Tag: Iowa Hawkeyes Football

Big Ten, big ’20s: Iowa football

Iowa football in the 2020s

Mark Hasty is one of the best people I have come to know on #CollegeFootballTwitter. It has been fascinating to be a sportswriter in the Twitter era, having conversations with fans and commentators across the country about the various sports I cover. I learn so much from the people I talk to, even though I never meet them in person. Mark rates high on the list, imparting wise, original, textured thoughts on matters from football to media to religion. He is one of a kind, and I treasure his insights.

Mark wrote a poignant, typically layered column at his current sportswriting home on Hayden Fry, the Iowa icon who died last week at age 90. Make sure you read it.

I asked Mark Hasty, an Iowa football observer of considerable esteem, to size up the program’s next decade. Here is what Mark had to say:

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The biggest question for Iowa football next decade will be how it handles the transition we all know is coming. Kirk Ferentz is a very youthful 64 and under contract through 2026, when he will be 71. It’s unlikely but not impossible he’ll be extended, so all us Iowa fans assume we have seven more seasons of the Captain. The question is “what’s next?”

It’s generally assumed that Ferentz wants his son Brian, who is currently Iowa’s offensive coordinator, to replace him. Many Iowa fans are lukewarm to that prospect, since Iowa under Kirk Ferentz has never been known for offensive prowess. But I think Hawkeye fans should consider the possibility that the elder Ferentz has limited the tools in Iowa’s playbook.

I’ve done extensive research on coaching changes in the Big Ten and I’ve found that continuity of staff is one of the largest factors in maintaining long-term success. Iowa has been a fairly consistent seven- to nine-win football team over the last forty seasons. That is not dominance, but it’s a long history of success. “Evolution, not revolution” would be a good philosophy to follow.

Iowa fans who want more sweeping change should look one state to the west and realize that change won’t automatically turn Iowa in to a 10-win team that fights for the College Football Playoff.

— Mark Hasty

Great Wisconsin moments from the 2010s: the 2010 Iowa game

Recalling the 2010 Wisconsin-Iowa game

As we look back on Wisconsin Badgers football in the decade which is about to end, we begin our collection of retrospectives with the first year of the decade, 2010. In this season, Wisconsin beat then-No. 1 Ohio State, a game we wrote about earlier this year at Badgers Wire. Because we have already referenced the best game of the 2010 season, let’s look at the second-best moment from that campaign, the 31-30 win in Kinnick Stadium against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Keep in mind a few details about that 2010 Wisconsin season: First, the Badgers were part of a three-team tie in the standings at the end of the regular season. Second, this was the last year before the Big Ten Championship Game, which meant that tiebreaker procedures would determine which team went to the Rose, Sugar, or Capital One (now Citrus) Bowls. Wisconsin got the Granddaddy against TCU. Ohio State got the Sugar against Arkansas. Michigan State got the short end of the stick against Alabama in the Cap One.

Wisconsin needed this win in Iowa City to forge the three-way tie and head to Pasadena. Without this win, the Badgers would have had to deal with an angry Bama team in the Capital One Bowl. (That 2010 season was the only time since Nick Saban’s first season at Alabama in which the Crimson Tide lost three games.)

The other obvious point to make about this win in Iowa City is that Iowa has been noted for busting up great seasons of other Big Ten teams. The Hawkeyes ruined Minnesota’s season in 2019. They kept Ohio State out of the playoff in 2017. They prevented Michigan from winning its first Big Ten division title in 2016. They prevented Penn State from having an unbeaten regular season in 2008. The Kinnick graveyard was waiting to add Wisconsin to its collection.

The Badgers almost died, but scored a gutsy win on a fake punt deep in their own territory. Brad Nortman ran for 17 yards on fourth and four from the Wisconsin 26 in the fourth quarter, sparking the winning drive in a come-from-behind triumph.

Wisconsin players loved Bret Bielema for pulling the trigger on the play, as reported in The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa):

“That was awesome. That was one of the reasons I came here,” Wisconsin linebacker Blake Sorensen said. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s not afraid. That’s a coach you love to play for.”

Bielema, typically, was pretty pleased with himself:

“We had seen that they had gone with two edge pressures and were covering down,” Bielema said. “We made the call once I saw them send out the punt return unit. Great execution, great faith.”

