ESPN thoughts on our bowl

#2
#2
Iowa.
IOWA BREAKDOWN

Season highlights: Even with an early hiccup, the Hawkeyes still looked capable of contending in the Big Ten West Division after capping a 5-1 start with a couple conference wins that showed there might be signs of an explosive offense emerging for Kirk Ferentz. Iowa exploded for 45 points in a win over Indiana that seemingly had it on track to compete in the thick of the league race, and the Hawkeyes scored 48 points two weeks later against Northwestern. But it didn't ever get any better for the Hawkeyes.

Season lowlights: The season was marked by inconsistency for Iowa, but it was relatively safe to assume the Hawkeyes weren’t going to rise up and pull off any major upsets once conference play arrived. They could never score a signature victory over the favorites in the Big Ten, but none of its defeats were nearly as embarrassing as the 51-14 demolition it was handed on the road at Minnesota at the start of what amounted to a four-team round-robin tournament to crown a champ in the West.

Player to watch: Before heading off to the NFL as a surefire first-round draft pick, hulking, athletic left tackle Brandon Scherff gets one one last chance to bowl over college defensive ends for the Hawkeyes. Whether he was bouncing back with freakish quickness or simply showing off his incredible strength, Scherff at times hardly seems human. Some NFL general manager is going to be thrilled to get Scherff next spring, once Ferentz gets one more road-grading performance out of him.

Motivation factor: The Hawkeyes will probably never have an easier path to a division title than the schedule they were handed this season, and they should definitely be disappointed by how badly they squandered that opportunity on the way to a 7-5 record. Iowa doesn’t seem to be getting much return on Ferentz's rich contract, though it might be a bit more palatable if he can fire up his club enough to at least finish the season with an eighth victory. -- Austin Ward
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#4
#4
TN.

Season highlights: Making his first start of the season, sophomore quarterback Joshua Dobbs rallied the Volunteers to a 45-42 overtime win at South Carolina. Dobbs hit Jason Croom with the tying pass with 11 seconds left in regulation and finished the night with 301 passing yards and two touchdowns and 166 rushing yards and three more scores.

Season lowlights: The Vols struggled to close games successfully for much of the season, and that was a frequent problem when they got off to an 0-4 start in SEC play. Early losses to Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida all featured late Tennessee implosions after the Vols played competitively for much of those games.

Player to watch: Derek Barnett. The freshman defensive end has emerged as one of the nation’s top young pass rushers. Barnett is tied for 13th nationally with 10 sacks and is tied for third with 20.5 tackles for loss. He hasn’t generated a lot of national attention – probably because the Vols are 6-6 and needed a win last weekend against Vanderbilt to reach bowl eligibility – but Barnett is already a star.

Motivation factor: This is Tennessee’s first bowl trip since 2010, and its first under second-year coach Butch Jones, so motivation should be fairly high. The Vols had to win three of their last four games just to reach the postseason, and Jones has a point to prove about how the program is moving in the right direction under his leadership. -- David Ching
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#7
#7
tennesseeduke said:
INB4 ESPN HATES US!

:thud:

We will be Iowa by 14!

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
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ESPN will always favor a Big 10 team against an SEC team. Remember how they built up Ohio State before Florida humiliated them in January 2007? UT will kick Hawkeye arse
 
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#11
#11
BearCat204 said:
You mean the Tennessee that had their hands full with Vandy?
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You do know we will be getting some healthy players back right. Crowder at center. Hurd at RB. Just to name a few. I know there will be more. We will be ok by Jan 2nd. :rock::dance2:
 
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#13
#13
Dave1967 said:
ESPN will always favor a Big 10 team against an SEC team. Remember how they built up Ohio State before Florida humiliated them in January 2007? UT will kick Hawkeye arse
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That was the old ESPN....With the new Contract and network...they love anything SEC, you'd have to be an idiot not to admit a little bias.
 
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#14
#14
How good is their defensive line? Hopefully they are comparable to UK or USCe.
 
#15
#15
coffeevol said:
That was the old ESPN....With the new Contract and network...they love anything SEC, you'd have to be an idiot not to admit a little bias.
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Yeah, ever since the Big Ten went out on their own with the BTN, ESPN has been on a rampage to hate everything Big Ten related.

The only reason they were shilling for Ohio St. last night was because TCU and Baylor bring no money to the table.
 
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#16
#16
huskyvol said:
How good is their defensive line? Hopefully they are comparable to UK or USCe.
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DL is solid with two very good DTs that will be playing on Sundays and one DE that is decent (Ott), with the other end being an issue (rotation between small and quick Meier and big and slow Hardy).

Inexperienced LBs have been the biggest issue.
 
#17
#17
BrewHawk said:
DL is solid with two very good DTs that will be playing on Sundays and one DE that is decent (Ott), with the other end being an issue (rotation between small and quick Meier and big and slow Hardy).

Inexperienced LBs have been the biggest issue.
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If the LBs are problems for them then the middle of the should be open for Dobbs to either break off some huge runs or be able to hit Wolfe on quick slants
 
#18
#18
Zone read defense has been a big issue all year. MLB, Alston, is a liability in pass coverage. The other two (Jewell and Bower) are RS frosh who will be very good, but aren't there yet.
 
#19
#19
We should beat the living hell out of Iowa to be honest. I MUCH prefer this matchup to the one against West Virginia!
 
#20
#20
BrewHawk said:
Zone read defense has been a big issue all year. MLB, Alston, is a liability in pass coverage. The other two (Jewell and Bower) are RS frosh who will be very good, but aren't there yet.
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Interesting i like hearing this..
 
#21
#21
BearCat204 said:
You mean the Tennessee that had their hands full with Vandy?
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Peyton lost to a crappy Memphis team. My point is a win is a win and even if you lose doesn't mean they were better than you. We beat them and even the better team (as in us) is allowed to struggle.
 
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