Message Board Geniuses

For an article called Iowa Hawkeye Football & the Immovable Object, you’d probably assume that I’m going to make a few Brian Ferentz jokes.

See more

Per plea agreement, I have agreed to punishment terms of not making fun of Brian Ferentz until October 5, 2023, enforced by @JeffreyTheGreek.

— Hawkguy Matt (@hawkguymatt) September 14, 2023

For punishment of my positive comments about Iowa State, I have agreed not to make fun of Brian Ferentz for the next week or two.

Since my schtick has been to calm fanbases after a big loss, the next assumption is that I’m here for my own fanbase. Unfortunately, that’s not the case either.

See more

The biggest problem with Iowa's offense is this: Why does it take talented newcomers 1.5/2 years to figure out the system to earn playing time?

Meanwhile, opposing defenses figure it out in less than a week.

— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) September 25, 2023

Also no. There is nothing left to say. While many fans are pointing to this being one road loss to a very good team, that isn’t what the frustration is about.

See more

Iowa Total Offense rank:
2023: 130th
2022: 129th
2021: 123rd
2020: 88th
2019: 99th
2018: 92nd
2017: 117th

Shame on us for thinking anything would be different. The B1G West is loaded with mediocre teams but this is hard to watch.

— Irrational Hawkeye (@IrrationalHawk2) September 24, 2023

This is a 6+ year issue and a personnel overhaul hasn’t helped. Hawkeye fans have heard about execution for the better part of a decade now. It’s execution. The thing is that the coaches find the players to fit into their system. The coaches choose to modify or evolve the system. The coaches pick the plays. Not coach. The coaches.

See more

My final year at Iowa, they won the Big Ten. Unfortunately, I don’t think that happens again in my lifetime.

— Hawkguy Matt (@hawkguymatt) September 24, 2023

Herein lies the metaphor referenced in the title, the immovable object. It is about where the trend of the program is leading, the peak of the program and what fans can reasonably expect.

Right now, the ceiling isn’t being raised. There is a legitimate argument that because the Ohio States, Michigans and now Penn States of the world have widened the gap, the ceiling is actually lower.

Iowa was previously a team that played this type of offense specifically to keep things close against much better teams. 2016 Michigan, 2019 Penn State, and 2019 Michigan all serve as the benefit to this strategy. Of course, the entirety of the 2010 Iowa football season shows the challenges.

Now, Iowa still loses the head-scratchers (2022 Nebraska, 2022 Iowa State. 2022 Illinois) but is no longer competitive in the games this strategy was supposed to mitigate.

The sky isn’t falling and the Iowa Hawkeyes will almost certainly finish with a respectable record this season. But with USC, Oregon, Washington, and *UCLA joining the Big Ten Conference next year, fans need to see a bit more growth to have faith moving forward.

*Please note that neither @hawkguymatt nor @message-board-geniuses believe UCLA is good.

Follow @hawkguymatt on Twitter