Iowa drove into Wisconsin territory in pursuit of a field goal, getting just inside the Badger 40, but the Hawkeyes used their final timeout and then threw a pass in bounds, short of the sticks. Wisconsin’s sure tackling and Kirk Ferentz’s poor game management caused the final seconds to expire, sealing UW’s huge win.

The decade in Wisconsin football ended with a Rose Bowl bid. It also began with one — not just because of the 2010 win over Ohio State, but the win in Kinnick Stadium as well.

Twitter reacts: UGA’s Rodrigo Blankenship wins Lou Groza Award

Georgia Bulldog kicker Rodrigo Blankenship won the Lou Groza Award over Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Washington State’s Blake Mazza.

Georgia Bulldog kicker Rodrigo Blankenship won the Lou Groza Award over Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Washington State’s Blake Mazza. Rodrigo Blankenship won the Lou Groza fan vote thanks to Bulldog fans.

Blankenship made all 44 of his extra points on the season. He went 25-31 on field goals with a long of fifty yards. Bulldog fans will miss him, but he likely has a career at the next level in the NFL. He will leave Athens as the Georgia’s all-time leading scorer.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Rodrigo winning the award:

Not everybody was happy with Rodrigo winning the Award:

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Wisconsin is one part of a sexy Big Ten bowl season

Big Ten bowl thoughts

I’m not going to tell you that the full Big Ten Conference bowl season is great. Michigan State-Wake Forest? ZZZZZZ. Illinois-California? Nap time. Indiana-Tennessee? That’s nice. Penn State, thanks to Wisconsin making the Rose Bowl, gets pushed into the corner to play Memphis, getting the Group of Five assignment Power Five schools hate at bowl season.

However, five of the Big Ten’s nine bowl games are really sexy and very important. The Wisconsin Badgers are just one part of a five-part story. This year, the Big Ten’s better teams all drew high-profile opponents, which lends some snap, crackle and pop to the 2019 bowl season. One could very easily make the argument that in a generally lackluster lineup of 39 bowl games (UCF-Marshall! Appalachian State-UAB! Pittsburgh-Eastern Michigan!), the Big Ten has the best and most interesting matchups, the games a lot of casual sports fans will watch at bowl season.

Oregon. Clemson. Alabama. Auburn. USC. Those five schools have all played for national championships this century. More specifically, they have all played for national titles in the past 15 years. Four of the five (USC being the exception) played for the national title THIS DECADE. Three of those four schools (Oregon being the exception) won a national title this decade.

These are the five opponents for Big Ten teams in the upper-tier bowl games.

Oregon is Wisconsin’s opponent in Pasadena. Clemson faces Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl playoff semifinal. Alabama returns to the Citrus Bowl — where it began this decade against Michigan State — to play the other Michigan school, Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines. Auburn gets P.J. Fleck and Minnesota in the Outback Bowl.

A hilarious aspect of the Outback Bowl:

USC is Iowa’s opponent in the Holiday Bowl. A trip to San Diego and a marquee opponent give Hawkeye fans a good reward for their team’s season. We can power-rank these games later on (you can bet that we will), but for now, simply realize that the five best Big Ten bowl games are all showcase events. None of the matchups are dull. Bama might blow out Michigan, but the matchup isn’t a snoozer. Harbaugh versus Saban demands attention… at least the first one and a half quarters.

The Big Ten isn’t going low-profile this bowl season. This is an attractive, dressed-up, high-end football fashion show to close out the 2010s and ring in the new year… and the new decade.

Georgia football’s Rodrigo Blankenship named Lou Groza Award finalist

Georgia Bulldog all-time leading scorer Rodrigo Blankenship has been named a Lou Groza finalist along with Blake Mazza and Keith Duncan.

Georgia Bulldog all-time leading scorer Rodrigo Blankenship has been named a Lou Groza Award finalist. The Lou Groza Award is give annually to the nation’s top kicker.

Blankenship had a special senior day against Texas A&M, where Brian Herrien gave him the honors of running through the “G”. Blankenship went 4-4 on the day in wet, rainy conditions including a 49 yard long. The Bulldogs may not have won 19-13 without him.

The other finalist for the Lou Groza Award are: Iowa’s Keith Duncan and Washington State’s Blake Mazza. Who’s going to win the award?

