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CNNSI
Iowa, we're on to you
Hawkeyes too good to hoodwink nation once again
Posted: Wednesday August 3, 2005 10:26AM; Updated: Wednesday August 3, 2005 12:40PM
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Senior Ed Hinkel was Iowa's second-leading wide receiver in 2004 with 651 yards.
AP
</td></tr></tbody> </table> CHICAGO -- For three straight seasons, the Iowa Hawkeyes have won at least 10 games and finished in the top 10 of the final polls, each time after the preseason pollsters declared, in a nutshell, "There's no way can they do it again."
No more.
Various preview magazines and Web sites (including this one), apparently tired of being duped, have definitively declared the 2005 Hawkeyes to be a preseason top 10 team, in many cases ranking them ahead of Big Ten stalwarts Ohio State and/or Michigan (against whom Iowa has gone 3-2 and shared two of the past three league titles). Hawkeyes receiver Ed Hinkel is a tad perplexed about the timing of such predictions. "If anything, we should probably be lower than we have been in the past," the fifth-year senior said Tuesday at Big Ten media days. "I don't think we're as far ahead now as we've been in the past."
Nice try, Ed, but you're not going to be pulling another fast one on us this year. Four new starters on the defensive line, two of whom have to replace All-Americans Matt Roth and Jonathan Babineaux? No proven running back? Injuries and inexperience at safety? Boo hoo. After watching Iowa go 10-2 last season despite losing two of its first four games, including an embarrassing 44-7 blowout at Arizona State, and despite losing a staggering four running backs to season-ending injuries and finishing 116th (out of 117) in the country in rushing offense, it's clear by now that no hurdle is too great for a Kirk Ferentz-coached team to overcome.
In fact, each of the past three years has followed virtually the same script in Iowa City. Following a breakthrough, 11-2 season in 2002, the Hawkeyes had to replace Heisman runner-up quarterback Brad Banks, All-America tight end Dallas Clark and four starters off a powerful offensive line. What did they do in 2003? Go conservative on offense, make big plays on defense and special teams and beat Florida in the Outback Bowl to complete a 10-3 season.
Last year, same story. Seven new starters on offense, no more Robert Gallery pancaking helpless defensive linemen, no more Bob Sanders making big plays in the secondary. And that was before all the running back injuries. Yet after struggling early, Iowa managed to finish the season on an eight-game winning streak, as first-year QB Drew Tate capped an All-Big Ten season with a game-winning, 56-yard touchdown pass to beat LSU as time expired in the Capital One Bowl.
"I really don't know how we did it," Hinkel said of last year's improbable season. "One of our mottos we have posted all over our [football] complex is 'Find A Way.' That's what we did. It wasn't pretty; we weren't really a stats team. The only stat that mattered was the score at the end of the game."
Compared to this time a year ago, the Hawkeyes seem loaded. Tate, a junior who threw for 2,786 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, and who Purdue coach Joe Tiller recently labeled "the closest thing to Drew Brees since he left Purdue," marks the program's first returning starting quarterback in five years. Hinkel and Clinton Solomon, the Big Ten's top returnees in receptions, are back to join him, as are three starters from a much more experienced offensive line. And while the defensive line is green, All-America linebackers Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge are back for what seems like their 18th season, as are senior cornerbacks Jovon Johnson and Antwan Allen. Even the low-key Ferentz doesn't pretend his team won't be among the Big Ten's top contenders, though he knows, as his own team has proven recently, that nothing is certain.
"Every season has its own personality," said the seventh-year head coach and former Hayden Fry assistant. "In 2002, internally we felt very good about that team, and the way it turned out was not a total shock. The last two years were a little different, and last year may have been one for the books. It will be an interesting race, and hopefully we'll be right in it ... but certainly, a lot of things can happen between now and September, or now and November."
That Iowa is even being mentioned in the same breath now as perennial giants Ohio State and Michigan is a testament to Ferentz's acclaimed coaching abilities. Having inherited a program that had slipped from being a consistent bowl team for most of the 1980s and '90s to one that went 7-27 from 1998-2000, the Hawkeyes, at least until recently, have not been able to recruit elite players, yet Ferentz and his staff have been able to develop untapped gems like Gallery (a converted tight end who wound up winning the Outland Trophy) and Greenway (whose only other offer was to be a walk-on tight end at Nebraska) into NFL-caliber prospects and, in doing so, lessen the talent gap.
