Tiger Hawk Blog » opinion

Coach Lickliter is Under Pressure as Iowa’s Coach

P Murphy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:29:19 +0000

Coach Todd Lickliter is under a lot of pressure going into Friday’s game against Bowling Green. Not just the normal pressure of being a head coach or the pressure the fans are giving him and the team. But the pressure of repeating history over again and the results that followed it. tigerhawkblog end

If Iowa (0-2) shall lose on Friday against Bowling Green (1-1), then this will be the third time in Iowa’s history that they lost the first three games of the season.

Last time this happened was the 1920-1921 season. Iowa finished that season 9-10 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten under head coach James Ashmore. Back then it was good for a sixth place finishing in the conference. At the end of the season, Coach Ashmore was fired after coaching three seasons. His record was 29-28 overall and 17-17 in the Big Ten during his time at Iowa. His best team finished fifth in the Big Ten in his second year.

The only other time Iowa has lost that many games at the beginning of the season was the 1917-1918 season. That year the Hawkeyes lost the first six games of the season. Iowa finished 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten for ninth place finish. Iowa’s coach was Maury Kent during that season. He suffered the same fate as Ashmore at the end of the season. Kent coached Iowa for five years. His best finish in the Big Ten was seventh place twice. His five year record at Iowa was 42-36 overall and 10-29 in the Big Ten.

Coach Lickliter is also feeling the pressure of finishing the season with a losing record. There was only one other time in history that Iowa had a losing record for three straight seasons. It was under coach Rollie Williams between 1929 and 1932 seasons. This was also Coach Williams first three seasons. He coached Iowa for 14 years and finished second in the Big Ten once. His teams mostly finished on the bottom half of the conference. He also had seven winning seasons in his 14 years with the Hawkeyes.

The bottom line is that this season as well as future seasons will be horrible unless coach Lickliter can change things around. He really needs to have his first winning season be this season. Lickliter has been focusing on the team’s defensive playing. It goes back to defenses will win the game. I believe this in some sports like football and soccer. In basketball, you need to have good scorers on the team if you want a chance to win.

The Butler coaching style is starting to show why it doesn’t work in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is not the Horizon league.

Currently the Big Ten has six top 25 teams in the nation and is a tougher conference than the Horizon. I don’t see Coach Lickliter staying around much more than a few more seasons before he is replaced.

Rose Bowl No More as Iowa Loses in Epic Big Ten Championship Game

P Murphy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:20:20 +0000

Iowa (5-2, 9-2) loses their second game of the season to Ohio State (6-1, 9-2) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State scored a 39 yard field goal in overtime to beat Iowa 27-24. This was an epic nail biter game for both teams. Both teams played with their hearts. tigerhawkblog end

With this win, Ohio State secures their spot at the Rose Bowl even if they lose against Michigan next week. A loss to Michigan will allow another team (Penn State, Iowa, or Wisconsin) to become Co-Champion of the Big Ten.

Iowa stills have a shot in getting an at-large BCS bid. Currently Ohio State, Iowa, and Penn State are ranked in the top 14 in the BCS poll. By the rules, if a conference has three teams that are ranked in the top 14 in the BCS poll, then the BCS selectors has to take two out of the three teams.

Iowa has the lead over Penn State for three reasons. They are as follows.
• Iowa has beaten Penn State 21 -10.
• Iowa is ranked 13th and Pen State is ranked 14th in the BCS poll.
• Penn State lost last week to Ohio State 24-7 as Iowa lost 27-24 in overtime.

THE GAME

Iowa’s offense gained the most overall yards than any other team against the Ohio State’s defense this season. As well as scoring the third most points against Ohio State. Iowa gave up 229 rushing yards while only allowing 94 passing yards.

Redshirt quarterback James Vandenberg went completed 60 percent of his passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Two of the three interception was from a deflection and a hail mary pass. This was very impressive for being his first start as a college quarterback.

Safety Brett Greenwood and wide receiver Colin Sandeman both played very well in this game for their first game back since injuries. The biggest surprise was having running back Adam Robinson back from his high ankle sprain injury.

