Hawkeyes Hit Ceiling Hard
Multiple people predicted it was coming. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz would remind people of the team’s accomplishments this season after being embarrassed in Mondays season finale.
“I have to encourage everybody to step back. It is a 10-win season, Big Ten West champs and a lot of really good moments,” he said.
Facts are facts. Iowa is a Big Ten division champ for a second time in three seasons. It’s 28-11 in that time. That’s the bottom line.
Iowa Football Citrus Bowl Takeaways
JOHN BOHNENKAMP
However, like most areas of life, there’s nuance and context to the results. Not all victories are created equal. Some games are bigger than others even if they’re all important.
That’s where the Hawkeyes have bottomed out recently. While every win should be appreciated, teams are remembered for how they perform when the lights are the brightest. For a third season in a row, fans have been gut-punched when most invested.
It seemed like folks vented fast and moved on following Monday’s 35-0 beatdown by a depleted Tennessee squad in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl. They’d been conditioned for disappointment in these spots.
Shoot, they just went through it a month ago. Michigan toyed with their team during a 26-0 victory in the Big Ten Championship. The Hawkeyes were outscored 61-0 in this season’s final two games.
Iowa followers weren’t shocked by that night in Indianapolis. Two years earlier, the Wolverines stream rolled their Hawks, 42-3, in the conference title contest. Still, being thumped 68-3 in two chances to win a Big Ten championship for the first time since 2004 left scars.
The resilient base bounced back with hope for the Citrus. The Volunteers saw 24 players leave their roster since the end of the regular season. That group included three starters in the secondary and disruptive defensive end Tyler Baron.
Surely, Iowa’s punchless offense could do enough against inexperienced replacements, they thought. Tennessee’s best wins were against Kentucky and Texas A&M, 7-6 teams. The Volunteers were starting a true freshman quarterback.
Again, context is important. Seven victories in the SEC might just mean you’re better that what it takes to conquer the Big Ten West.
Consider, No. 20 Iowa might pull off another unlikely feat in a season that saw it win with little threat of scoring. Not many teams win 10 games and miss the final AP Top 25, but that is in play here. That illustrates the strength of the victories.
The Hawkeyes faced three ranked teams this season. Tennessee, Michigan and Penn State. They were outscored, 92-0.
