hawkeyecub

Where the hell did that come from? Honestly what kind of internet wager (sig or something along those lines) would you like to make on the 6 wins? I guarantee you they win 6. For the most part you're a level-headed, knowledgeable fan. But then you let your dislike for a team get in the way and make absurd statements. For some reason it happens with most of the Illinois fans here whom I typically like. Remember how Iowa football was going to fight for the bottom tier of the Big Ten this year? You made that statement mid-season. How about how Iowa basketball was going to struggle to win 3-4 games in the Big Ten last year? Or that they would struggle to win 20 games in '09 and '10 combined? I could keep going with situations where you guys freak out and try so hard to say how awful Iowa will always be. Here's the last thing I'll say about yesterday's game. Remember how bad Iowa was last year? You know the team that wasn't going to win 4 in the Big Ten (won 6 actually)? Remember the Purdue team who won the Big Ten? Iowa lost AT Purdue by 1 on a Keaton Grant free throw with 1.4 seconds left. Did that portend Purdue's doom? It's one freaking game at the beginning of the Big Ten season.

Was it uglier than the scored indicated? I expected Minnesota to win that game at home. Ohio State was not impressive on New Year's Eve. We had open looks from 3 all day. We defended Mullens with a 6'5 freshman (Gatens) for much of the game and he did nothing. Turner's a stud but he didn't have a very good game. Buford had a solid game but it was basically Diebler getting away from us and hitting every shot which he hasn't done most of the time.

I would like to believe today was a testament to IU's improvement and bodes well for the Hoosiers in the Big Ten. Instead, I think it portends doom for Iowa's chances in the league. I have a few observations about that game. First of all, we played a really poor game but most of it was a result of what IU was doing. They were overplaying defensively and not giving us nearly as many open looks from 3 as we typically get. That did allow us to drive and get more points inside than we've gotten practically all year, but they made Iowa go away from their strengths and get out of their comfort zone. Iowa reacted well to it for stretches but then made some really bad decisions and hit some droughts. This is the first time I've seen IU all year. That team has completely bought in to what Crean is telling them. They played frickin hard. I don't know that I've ever seen an opposing bench as into the game as those guys were. Seriously when they were down 13 they were still up on their feet and freaking out just over deflections. And I mean that in a good way. I say that team wins at least 4 Big Ten games. I know they're bad but they do have some talent and they're going to be overlooked by everyone they play. And when you play that hard and are well coached you'll sneak up on some teams and pull out close games. As far as Iowa, I think this team thinks they're better than they are for some reason. There's been a defensive regression. I think they can still be around that 7-8 win mark in the Big Ten but there needs to be improvement.

First: Nick is classier then people give him credit for. Of course... It is pretty hilarious to read a Saban-led Alabama fan whining about the opposing team "winning with class".

Minnesota fans are extremely fickle. Blackouts were routine before the '98 season. There was at least one home playoff game blacked out in the mid-'90's. Childress still hasn't won over many of the casual fans. Even with Adrian they still complain about how boring our offense is (which it is at times) because we don't chuck up the deep ball to Randy and put up 30 points a game anymore. The Vikings are still king in the state and I would say there are probably a higher percentage of "loyal" fans outside of the Metro than in the Twin Cities. With a 3:30 Sunday game on short notice, those people aren't as willing to make the trip and pay for $100 tickets. The economy is spooking everyone.

How did #71 and #2 not get a personal foul for flipping out on the umpire with their helmets off? Oh and what a shocker that facepaint guy freaked out and was stomping around yelling about how bad he was on the sideline.

Leach called a timeout, brought his entire team over and told them to "hit them in the effing mouth" a few times. They got the stop and Ole Miss missed a chip shot field goal. It's going to take 40 to win this game. What a shocker.

Good call by the voters. Manning flew under the radar until the last couple weeks because the Colts started 3-4 but he was just amazing over the last few weeks. Yeah, the only reason that team is in the playoffs is Peyton Manning. It's a pretty weak safe pick. Who would you have gone with though? I agree, I just don't know who had a typical MVP season.

Same with the Vikings and Eagles. I keep hearing people picking the Eagles because they're hot and peaking at the right time. The week before the Cowboys game they put up 3 points in a loss to the Redskins. In the middle of November they tied the Bengals and lost 36-7 to the Ravens. They went 4-3-1 in their last 8. The Vikings are 6-2 in that span and 7-2 since October 20th. Pick the Eagles because you trust McNabb more than Tarvaris in a playoff game, especially against the Eagles blitzes. But stop with the nonsense about the Eagles being hot.

FYI the Big Ten is adding a bye week and pushing the schedule back so it ends the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Some teams will do it beginning next year (I know OSU/Michigan and Iowa/Minnesota aren't) but all will go to that format in 2010 I believe.

Because he coached in the NFL and was a well respected assistant before coming to Iowa and having success as a head coach. Most in the NFL also think he has the kind of demeanor/approach that would work in the NFL. They also see that he has a good eye for talent and has won without blue chip recruits. I think he'll be coming back, but this is the situation that would tempt him.

hopefully for you, losing your top RB doesn't lead to an Illinois-esque collapse next year I think we have more returning/in the pipeline than Illinois did but no one will replace Shonn. 8 starters returning on each side of the ball and more young talent than we've had in a long time. Bad news is the schedule will be really tough.