THE INJURIES

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi is out for the rest of the season. He is working on returning before the bowl game. His surgery on his ankle was successful.

Running back Brandon Wegher did not play in the Ohio State game. He is battling sore ribs from the Northwestern game.

Linebacker Jeremiha Hunter injured his ankle during the second quarter of Ohio State’s game. He did not play in the second half and is questionable for the Minnesota game this weekend.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES

The Hawkeyes will host Minnesota (3-4, 6-5) on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. This is Iowa’s last chance to try to win 10 games this season as well as keeping their BCS at-large hopes alive. The Hawkeyes are favored to win by 10 points by the odds makers.

Ohio State travels to Michigan (1-6, 5-6) on Saturday. Ohio State will represent the Big ten Conference in the Rose Bowl as Michigan tries to get bowl eligible.

Iowa Loses Quarterback and Undefeated Season

P Murphy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:33:07 +0000

Iowa (5-1, 9-1) loses their first game of the season to Northwestern (3-3, 6-4) at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Northwestern scored the last 17 points of the game to make it 17-10 final score. tigerhawkblog end

This loss ends the Hawkeyes nine game and 13 game winning streaks as well as a chance to play in the BCS championship game.

THE GAME

Ricky Stanzi was injured in the beginning of the second quarter. This was a very costly injury since the offense never recovered from it.
James Vandenberg replaced Stanzi at center and was able to move the ball some towards the end of the game. He had an interception and no touchdowns for the game. He will get his first collegiate start on Saturday in Columbus.

The referees missed several penalties that could cause the game to go a different way. They missed three penalties on the Hawkeyes final drive that would put them in Northwestern territory. The biggest penalty they missed was facemask that Stanzi got when he was injured in the second quarter.

The Big Ten Conference should review the referees in this game and suspend them for the rest of the season for their actions. It is so interesting that no one lists who the referees were.

My opinion is that the line judge that missed the holding of Tony Moeaki should be fired. He was 20 feet from them when this happened. It clearly shows him favoring Northwestern over Iowa. They are not to favor any team in a game.

THE INJURIES

The Hawkeyes are still battling injuries from the Michigan State and Northwestern games.

Free Safety Brent Greenwood did not play in the Northwestern game. There was no update about his concussion.

Wide Receiver Colin Sandeman did not play in the Northwestern game as well. He is still healing from his concussion and an injury to his shoulder from the same play. He has a small chance to play next week.

Running Back Adam Robinson is out for the rest of the season. He was walking with a limp and without crutches on the sideline during the game.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi is out for the rest of the season. His surgery was successful.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES

The Hawkeyes will try to rebound this Saturday as they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1, 8-2). The winner will win be the sole Big Ten champions and have the automatic berth in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes are favored to win by 16 points by the odds makers.

Northwestern travels to Illinois (2-5, 3-6) on Saturday. Northwestern is now bowl eligible and will be facing Illinois team that has won the past two games.

Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball Overview ’09-’10 Season

P Murphy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:01:26 +0000

Conference View

The Big Ten conference sent seven teams to the NCAA tournament last year as well as two teams to the NIT tournament. This includes sending Michigan State to the NCAA finals as well as sending Penn State to the NIT finals. tigerhawkblog end

This year the Big Ten is expected to do the same as last year with six teams in the top 25 pre-season AP poll. The conference has a good shot of sending even eight teams to the NCAA tournament.

Hawkeyes Overview

Coach: Todd Lickliter (third season, 28-36 at Iowa, 159-97 overall).
Last season’s record: 15 – 17 overall, 5 – 13 in Big Ten (tenth in league).
Postseason: None.
Last time they made the NCAA field: 2005-2006 season.
Returning starters: 2.

The Hawkeyes are coming off their second consecutive losing season. Last two years, Iowa has a combined 11 – 25 record in Big Ten play and a combined 28 – 36 overall record. Iowa hasn’t had back to back losing seasons since before Tom Davis was head coach of the Hawkeyes.

Todd Lickliter has a lot of rebuilding to do this year after losing four players due to them transferring out of Iowa and going to other schools. They are Jake Kelly (Indiana State), Jeff Peterson (Arkansas), Jermain Davis (Minnesota State) and David Palmer (NKU).

