CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: nuwildcat on October 15, 2017, 04:58:00 PM
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early Vegas line?
It's Even
- the game is seen as a toss-up
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early Vegas line?
It's Even
- the game is seen as a toss-up
just noticed that two sites have Iowa as a 2-point favorite
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Iowa should win coming off the bye week. Of course it could go the other way.
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Iowa wins easy peasy
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NW seems to be following its normal routine of starting out awful, then suddenly becoming a good team in the middle of the season, then falling apart at the end of the season.
Unfortunately for Iowa, they get NW in the middle of the season.
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I think you can call this a rivalry now. A friendlier one than say, UW or ISU, but a rivalry nonetheless.
This one is interesting because historically, Iowa has owned NU, but the 'Cats have fielded some pretty fair teams the past couple of decades. HFA is next to non-existent in this series, and the record doesn't really matter either, because even if one team is very good (or even great), and the other is mediocre, the game usually ends up being very tight, and the underdog has won more than its share of games lately.
Iowa is very sloppy this year (way too many turnovers and penalties), consistently struggles with punting/field position, can't generate a consistent pass-rush, still isn't great at throwing the ball, and suddenly is struggling to run the ball. An average P5 team should be able to stomp UI, but even a great Penn State and strong Sparty could never pull away, even though the stats may indicate a more one-sided affair.
Heart says Iowa, head says Northwestern. Probably going to be a low-to-mid scoring game, and is decided by one score. Something like 24-19. Just not sure who.
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Iowa is capable of beating NU into submission like Wisconsin did. That's what I see happening. Stop Jackson and pressure Thorson. Game over.
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question:
over the years, do Kirk's teams usually play well after a bye?
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question:
over the years, do Kirk's teams usually play well after a bye?
Iowa record after bye weeks since 2008
2008. Loss @ILL 27-24
2009 No Bye week
2010 win @Mich 38-28
2011 loss @PSU 13-3,
2012 win @MSU 19-16
2013 loss @OSU 38-28
2013 win Mich 24-21
2014 win Indy 45-29
2014 win NW 48-7
2015 win MD 31-15
2016 loss @PSU 41-14
Overall 6-4.
HOME 4-0
AWAY 2-4
Overall since 2012, Iowa has done pretty well after a bye, except for that stinker last year aganst PSU. But to be honest, it may have more to do with the opponent or whether Iowa is at home, than if Iowa had s bye.
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yup, unfortunately this one is a road game
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3 things to know about Iowa
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/18/16494548/northwestern-iowa-football-preview-keys-to-the-game-pat-fitzgerald-kirk-ferentz-josey-jewell
For NU, now comes the stretch that will define the season
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/18/16494198/where-are-we-wednesday-northwesterns-football-column-2017-season-second-half-iowa-michigan-state
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I always enjoy the three way Wisconsin-Iowa-Minnesota rivalry games, but aside from that, this game might annually be my favorite Big Ten West matchup. It's two teams that are going to play a style I love to watch. Iowa was able to write some offensive struggles off to playing Penn State and Michigan State, two of the best defenses in the conference. But after scoring only two offensive touchdowns in three quarters against a miserable Illinois team, and clinging to a 24-16 lead, legitimate concerns were creeping in. The Hawkeyes squashed those by outscoring the Illini 21-0 in the 4th quarter. But even still, they took advantage of a short field for one score, and for the game, were outgained by a team that probably isn't going to win a Big Ten game this year. Northwestern's offense has been a legitimate mess all year, but they seemed to turn a corner against an admittedly awful Maryland defense last week. Clayton Thorson's 293 yards and 62.5 raw QBR were his best in a Big Ten game since Purdue last year. Granted that Maryland secondary is so bad that the adjusted QBR drops below his very shaky game against Wisconsin earlier. More importantly, Justin Jackson had 171 yards on 6.1 ypc after TOTALLING 91 yards on 3.6 ypc in Northwestern's 0-2 Big Ten start. You'd think Iowa would be a much stiffer test, but the Hawkeyes' run defense has been subpar by their standards, 10th in the Big Ten at 4.8 ypc, actually one spot BELOW Maryland there. That's where it has to start for Iowa's defense. Clayton Thorson threw the ball 49 times last week, second most in his career, and six times more than he ever had in a win. That's not their recipe, but if Jackson is running wild, and the play action is working, Northwestern will continue to drink from that well. Nathan Stanley is going to get his splash plays, but when Iowa is tough is when he's accurate on the short throws. He was 12-26 (46%) when Iowa was struggling to put Illinois away, but completed 5 of his final 6 passes and Iowa scored touchdowns on 3 of 4 drives. He's not throwing picks, but he's not hitting his guys enough either. It may not matter though, because when Akrum Wadley sees purple, his eyes light up and he finds paydirt. In 2014 he had 106 of his 181 rushing yards and his lone touchdown against the Wildcats, along with his season long run. In 2015 he had his season high 204 rushing yards, and 4 of the 7 rushing touchdowns he had on the year. Even last year, when they held him to his lowest per carry output of the year, he scored twice. In his three previous seasons, he's scored 18 rushing touchdowns, and SEVEN have come against Northwestern, plus his season high outputs in 2 of the 3 games.
IOWA 27, NORTHWESTERN 20
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Why NU will / won't beat Iowa
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/20/16507122/why-northwestern-will-wont-beat-iowa
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Opponent Q&A with Max Brekke of Black Heart Gold Pants
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/20/16511540/northwestern-iowa-preview-opponent-qa-black-heart-gold-pants-football-rivalry-hawkeyes-wildcats
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insidenu staff's Iowa@NU predictions
- 5 of 7 peeps think the Hawkeyes will win ~???
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/20/16506204/northwestern-vs-iowa-predictions-score-preview-football-big-ten-west-rivalry-pat-fitzgerald-ferentz
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helluva game
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NU post-game press conference
Notes
https://www.insidenu.com/2017/10/21/16514280/northwestern-iowa-press-conference-notes-pat-fitzgerald-clayton-thorson-justin-jackson-comments
FITZ (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp1ReX93gLk
NU PLAYERS (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ90RI2Bcf0