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theozone.bigtenpreview
3. Iowa 8-3 (6-2)
Two Cent Overview
A team slowly acquiring the talent on the field to match the talent on the sideline. There is tremendous skill on offense (for Iowa), and there are plenty of unproven running back candidates. The back seven on defense will be fine as well. It'll be up to the front four to act as a speed bump for Hodge and Greenway. Kyle Schlicher is back kicking. He's not Nate Kaeding, but he's still pretty good. They are breaking in a new punter, however.
Schedule
Sept. 3 Ball State (W)
Sept. 10 at Iowa State (L)
Sept. 17 Northern Iowa (W)
Sept. 24 at Ohio State (L)
Oct. 1 Illinois (W)
Oct. 8 at Purdue (W)
Oct. 15 Indiana (W)
Oct. 22 Michigan (L)
Nov. 5 at Northwestern (W)
Nov. 12 at Wisconsin (W)
Nov. 19 Minnesota (W)
Something To Look For
Kirk Ferentz gets the best out of everybody on his team, so expect the inexperienced players to get better quickly and the good players to pick up where they left off last year. Iowa is 9-1 in games decided by seven points or less the last three years. The Hawkeyes never panic and they always stick with the plan. Expect more of the same. As long as Ferentz is at Iowa, the bad players will play well; the good players will play great; and the great players will play a smidge better than great.
Returning Starters
Seven on offense, five on defense, and the placekicker.
Second Best Player
Linebacker Chad Greenway. NFL scouts love his size and speed. He's good enough to overshadow Abdul Hodge and two very good senior cornerbacks in Jovon Johnson and Antwan Allen. It will be interesting to see how he performs behind an entirely new starting defensive line.
Best Road Game to Pack Up The Family Truckster And Travel To
at Ohio State. I would've said at Purdue, but it's impossible to get out of there after a game, and if you have a Family Truckster full of screaming brats, the last thing you need to deal with is the mess known as West Lafayette. Then I was thinking at Wisconsin. However, I don't know if children should be subjected to the Madison fans. Then Northwestern came to mind, but I quickly dismissed my own thought. The answer is clear: bring the family to Columbus. Take the kids to the Out-R-Inn and let them stand outside on the sidewalk while you enjoy yourself. You brought your kids all the way from Iowa, you've earned some time away from them.
Best Reason They Will Be Undefeated
Drew Tate. He's one of those guys that does it when it needs to be done.
Game On The Schedule That Glen Mason Is Jealous That He Didn't Schedule
September 17: Northern Iowa at home.
Something They Do Well
Find a way to win. Last year Iowa ran for half of the yards that Ohio State ran for, and in spite of those 72.6 yards per game, they still won ten games. Ferentz is, however, expecting continued improvement from his offensive line and his running game, so look for them to find those ways to win a bit easier than they did last year.
Player Most Likely To Own A Restaurant
Ed Hinkel. Tell me you couldn't go for a Turkey Bacon Club at Hinkel's Deli.
Two Cent Overview
A team slowly acquiring the talent on the field to match the talent on the sideline. There is tremendous skill on offense (for Iowa), and there are plenty of unproven running back candidates. The back seven on defense will be fine as well. It'll be up to the front four to act as a speed bump for Hodge and Greenway. Kyle Schlicher is back kicking. He's not Nate Kaeding, but he's still pretty good. They are breaking in a new punter, however.
Schedule
Sept. 3 Ball State (W)
Sept. 10 at Iowa State (L)
Sept. 17 Northern Iowa (W)
Sept. 24 at Ohio State (L)
Oct. 1 Illinois (W)
Oct. 8 at Purdue (W)
Oct. 15 Indiana (W)
Oct. 22 Michigan (L)
Nov. 5 at Northwestern (W)
Nov. 12 at Wisconsin (W)
Nov. 19 Minnesota (W)
Something To Look For
Kirk Ferentz gets the best out of everybody on his team, so expect the inexperienced players to get better quickly and the good players to pick up where they left off last year. Iowa is 9-1 in games decided by seven points or less the last three years. The Hawkeyes never panic and they always stick with the plan. Expect more of the same. As long as Ferentz is at Iowa, the bad players will play well; the good players will play great; and the great players will play a smidge better than great.
Returning Starters
Seven on offense, five on defense, and the placekicker.
Second Best Player
Linebacker Chad Greenway. NFL scouts love his size and speed. He's good enough to overshadow Abdul Hodge and two very good senior cornerbacks in Jovon Johnson and Antwan Allen. It will be interesting to see how he performs behind an entirely new starting defensive line.