Iowa was well on its way to becoming a Big Ten contender in a couple years, but now the program is in ruins due to all of the transfers. This can be a make or break season for Coach Lickliter as well as Iowa basketball program. Iowa will need to finish with a winning record and out of the conference basement for Todd Lickliter to avoid the hot seat and keep his job safe.

Iowa is picked by everyone to finish in last place in the Big Ten Conference. Rivals have Iowa ranked at No. 134 and CollegeHoops.net has them at a ranking of 123. Iowa is currently ranked 121st in the RPI heading into this season.

Roster Breakdown:

Projected Starting Five:
Matt Gatens, Sophomore, Guard, 10.8 points per game
Anthony Tucker, Sophomore, Guard, 10.4 points per game
Cully Payne, 6-1, Freshman, Guard
Aaron Fuller, Sophomore, Forward, 4.0 points per game
Jarryd Cole, Junior, Forward, 3.7 points per game

Iowa only has six players returning from last year’s team that has any game time experience. With that said, there are a lot of questions that will need to be answered before the start of Big Ten play. Since four players transferred out, there are holes that will need to be filled by existing players or by last year’s recruiting class.

If Iowa can answer most of their questions, then they will have a team that has two inside players that can block shots, rebound, and score as well as having four outside threats that can hit the long ball.
Senior guard Devan Bawinkel and Redshirt Freshmen guard John Lickliter can drain the three point shot as well as Gatens and Tucker. Junior forward Devon Archie could be one of Lickliter’s best recruits last year and could help them in blocking shots as well as scoring and rebounding.

Iowa is also battling the injury bug early this year. Forward Devon Archie injured his shoulder in practice and is out 4 to 7 weeks. He will return before the start of Big Ten play. Freshman Cully Payne is fighting through a sprain ankle that he got during last weekend’s Black and Gold scrimmage. Anthony Tucker is also dealing with a hurt back at the beginning of this season.

List of incoming freshman and JUCO players.
F Devon Archie, 6-9, jr., Indianapolis;
F Brennan Cougill, 6-9, fr., Sioux City, Iowa;
G John Lickliter, 5-11, redshirt fr., Iowa City;
G Eric May, 6-5, fr., Dubuque, Iowa;
G Nick Neari, 6-2, fr., St. Charles, Ill.;
G Cully Payne, 6-1, fr., Schaumburg, Ill.

Schedule Breakdown:

The Hawkeyes have a decent schedule this year. Iowa plays non-conference teams like third ranked Texas and Pittsburgh in the CBE tournament as well as playing at Northern Iowa.

They also play all six pre-season ranked Big Ten Teams this year at home and on the road. They are second ranked Michigan State, seventh ranked Purdue, 15th ranked Michigan, 16th ranked Ohio State, 23rd ranked Illinois, and 25th ranked Minnesota.

Season Outlook:

There will be too many questions for Iowa to answer this year. Iowa will get their first winning season under Coach Lickliter, but they are still going to be in the lower half of the conference standings.

The Hawkeyes will need to get an inside person to score and rebound as well as block shots. If this happens then Iowa will become a wildcard in the Big ten Conference with a chance to make it to a post-season tournament. Iowa can score on the outside if they are open, but needs help inside to help win the rebounding game.

A 7-11 finish in conference is my prediction, with a small chance of making any tournament in the post-season, and a 17-15 overall record.

Iowa Rally in Fourth Quarter to Stay Perfect

P Murphy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:58:14 +0000

Iowa (5-0 9-0) won their ninth straight game by beating Indiana (1-4 4-5) 42 – 24 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. This is the first time in school history the Hawkeyes won the first nine games in a single season. This victory also makes it 13 in a row dating back to last year. It has been over 365 days since Iowa has lost a game. tigerhawkblog end