UGA’s Rodrigo Blankenship is 23 out of 26 on the season and has made all 36 of his extra points. Blankenship sports a long of 50 yards, but is 3-4 on tries fifty yards and longer. Blankenship owned up to his painful miss against South Carolina. Each of his misses are forty yards or longer. Only ten of Blankenship’s field goals have been returned this season.

Iowa’s Keith Duncan is 27 out of 32 on the season. Duncan leads the nation in field goals and is perfect on his 22 point after tries. Duncan has a long of 49 yards on the season.

Washington State’s Blake Mazza has made 18 of his 19 field goals on the season. Mazza has a long of 51 yards and his 94.7% accuracy rate is the NCAA’s best for any kicker with multiple field goals from over 50 yards. Mazza has attempted just four field goals beyond forty yards.

Georgia fans will think Blankenship should win the Lou Groza Award, but there’s still a couple of weeks left for Georgia (but not for the Iowa Hawkeyes or Washington State Cougars). Blankenship has some big-kicks ahead of him. Bulldog fans will be able to vote for Blankenship to win the award very soon.

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Wisconsin fixed problems against Iowa, but will that beat Minnesota?

Considering the Wisconsin Badgers’ situation relative to the Minnesota Golden Gophers after UW’s win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Had the Minnesota Golden Gophers not beaten Penn State and made themselves an even bigger target for the Wisconsin Badgers, we wouldn’t be devoting quite as much time or energy to the task of beating the Gophers on Nov. 30. Yet, one can’t work with events as one wishes they would be. One must deal with events as they actually are. It’s called living in the real world.

Minnesota has made itself more of a problem for Wisconsin. It’s not what UW fans wanted, but it is the reality the Badgers must confront. That will be a very hard game to win. Therefore, it is worth spending some of these November days focusing not just on Nebraska and then Purdue, but on P.J. Fleck and his folks. How will the Badgers go into Minneapolis and come away with Paul Bunyan’s Axe?

Based on Wisconsin’s win over the Iowa Hawkeyes this past Saturday, a number of interesting questions and attached tension points have emerged. The question I will explore in this particular piece is as follows: Can Wisconsin win this game simply by eradicating mistakes, or will the Badgers need to push themselves far beyond their limits?

Yes, the best answer is “both,” but let’s be clear before we continue with this brief piece: Against Ohio State (or, to use a non-Big Ten example, LSU or Clemson), it is obvious that Wisconsin and other second-tier teams in the United States have to play way over their heads and make “value-added” plays to have a real chance to win. Is Minnesota that kind of opponent? I am inclined to say “no,” but my opinion doesn’t matter that much. A reasonable middle ground on this question is that while Minnesota certainly isn’t in Ohio State’s league, the Gophers made Penn State look bad for much of this past Saturday’s game and — had they not fumbled when leading by two scores in the third quarter — could have blown the doors off the Nittany Lions.

Minnesota went from being “a team which beats up on the bottom of the Big Ten” to “a team that is for real” against Penn State. Do we know yet if the Gophers are not merely “for real” and “a team to be taken seriously,” but genuinely ELITE? I don’t think so.

The tricky part for Wisconsin: The Badgers can’t use that lack of knowledge to assume they can win merely by avoiding mistakes against the Gophers. This leads us into the heart of this piece, and one of the most fascinating tension points of the game on Nov. 30 in TCF Bank Stadium:

The Badgers’ offense improved when the dumb penalties ceased. Wisconsin’s offense got out of its own way. Its running game flourished when the Badgers weren’t behind schedule. Two plus two equals four.

However, after the offense got out of its own way, the defense allowed a 75-yard touchdown and endured another one of its fourth-quarter swoons, the previous one being against Illinois. We wrote about the problems in the secondary which have allowed that alarming detail to remain part of this team’s identity in the second half of the season.

Imagine, then, if both the offense and the defense spend a full game not making huge mistakes, with the level of performance we saw from Jack Coan (tolerable, but not spectacular). Is that going to be enough against the Gophers? It’s an interesting query. One could go back and forth on that topic.

The strength of the argument rests with the offensive line. If there aren’t any false-start penalties and Jonathan Taylor gets four or more yards per carry, the Badgers could pound Minnesota’s defensive front and turn this game into the trench warfare battle they want. A game based on the elimination of mistakes could be all Wisconsin needs.

