. |
| RT: Kyle Calloway** | Sr |
This offensive line has the potential to shove Iowa towards yet another stellar rushing year, regardless of Shonn Greene's departure.
One thing the media will completely ignore that is integral to this team's success:
While focusing, and deservedly so, on Iowa's stellar trio of linebackers, people are forgetting that they must replace the 95 combined starts of the ferocious defensive tackle duo of Mitch King and Matt Kroul. That Mitch King guy? Yeah, he was an All American. Kroul was a second-team All-Big-Ten selection last year as well. Replacing those bodies isn't going to be easy, and may put an additional strain on the linebacking corp that is expected to carry this defense. Another thing worth mentioning, courtesy of a discussion with OPS, is the fact that new Cornerback Shaun Prater is suspended for two games, and his backup Jordan Bernstine seems not to be able to stay healthy. A situation worth watching.
Most important contributors on each side of the ball:
Offensively, and I hate to pound this into the ground, but this is going to be the offensive line unit as a whole. Ricky Stanzi was good and effective when he could turn and hand the ball to Shonn Greene only throwing when necessary. Granted, he engineered the drive that ended Penn State's national title run, but I just wonder how he will fare if the running game isn't as dominant as it was last year. If the offensive line is as good as it looks on paper, we may not have to find out, which is good for the Hawkeyes, and bad for everyone they play.
Defensively, it's got to be Pat Angerer, the senior outside linebacker and All-Big-Ten selection from 2008. He is undoubtedly the leader of this defense, and with the departure of King and Kroul, will be asked to step up even further this year. A good season this year virtually guarantees a first-round selection come the 2010 NFL draft.
Area that scares you as Michigan Wolverines:
How about that defense? The unit ranked 5th in scoring defense last year in the country and returns all but three starters. The loss of King and Kroul hurts, but jeeeeeezus thats a talented, experienced group.
Area that makes you salivate as the Michigan Wolverines:
The strategy here, having not seen any games, seems to me to be stop the running game and let Stanzi beat you with his arm. While the line and the running backs have potential to be very very good, it still remains only potential. If there is a trouble spot on this team, it's the fact that if the running game isn't working, Stanzi remains a wild Stanzi-ball throwing wildcard.
Random factor that you think will come into play this season:
As always, the BHGP tailgate scares the shit out of me in only the way a few guys standing around a 2006 Hyundai in a gravel parking lot drinking beer can. Oops Pow; this is my serious face.
Overall Record:
9-3
Final Big Ten Standing:
3rd (after a tie for first, so 2nd if you want)
Bowl Destination:
Another New Years Day bowl, movin' on up to the Capital One to beat the shit out of another unwitting SEC team.
And for those coming via twitter, here.
0 recs |
8 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Damn near?
As damn near the only Big Ten team to have anything approaching a resounding bowl victory, /blockquote>
Damn near, or the only? When the conference is 1-6 and you’re the 1, it’s got to be the only, no?
The Rivalry, Esq.
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
I think
I think I was going for aw-shucks mentality.
Like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli.
Thanks
Beauford, I appreciate the fact that you realize how scary this game is. Lest we forget that it’s Homecoming for Iowa under the lights. I would be more frightened by the level of intoxication that the fans will be at after a solid 14 hours of tailgating. Believe me, we will show at the game, as we did at the Ohio State game. I don’t recall blacking out twice before the game, but I was told it happened…
They took the bar, the whole damn bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Jul 31, 2009 6:45 PM CDT reply actions
Awfully charitable for MIchigan men.
Ferentz is divergent in how he thinks about line play, I think it’s fair to say. He moves O-linemen around much more than most, always stressing that he’s looking for the “best five guys” — not the best right guard, best center etc.
I think you’re going to see that approach rolled out for the D-line this year, because we have three guys who have All-Big Ten potential who are called “defensive ends”, one or two of whom are bigger than both of our DTs the past four years. Those three plus a committee of Klug, Daniels and the usual walk-on (Meade) charm story will hand the D-line okay.
