Are the hawks starting to look like the bullies of the Big 10 again?

uihawk82

All-Conference
Nov 17, 2021
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We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
 

Hawksfor3

All-American
Dec 5, 2016
8,973
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We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
If they bullied theee OSU, I'd agree.
 

AFM22

Heisman
Oct 31, 2022
22,719
43,854
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We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
2 weeks ago people were saying 8-4.
 

uihawk82

All-Conference
Nov 17, 2021
3,161
4,660
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If they bullied theee OSU, I'd agree.
Yes, I was also mentioning the hawks are playing their way into a better team. Did you watch Indiana-OSU? Indy double teamed J Smith all day and they were controlling him. I thought the hawks would do the same thing but not. J Smith just outjumped the 2 Indy defenders for his one really big catch of the day a 38 yarder but overall he was only 4 catches for 68 yards, well below his averages.

Still, I was impressed with iowa vs osu when it was only 10-6 and the hawks were moving the ball into osu territory until a major penalty made iowa punt. That very late TD by osu right before the half was a killer. You cant get down by two scores to a team like that. If Iowa were to make it 10-9 or still 10-6 at halftime I think things would have felt a bit tight for osu.
 

Jonesy5960

Heisman
Feb 1, 2023
6,904
14,332
113
We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
Call me Saturday night and we can discuss.
 

WeBeHerkin

All-American
Aug 5, 2016
5,286
6,009
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We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
We just received an *** kicking from Ohio State.
 

The Big Z

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2023
2,153
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Watching how IU was able to pressure OSU pretty consistently all day long while also keeping Smith pretty much in check was pretty disappointing. I’m on record saying Phil is a top 3-5 D coordinator but Sayin had all day to pass against us. And Smith also had a field day against us. To make the playoffs and actually compete against a top 12 team that in almost every case will be more talented than us I’m not sure we can continue to hope the other team beats itself. You’ve got to take a few more chances offensively and defensively to beat those teams.
 

squeezebox_1

All-Conference
Mar 6, 2018
1,248
1,798
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Watching how IU was able to pressure OSU pretty consistently all day long while also keeping Smith pretty much in check was pretty disappointing. I’m on record saying Phil is a top 3-5 D coordinator but Sayin had all day to pass against us. And Smith also had a field day against us. To make the playoffs and actually compete against a top 12 team that in almost every case will be more talented than us I’m not sure we can continue to hope the other team beats itself. You’ve got to take a few more chances offensively and defensively to beat those teams.
Fair, but this dline would be different if Graves were back. Dailey is their best rusher, and an absolute difference maker. I'm glad that nonsense is done after this year, but it would have been nice if our legislative branch would have gotten off their asses and done something prior to the NFL draft.
 

DukeSlater

All-American
Jul 2, 2023
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Yes, I was also mentioning the hawks are playing their way into a better team. Did you watch Indiana-OSU? Indy double teamed J Smith all day and they were controlling him. I thought the hawks would do the same thing but not. J Smith just outjumped the 2 Indy defenders for his one really big catch of the day a 38 yarder but overall he was only 4 catches for 68 yards, well below his averages.

Still, I was impressed with iowa vs osu when it was only 10-6 and the hawks were moving the ball into osu territory until a major penalty made iowa punt. That very late TD by osu right before the half was a killer. You cant get down by two scores to a team like that. If Iowa were to make it 10-9 or still 10-6 at halftime I think things would have felt a bit tight for osu.
Yes, and don't forget Brown's early fumble that gifted OSU a 7-point lead. Take only that away, and after Hecklinski led that 75-yard TD drive in less than four minutes, it's 24-14 with about 10 minutes to play. It's a ball game. Brown also threw an INT. Iowa played poorly against OSU and yet, change two or three plays--and the QB--and it goes down to the wire.
 

The Big Z

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2023
2,153
4,151
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Yes, and don't forget Brown's early fumble that gifted OSU a 7-point lead. Take only that away, and after Hecklinski led that 75-yard TD drive in less than four minutes, it's 24-14 with about 10 minutes to play. It's a ball game. Brown also threw an INT. Iowa played poorly against OSU and yet, change two or three plays--and the QB--and it goes down to the wire.
Except that’s not how it works. Again, you can’t beat Ohio St hoping they’re going to beat themselves. We basically never blitzed and played Smith straight up. That’s on us. And we couldn’t run the ball. The game was not close.
 
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GoUIowa

Senior
Jan 1, 2023
406
965
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We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
No
 

Fight4Iowa

Senior
Nov 25, 2025
378
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The bullies were the Matt Roth/Bob Sanders era which included very stubbornly staying in a 4-3, probably peak Chris Doyle, and probably some performance enhancing that we'll never know about.
 
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JerseyCityHawk

All-Conference
Jul 6, 2025
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We had the streak in 2002-5, mid-2008 to 2010, and the defense has been bullies for a long time and now they are starting to look like it again this year.

If the OLine keeps powering a very good run game and if especially the passing game can get 150-250 a game then this will be a complete team.

It is a sweet thing to watch when your fave team is clicking on all cylinders and pile driving teams in all phases.
A HUGE hell to the yes
 

Hawklove

Senior
Jul 11, 2018
273
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Huge progress made in the last couple of years. The best is yet to come though. Two years from now we’ll be drastically better.
 
Nov 21, 2006
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Yes, and don't forget Brown's early fumble that gifted OSU a 7-point lead. Take only that away, and after Hecklinski led that 75-yard TD drive in less than four minutes, it's 24-14 with about 10 minutes to play. It's a ball game. Brown also threw an INT. Iowa played poorly against OSU and yet, change two or three plays--and the QB--and it goes down to the wire.
OSU also had the ball the last 8 min or so and did not attempt for more points with the ball at the 5 yard line. It wasn't a close game.

I do think we would perform better against them if we were to play them a second time.
 

kmurpny

Sophomore
Jul 22, 2006
165
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Watching how IU was able to pressure OSU pretty consistently all day long while also keeping Smith pretty much in check was pretty disappointing. I’m on record saying Phil is a top 3-5 D coordinator but Sayin had all day to pass against us. And Smith also had a field day against us. To make the playoffs and actually compete against a top 12 team that in almost every case will be more talented than us I’m not sure we can continue to hope the other team beats itself. You’ve got to take a few more chances offensively and defensively to beat those teams.
The Michigan QB had his best day against this defense as well.
 

The Big Z

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2023
2,153
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OSU also had the ball the last 8 min or so and did not attempt for more points with the ball at the 5 yard line. It wasn't a close game.

I do think we would perform better against them if we were to play them a second time.
With a healthy Sayin I’m still not sure. We couldn’t run the ball at all and if Phil thinks he can continue to play our standard defense against them with no pressure the outcome would be fairly similar in my opinion. Unless Heck was able to make some plays Hank couldn’t. We’ll get a better idea Saturday!
 
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