The weakness of this argument is based on the awareness of how much speed Minnesota has, not only in relationship to Iowa but to a Wisconsin team which was outflanked at times by Illinois. Keep in mind that if Jack Coan throws the ball against Minnesota the way he did against Iowa, the Gophers’ closing speed in the secondary might turn Wisconsin catches into incompletions on successful pass breakups. Eliminating bad mistakes from the ledger sheet will put Wisconsin in position to win, but that might not be enough to put UW over the top.

Yes, Wisconsin’s offense fixed its problems versus Iowa, and the team in general took a clear step forward from the previous two games. Yet, will that be enough to beat Minnesota? You don’t have to answer that question right away… and that’s part of the point. Wisconsin will have to wrestle with that question over the next few weeks. This is the reality facing the Badgers, now that the Gophers have made themselves such an obstacle, at least in 2019.

Jack Coan needs to start hitting his spots

An assessment of Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Jack Coan after Saturday’s win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Jack Coan wasn’t bad for the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday against the Iowa Hawkeyes. For the most part, the football went where it needed to go. Coan made enough of the throws he had to make to assist the running game and Jonathan Taylor. Wisconsin needed every one of the 24 points it scored to fend off Iowa and move to 7-2 on the season, keeping alive hopes for a New Year’s Six bowl bid.

Coan was solid. He did what he had to do. That certainly rates as progress after an Ohio State game which quickly went sideways and never got back on track. If Coan can make steady progress in and through the month of November, Wisconsin can beat Minnesota on Nov. 30, the game which looms as the defining moment of this season for the Badgers.

When considering Wisconsin’s checklist against Minnesota — a team which currently stands above the Badgers in the Big Ten pecking order due to their win over Penn State — one thing which has to happen is that Coan has to become a far more accurate quarterback. Explaining this point requires a look back at the Iowa game.

If you go through this contest, you will note that even when Wisconsin hit an intermediate or deep pass, the receiver gained enough separation from an Iowa defender that Coan didn’t have to be letter-perfect with his throw. Whether we are talking about zip, touch, angle, or placement, Coan was not at the height of his powers. He did get the ball there, but that was more a reflection of his receivers’ ability to separate from defenders.

Against Minnesota’s team speed (on a general level) and its secondary (on a more particular level), Coan will likely not have the same large windows to throw to. Margins are likely to be smaller. The Golden Gophers’ closing speed was a problem for Penn State and quarterback Sean Clifford, who was unable to gun the ball into coverage. His throws were often lobbed toward his receivers, and Minnesota was able to pick off multiple passes as a result.

Coan has to look at film of Clifford versus Minnesota (not this week, but certainly during game week in late November) and understand just how important it is that he not float passes into traffic. That is one part of the equation Coan needs to figure out in the coming weeks.

The other part of the puzzle for Coan — if Wisconsin wants to have the best possible chance of beating Minnesota — is that he has to be more precise with his throws. Think of Josh Hader this past season. His regression from 2018 cost the Milwaukee Brewers a division title and the National League Wild Card Game against the eventual World Series champion Washington Nationals. Hader simply didn’t hit his spots often enough. So it was for Coan against Iowa, even though he still made enough important completions to deliver the win.

Go back to the Iowa game and notice all the times Coan completed a short or intermediate pass into the flat or outside the numbers. On several of those occasions, a receiver had to reach up or to the side to gather the ball. This process of extending for the ball — instead of having the ball thrown to the place where the receiver could easily catch the ball in stride — slowed down the receiver’s momentum. A receiver could not make a catch and then quickly turn upfield to either avoid the Iowa defender entirely, or at least make an upward cut to gain five or six more yards after the catch.

Against Minnesota, Jack Coan will need to hit receivers in stride, so that the plays which gained seven yards against Iowa will gain 13 against the Gophers, and plays which gained 20 yards can become 30-yarders. The 30-yarders can turn into 60-yard home runs.

Jack Coan’s imperfect placement wasn’t punished by Iowa. An effective running game and a strong offensive line enabled Wisconsin’s passing game to be more effective, since Iowa was so focused on stopping Jonathan Taylor. Against Minnesota, though, Jack Coan will need to be more precise. It would hit the spot if the Badgers can make the Gophers miserable. Hitting the spot will happen, however, only if Jack Coan hits the spot himself.