THE GAME
The Hawkeyes beat Indiana after scoring four touchdowns in the fourth quarter . This is the first time since 2005 that Iowa score 28 points in a single quarter. This marks the first time since 2005 that Iowa has scored 28 points in a single quarter.
Ricky Stanzi threw two touchdown passes back to back in the fourth quarter. First one was a 92 yard reception to Marvin McNutt and the second one was a 66 yard reception to DJK. The 92 yard reception is the fourth longest in Iowa history. Brandon Wegher ran for two more touchdowns.
This is after Stanzi threw four interceptions in four possessions in the third quarter. This marks the worst quarter Iowa has played in this year. Indiana only scored ten points in the six turnovers Iowa had in the game.
Stanzi threw for a career high 337 yards to go with his career high five picks. Wegher ran for 118 yards in 25 carries with three touchdowns. These are all career highs for Wegher.
Tyler Sash added another interception to his total in the third quarter. He had an 86 yard interception that he returned for a touchdown. Sash has a total of six picks this season. Shawn Prater and A. J. Edds add two more interceptions in the fourth quarter to make the team total 18. Iowa leads the NCAA in this category.

THE INJURIES
The Hawkeyes is also still battling injuries from the physical game against the Spartans two weeks ago.
Free Safety Brent Greenwood tried playing in the Indiana game, but pulled himself out of the game. He is still feeling the effects of the helmet to helmet hit. He is saying it feels like a stinger. He is not listed on the depth chart against Northwestern.
Wide Receiver Colin Sandeman did not play in the Indiana game as well. He was hit helmet to helmet by Michigan State’s Cornerback Ware. He is not listed on the depth chart against Northwestern.
Robinson’s injury is not as bad as everyone first thought. His injury is not same injury that sidelined Tony Moeaki for three games earlier this season.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES
Iowa will try to go for ten straight wins this Saturday as they host the Northwestern Wildcats (2-3 5-4). Northwestern is going to play spoiler this weekend as they try getting bowl eligible. The Hawkeyes are favored to win by 16 ½ points by the odds makers.
Indiana hosts Wisconsin (3-2 6-2) on Saturday. Indiana is still battling to become bowl eligible as Wisconsin is already bowl eligible.

Iowa Makes History With a Costly Win over Michigan State

P Murphy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:55:19 +0000

Iowa (4-0 8-0) won their eighth straight game by beating Michigan State (3-2 4-4) 15 – 13 at East Lansing, Michigan. This is the first time in school history the Hawkeyes won the first eight games in a single season. They have won seven straight four other times with the last time being in 1985. This also marks the first win for Coach Kirk Ferentz (1-4) at East Lansing and the Hawkeyes first win since 1995. The home team has won the game for the past nine meetings. tigerhawkblog end

THE GAME
The Hawkeyes beat Michigan State on the last play of the game as Ricky Stanzi threw a seven yard touchdown pass the Marvin McNutt with no time left in the game. This is after Michigan State took the lead with a 30 yard touchdown pass. They also had a hook and ladder pass prior to the touchdown pass to get the Spartans into scoring range.

The last four minutes of the game is when both teams were able to score touchdowns on each other’s defenses. The rest of the game was made up of five field goals (Iowa 3, Michigan State 2) and two goal line stands (Each team had one) that were at the one yard line.

THE INJURIES
The Hawkeyes also had five injuries during the game that likely knocked two players out for the rest of the season. This was a very physical game against a very physical Spartan team.
Offensive Right Tackle Dace Richardson broke his leg or foot in the first few minutes of the game and will be out for the next four to six weeks. This didn’t hurt the Hawkeyes that much since they are deep with talent on the Offense Line. Julian Vandervelde will start at right tackle for the injured Richardson with Dan Doering backing him up.

Free Safety Brent Greenwood and Cornerback Tyler Sash hit helmet to helmet during a tackle. Greenwood was carted off the field to the locker room as Sash was able to get up and still play in the game. Green wood was up and walking around in the locker room and returned to the game on the sideline for the second half. He is currently on the depth chart for the Indiana game.

Wide Receiver Colin Sandeman was hit helmet to helmet by Michigan State’s Cornerback Ware as he caught a pass from Stanzi. Sandeman was knocked unconscious for a few minutes before getting up and walking off the field. Sandeman is also listed on the depth chart of the Indiana game.