I think you misunderstand the Iowa offense in the remark about loading up and “stopping the run.” There’s a reason why the last three tight ends are in NFL camps this summer (well, more than one reason, of course). If our line plays to capacity, you will have to cheat 8 or even 9 into the box to stop our four running plays. And then we have the arithmetic advantage down the seam and outside, and that is the meaning of the play action passing game. It’s a simple read. Iowa has kluged together the QB position (Tate aside) yet they perform extraordinarily well within this offense: Banks, Chandler, and McCann do not remind anybody of Brady; Stanzi, probably throws a better ball than Brady, on the sidelines, anyway.
Iowa was a .500 team in this offense for a couple of years, which also happened to be the stretch when we dropped more passes than any team I ever saw, including high school. We were dropping 5-6-7 first down passes a game. If your constraint play leads to a drive-killing, defacto penalty half-a-dozen times a game, you have no constraint play and you lose to WMU. Fortunately, UM fired Soup Campbell, he works for us, and it appears those days are past.
Another interesting question about this team and its wide receivers is this: is there a Big Ten team that can put a taller and larger group out there? Well, maybe not, if you see Stross, Nelson, and rook Keenan Davis on the field. This is intriguing, because the staff has been trying to get bigger at wide-out for years. Of course, the leading returning receiver is Johnson-Koulianis, but he seems to have pissed off the coaches or something and is sitting #2 behind Nelson (converted QB; 6’4", 215, 4.5) at this point.
I think you’ll see, therefore, that the key to the season may be, believe it or not, center play. Center may be harder to play in this zone blocking offense than QB. Eubanks, whispers go, struggles with his calls. He is being pushed by a 250 lb walk-on. (Last year he was replaced by a 270 pound walk-on, who’s now in an NFL camp.) Two of our guards, the ones who would start?, are recovering from gruesome injuries. So I think the key to Iowa’s season is less QB or D-line but G-C-G play. The defense will be better than last year, and all this mystification about the spread is evaporating as it proliferates and teams now prepare for it 9 times a season instead of 2 times per year. (Ironically, preparing for Iowa may become the “strange offense” week for many teams, given the spread of the spread.) Iowa plays superior assignment football (your prior annoyance with this term is debunked if you just start reading how every DC in the country is now referring to his Spread D) and superior redzone defense, as you note — and there’s less to spread across inside the red zone, isn’t there. I think the defense may be better than last year. We seem to have the best cover corner in the league, and that is a luxury Iowa never has. Norm will use that.
I think you’re being awfully charitable, considering your DNA, at calling for 9-3. We’re Iowa, there’s no depth, and the schedule is too mean. Probably, someone will get an OWI, this time on a bicycle (we’ve already done mopeds and cars). There will be giant games, but some wacky, stupid losses; injuries happen; Stanzi will throw for 2500 and 20 and be second team All-Big Ten (that’s ahead of Pryor); we’ll have a bad stretch and then put it together at the end of the season and go 8-4. Then we’ll get healthy over Christmas and pound the shit out of another middling, unsuspecting SEC team, which will be fun.
Ja think?
Mr. Boh Knows ...
Nelson?
Once again a very sober and realistic preview of the upcoming Hawkeye football extravaganza by Bellanca. Well done, sir.
One thing about our receiving core (or is it corps?) is that Marvin McNutt is our 2nd receiver not Nelson who was part of the credit card scandal fiasco. If not that particular incident some other idiocy that got him kicked off the team. Too bad, it seemed Nelson was a fairly high regarded recruit. Don’t screw with Cap’n Kirk unless it’s an alcohol offense then ya get a coupla chances.
by HawkeyePapyrus on Aug 2, 2009 12:57 PM CDT up reply actions
You may be right
I think this season in the Big Ten is going to be wild, with multiple teams losing 2 conference games, etc. I look at this Iowa team, and I see fewer question marks than, say, Penn State. I see two very questionable games: @ PSU and @ OSU. After that, I think Iowa should be favored and win in every other matchup. Take one loss from the stretch of Michigan, @ Wisky, @ MSU, and you’ve got your 9-3. Very possible that Iowa drops two of those for 8-4, but on paper at least, they shouldn’t.
This is also barring the injuries that plague any team throughout the season. The one caveat to previews should be a big glaring “IF EVERYONE STAYS HEALTHY.”
Like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli.
Hey hey hey
Young man, get your butt home to BHGP, where your thoughtful and cogent analysis belongs…
storminspank: "Or we could join you can take our pants off."
by Patrick Vint on Aug 3, 2009 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