Hey manbearcub, remember mid-season when I said Shonn would be in the NFL next year and you lol'ed and said "he's good but not good enough to leave early"? Ah-huh Anyways awesome win. I really wish the theory that Cap One would take Ole Miss and Georgia would have gone to the Outback would have occurred. That would have been a really good game. If Ferentz is ever going this would be it. He would come in with Pioli to a nice situation where they each would have 4 years most likely. Good QB and offensive talent in place. Man I hope he stays. Have no idea who we would target if he leaves.

LET'S GO HAWKS! Get Shonn his 100 again and let him ride into the sunset (NFL) with a huge day.

Matt Gatens is a stud. You guys just need a post player. Any post player. And he's basically had to play the 4 all year. Today he was matched up with Mullens quite a bit. He denied the ball and when he did get it he held his own. Tate showed last year in the Big Ten he can be effective. We haven't gotten him the ball enough this year and he hasn't been able to get in the flow offensively. Today he got in foul trouble early and was nowhere to be found. But yeah we really need a post presence. Preferrably one who can rebound, defend and also draw the defense out to the high post by hitting mid-range jumpers. Basically what I've seen of Mike Davis this year. A guy like him could thrive in this offense and will be needed eventually.

Damn. We went empty on our last 5 possessions and lost by 3. Two turnovers then missed the front of a 1 and 1 and missed two open 3's in the last 35 seconds. Played horribly in the first 14 minutes to get down 15 but then shot the lights out and had the lead. Diebler got away from us and couldn't miss.

If he has any say on how the offense is run they will never get out of the dumps. Chaney was ungodly awful as an OC at Purdue. If you look at just straight statistics you might think he was a pretty good OC but when he was around we had dominant offenses every year because we had great players. My family (some Purdue fans for over 80 years) used to scream and cuss almost every game over Chaney's play calling. If something works he will start doing something else to try and catch the defense off guard. For instance in games that Purdue would have almost 300 yards passing by halftime Chaney would have Purdue come out for the second half running. We used to play a QB1 style game when watching the games to see who could predict the play Purdue was about to run. No joke I was right about 70-75% of the time (had to name play type and primary direction). If I can guess what Chaney has called that much imagine what opposing defenses can do. It just happened that Tiller's spread offense makes it so 50% of the time you can't do anything to stop the offense as long as you have a good QB. Purdue had great QB's when Chaney was here so the offense succeeded in spite of him. In all seriousness I'm pretty sure I could have done better than Chaney as Purdue's OC. This doesn't sound good at all. Anytime someone starts telling you they can predict the play before it happens and including that in their rant, ignore everything. When they start saying they seriously could have done a better job as OC, tune them out forever. Go to most any message board of a non top 5 team and you'll find meatballs saying the same thing about their offensive coordinator. It's the cool and easy thing to do. 95% of the time they're wrong and vastly underestimate the complexity of what's going on and don't realize that OC's are not just calling a play on 2nd and 8 to be successful on 2nd and 8. They have a gameplan, they're doing things for a reason and they're trying to set up certain actions for future plays.

He deserves it after the collapse at the end of the year....I know the D is bad, but come on The D was historically bad. Second least efficient defense in the tracked statistical era (last 20 years), behind this year's Detroit defense. I really don't trust their formulas and they keep tweaking them. I used to buy into them pretty well but the last year or two I keep becoming more skeptical. It seems all of the worst and best "ever" of the last 20 years are always units since 2000. Certain styles skew the results in odd directions (Eagles anyone?) and I just can't agree with a lot of their individual rankings. I just don't think football works as well for saber type analysis.

Wow Purdue really played stupid basketball down the stretch in regulation. Two terrible shots in the last minute and awful defense on the pick and roll. Wish they would have had a better angle on that last foul but it looked pretty iffy. EDIT: Now two more bad shots in overtime and a defensive lapse in transition. Illinois has got this

Peter King's ego has just exploded beyond belief the last few years since he's been featured more on Inside the NFL and Football Night in America.

Are you drunk son?

Bo has finished 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd and 1st in the Big Ten. I can't bet against them until I see them struggling in the Big Ten.

Lovie is a big part of the problem when it comes to personel. He started getting more control over those decisions after the Super Bowl appearance, plus his coaches routinely put guys who can help in the doghouse and then out the door. He contributed directly to the huge drop in talent in the defensive backfield, it would be like not giving Dusty Baker any blame for deciding to go with some past his prime "proven veteran" over a decent kid. Okay then I retract that a bit, I was not aware he had much of a say in personnel. I just think the problem is personnel much more than scheme or coaching decisions. That total offensive talent would have to rank about 25th or worse in the league.

Look at the talent on your squad. How did you expect more than 9 wins with the offensive talent you have and an aging defense that is good but not great anymore? I really don't get it.

They tanked down the stretch but damn. You take over a 4-12 team, win 10, 4 and 9 and get the axe? I really hope Favre returns there again.