A fellow football junkie and I compare our weekly power rankings. If you missed last week’s, catch up here. Changes are marked by +/- the number of rankings. These are real emails back and forth.
Josh Kam
1. Michigan State 1. Michigan State
2. Ohio State 2. Ohio State
3. Nebraska 3. Nebraska
K – MSU is getting closer to number two with OSU playing so well but I can’t dump them from number one just yet. The Bucks destroyed Rutgers at home and Nebraska played a great 2nd half against Northwestern.
J – Identical thinking and rankings. I thought it was funny that OSU and MSU won by the exact same scores. Feels like that doesn’t happen too often. Nebraska has rounded into form and, unlike anyone else in the west, they are truly a dual threat offense. Most complete team in the division.
4. Minnesota 4. Minnesota +2
5. Maryland +3 5. Maryland +2
6. Rutgers -1 6. Wisconsin +3
J – I’m giving Rutgers a bit of a pass, we’ve seen a lot of teams get dumped by Ohio State, especially in the Shoe. Let’s see how they look in Lincoln before writing them off completely.
K – This is such a revolving door. Watch Northwestern and Iowa be up here next week by not even playing.
J – I know one team that won’t be cracking the upper half for me anytime soon…I’m out on Iowa (regardless of future wins) – and will be ripping them shortly but I agree, the top and bottom of this league is crystal clear and the meat of the conference is a complete head scratcher.
7. Wisconsin +2 7. Iowa -3
8. Iowa -2 8. Rutgers -3
9. Northwestern -2 9. Northwestern -1
J – Who is getting the honors in RIPPING the “game-plan” Greg Davis and Kirk Ferentz drew up last week?
K – I have Iowa one spot higher so I guess you get to. Let me preface your rant with this though…In the long run we both agree Davis is not the answer and Kirk will move on when he and the university are ready, but im not ready to write off Iowa after one game. Did they looked bad? Yes, but every team has a really bad game once in awhile. Look at ‘Bama against Arkansas. It was an eye opener for everyone, much like the ISU loss, and now they have a bye week to correct some basic stuff and have a good chance to become bowl eligible at home against Northwestern.
J – How many eye openers do the coaches, players and fans need? Ready for bullet points?
K – Oh god…
J – Here is why the Maryland game should convince everyone that this team has Systemic Stupidity and will not be improving anytime soon…
- Spotted a 14 point lead and still lost…that only happens when you do what Iowa did which is have a million empty possessions in a row which I see as UNACCEPTABLE, even if Maryland’s d plays well you still can’t have 9 empty series in a row.
- Down three to start the fourth quarter and we pass it 13 times in a row. Why?
- Mark Weisman averages 8 yards a carry on the day and doesn’t sniff the ball in the fourth and only has 10 carries total. What game are the coaches watching?
- Breakdown the pick six…It was an out pattern that needed to be thrown 30 yards INTO a 20 mph wind to gain a measly three yards. Talk about insanely high risk for next to zero reward.
- Win the toss. Defer. Maryland takes ball (duh). Iowa takes the wind – why? You don’t need the wind for the 1st and 3rd.
- CJB with a stronger arm and could maybe do something into that wind doesn’t sniff the field for being “dinged up.” Huh? When in six plays a week ago did he get dinged up?
- Covering the league’s best wideout, Stefon Diggs, with a linebacker on many plays led to a career high in receptions and yardage.
- Maryland was in the 90s with rushing about 140 some yards a game entering. Oops, 212 against Iowa.
I have come to the conclusion that any future wins will be IN SPITE of the coaching. The defense is crap now and clearly got a boost from the soft competition earlier in the year. Shit defense and effing moronic offensive calls will get you a losing record. Hate this coaching staff. Hate this team. Hate everything Iowa football has become. The old man said after the Indiana game he didn’t see another win on the schedule other than Illinois. He might be onto something.
K – I don’t see that, I think both games against Illinois and Northwestern can be wins. Obviously they need to be better against Minne Wisc and Neb.
[EDITOR’S NOTE] – Don’t worry, Josh kept going but needed to break it up at least a little bit…
J – All I can hope for now to get this staff fired. While I’m at it, Barta needs to go. His coaching hires (Todd and Fran) have netted ZERO ncaa wins. His coaching contracts (Kirk) have handcuffed the program. The only good thing he did was bring in the Brands Bros and all that took was this conversation:
ring-ring
Hello?
Hi, this is Gary Barta. Is Dan Gable available?
Speaking.
Oh, hi, um….who should I hire for the wrestling program?
Tom Brands
Tha-
CLICK
K – Are we making this an Iowa hate blog now? I can only do that during basketball season.
10. Michigan 10. Michigan
11. Purdue +2 11. Penn State
12. Penn State 12. Purdue +1
13. Indiana -2 13. Indiana -1
14. Illinois 14. Illinois
J – Three of these teams were idle so not too much talk about but…Purdue advancing on a loss! Where was this quarterback all year!?!
K – While getting out of the coma must be nice for Purdue fans, I don’t have them advancing on a loss, more about Indiana looking downright dreadful without Sudfeld. 11 passing yards?! Can Michigan or PSU ever get out of the double digits this season?
J – If Michigan upsets MSU this weekend, might have to consider it but seems very doubtful. We’ve chronicled their flaws all year and they look to have gotten worse over the last 8 weeks. That, if anything, has hurt Hoke more. Take their 3-4 mark and say they started 1-2 or 0-3, then people would say there were moving in the right direction. Obviously Franklin is in year one and his highly regarded AND dealing with limitations thanks to the idiotic NCAA so this season really doesn’t matter for him.
K – I don’t see the UM upset happening but MSU isn’t blowing teams out…Michigan on a bye after a win…Rivalry…I don’t know, if Michigan wanted to salvage the season, it will have to come this Saturday. Maybe they play inspired and MSU is really, really sloppy.
J – Salvage! I like that. In hind sight, Michigan squandered the Minnesota game by trying Morris out as a starter. Think those insecurities may have bled over to the Rutgers game. I just don’t think Garnder has much support from his line, running backs or widouts outside Funchess so how could Morris have done any better. Whoever is qb can’t throw to the same guy 25 times in a game. Trying the qb change after the Utah game just rattled everything even more than the blowouts at the hands of the Utes and Irish did. Lots of Michigan people nodding their heads now at why Hoke is on such a hot seat since you know that decision came from him.
K – I’m not sure you can blame them for trying. Take our Hawks, what happens if they lost to Ball State and Iowa State? Obviously people would want Beathard. You have to make that switch. Hoke didn’t have much of a choice with the way Devin was playing and hearing it from the fans. He had to take the gamble. Had it paid off, we would be talking about what a brilliant move Hoke pulled off. This sport gives a lot and takes a lot. Fickle.
J – Well on the plus side no one, not even Brady Hoke, has as hot a seat as your boy Willy Mussy. If I’m not mistaken you started muschamptoiowa.net in 2010, right?
K – No I started manginofillskinnick.net.
J – Touche. You think Charlie Weis purchased Mangino’s house? I figure it was already outfitted for the, ahem, rotund man already.
K – hahahaha! Mangino don’t got that Weis money!!
J – That Weis money goes a loooooong way at Shakey’s.
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