Running Back Brandon Wegher was also injured during the game as he took a hit in the chest. He was out for a while before returning briefly later in the game. He is also on the Depth Chart as the number one back for Iowa.

Running Back Adam Robinson sprain his leg on the last drive of the game as a defender landed wrong on him. They are saying it is similar to Tony Moeaki’s injury earlier this year. Ferentz announced on Tuesday that Robinson was likely out for the remaining regular season.

With Robinson out and Wegher as starting RB, that makes room for RB Paki O’Meara to see some action as the backup for Wegher. The biggest concern is fumbling the ball. Robinson has not fumbled the ball all season. There are rumors flying around that RB Brad Rogers is going to be put into the running back rotation. This will mean Rogers will lose his Red Shirt season. This will be interesting how good Rogers is after entering spring practice a little heavy and out of shape two months ago.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES
We will see how the new adjustments will work for Iowa this Saturday against Indiana (1-3 4-4). This is a home game that the Hawkeyes are favored to win by 17 ½ points by the odds makers.

Michigan State travels to Minnesota (2-3 4-4) on Saturday. This will be Minnesota’s first game without Wide Receiver Eric Decker. Decker was also lost for the rest of the season. This could be the year if Minnesota fails to become bowl eligible since Michigan State is favored to win this game.

Iowa Could Finish 12-0 And Be Looking In From the Outside.

P Murphy — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:53:13 +0000

That’s right. Iowa could finish this year perfect and still be watching the BCS Championship Game from home. Everybody can thank the AP and Coaches Polls for this. The AP and Harris Polls make up two thirds of the BCS rankings and the Computer rankings make up the other third. tigerhawkblog end

Iowa is currently ranked 11th in the AP, 11th in the Harris, and 12th in the Coaches Polls. However the Hawkeyes are ranked much higher in the computer rankings. They are also going to be ranked 10th in the BCS if it came out today.

There are several reasons this can happen. They include a poor Conference ranking for the Big Ten (6th in the Sagarin rankings), Iowa’s schedule only having two or three ranked teams in it, Iowa’s beating Penn State is being forgotten, the AP and Coaches Polls have to be turned in by Saturday or Sunday night, or that the AP and Coaches Polls are turning into a popularity contest instead of the true value they are supposed to be judging.

That’s right a popularity contest and Iowa is not a popular liked school in these polls. Every year I see a team that gets the short end because they are not as popular as some of the other schools in the polls. There are also teams in the Top 10 that should be dropped lower than Iowa. One of the teams is fifth ranked Boise State. The Broncos barely beat Oregon (19-8) and last night they barely beat Tulsa (28-21). Iowa has a better overall record and schedule than Boise State. Did everybody forget that Iowa beat South Carolina last year 31-10 in the Capital One Bowl? South Carolina was a top six school in the SEC Conference last year.

The computer ranks have Iowa ranked as high as first (Colley Matrix) and as low as ninth (Sagarin). The other Computer rankings for Iowa are as follows: Wolfe doesn’t release rankings until the 18th of October, fourth Massey Ratings, eighth in the Billingsley Report, and third in the Jeff Anderson & Chris Hester Ratings.

The best thing about the computer rankings is that they are not a popularity contest. They crunch the numbers based on performance.

At least the CBS Sports line website has Iowa ranked ninth in the country. Iowa should be a top 10 team.

Ever time Iowa is talked about, they keep bringing up Iowa only beat FCS team Northern Iowa 17-16 in the last seconds of the game. Has anybody look at UNI since then. UNI is currently ranked fourth in the FCS Polls and is one of the favorites to win the FCS this year. UNI also have blown out every opponent since playing Iowa. UNI has scored as low as 30 points to as high as 66 points since the Iowa- UNI game.

So stop bringing up this game as a negative against Iowa. I’m pretty sure that UNI can beat a few teams in the top 25 as well as a couple teams in the top 10 in the FBS polls.

Just give Iowa a chance before shooting them down as a National Contender as well as a Big ten Contender. I hope after the next two games (at Wisconsin, at Michigan State) everybody will start seeing what Iowa fans have been seeing the last few games.