Best Road Game to Pack Up The Family Truckster And Travel To
at Ohio State. I would've said at Purdue, but it's impossible to get out of there after a game, and if you have a Family Truckster full of screaming brats, the last thing you need to deal with is the mess known as West Lafayette. Then I was thinking at Wisconsin. However, I don't know if children should be subjected to the Madison fans. Then Northwestern came to mind, but I quickly dismissed my own thought. The answer is clear: bring the family to Columbus. Take the kids to the Out-R-Inn and let them stand outside on the sidewalk while you enjoy yourself. You brought your kids all the way from Iowa, you've earned some time away from them.
Best Reason They Will Be Undefeated
Drew Tate. He's one of those guys that does it when it needs to be done.
Game On The Schedule That Glen Mason Is Jealous That He Didn't Schedule
September 17: Northern Iowa at home.
Something They Do Well
Find a way to win. Last year Iowa ran for half of the yards that Ohio State ran for, and in spite of those 72.6 yards per game, they still won ten games. Ferentz is, however, expecting continued improvement from his offensive line and his running game, so look for them to find those ways to win a bit easier than they did last year.
Player Most Likely To Own A Restaurant
Ed Hinkel. Tell me you couldn't go for a Turkey Bacon Club at Hinkel's Deli.
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not really. everybody thinks they are going to have trouble because their DL will be completely new in an early game, both on this site and journalists all over the internet. We saw what happened with better recruits that were all new last year in columbus. Even Iowa reports seem guarded about their DL, also due to some injuries.
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
their d-line will be awful this year, we will easily run all over them, there linebackers will be tied up because of their d-line.
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tepp1957
Newbie
Iowa
guys....I think that Iowa is being GREATLY overlooked....remember, this is basically the same defense(minus a couple of linemen) with Butkus list, All-American linebackers and cornerback....that defense held us do almost zil last year and what about our offense this year is any different?....the reason we have a QB squabble is because neither is that great or we wouldn't have one.....throw out the fact that we have handled them in the "shoe" historically....this Iowa offense led by Drew Tate is scary and they are ALL back....I saw some of their game on Gameplan and I don't care if they were playing Columbus JUCO....their core of RB's were unreal....I hope we get by Texas, but I respect Iowa as a bigtime national contender more.....Go Bucks!
guys....I think that Iowa is being GREATLY overlooked....remember, this is basically the same defense(minus a couple of linemen) with Butkus list, All-American linebackers and cornerback....that defense held us do almost zil last year and what about our offense this year is any different?....the reason we have a QB squabble is because neither is that great or we wouldn't have one.....throw out the fact that we have handled them in the "shoe" historically....this Iowa offense led by Drew Tate is scary and they are ALL back....I saw some of their game on Gameplan and I don't care if they were playing Columbus JUCO....their core of RB's were unreal....I hope we get by Texas, but I respect Iowa as a bigtime national contender more.....Go Bucks!
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We did not show up in Iowa City last year. It still took a very good team to do what they did to us, and they are a very good team again this year. But I am more confident of a win against Iowa than any other game on our schedule.
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
Iowa fans are all talking like they are going to kill us. Maybe someone should remind them that we shouldve beat the number 2 team in the country, meanwhile they got clobbered by iowa state. Its amazing, some fans just make me want to smash my head into the wall.
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BrutusBobcat
Icon and Entertainer
Just reading back through this...27, you got your wish. :tongue2: Tater Tot got a nice little knock on the head tacking a DB on an INT return against the Cyclones. Just imagine if that had been Hawk or Carp... 
"Daddy? Is it a penalty when you decapitate a quarterback?"
"Daddy? Is it a penalty when you decapitate a quarterback?"
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
Mods, can we get this thread up in the buckeye football forum???
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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
Guys this is a game we cannot overlook. I know Iowa looked bad against ISU but don't they always.
We have to come out get some big plays and execute. The offense needs to find it identity and let the Texas game go.
I think this game could be real ugly with both teams gaining about 10 yds each on offense. That is why special teams and field position is going to win the game.
We have to come out get some big plays and execute. The offense needs to find it identity and let the Texas game go.
I think this game could be real ugly with both teams gaining about 10 yds each on offense. That is why special teams and field position is going to win the game.
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itcdbuck
Junior
Iowa ?
I don't see Iowa scoring more than 10 points on this defense unless they do it with turnovers ... I am more than critical on the offense, but did anybody notice that against SDST who was averaging 400 yards per game and a bunch of points, they ONLY HAD 3 first downs ?? 3 .. that's almost a joke !
go bucks, let's win the big ten and let everything else play out !
"
I don't see Iowa scoring more than 10 points on this defense unless they do it with turnovers ... I am more than critical on the offense, but did anybody notice that against SDST who was averaging 400 yards per game and a bunch of points, they ONLY HAD 3 first downs ?? 3 .. that's almost a joke !
go bucks, let's win the big ten and let everything else play out !
"
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