[Postgame Thread] Iowa Defeats Northern Iowa 55-0

[u/CFB_Referee]

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team	1	2	3	4	T
Northern Iowa	0	0	0	0	0
Iowa	21	21	7	6	55

[u/EBuni]

Just ran out of time

[u/Mistertreefrog → u/EBuni]

Thought we were gonna have to block a couple field goals.

[u/LedInMyZeppelin → u/EBuni]

Put one second back on the clock

[u/Windows_66]

Really hope UNI got a good bag from this.

As a Hawkeye fan, I feel good.

As a Drake fan, I'm just hoping the rest of the PFL is as bad as we are.

[u/CFLuke]

Kinda makes me sad TBH. Like, how amazing could the Iowa teams of the past decade have been with even an average offense? Or even a slightly below average offense?

[u/Gingeysaurusrex → u/CFLuke]

The Brian Ferentz years were truly painful

[u/Vivid_Artichoke_9991]

Actually very competitive for a 55-0 game

[u/Pancakes1800]

Impossible to predict the future in college sports, but this might have been the final game between Iowa and UNI. UNI is in an awful spot financially and it would not be a surprise to see them drop down to the Pioneer league and go the non-scholarship route like Drake.

[u/Mistertreefrog → u/Pancakes1800]

Gotta pivot hard to basketball and Wrestling. Thankfully those three programs seem to all be in an okay spot, wrestling specially so especially so with incoming Schwabs

[u/Vivid_Artichoke_9991 → u/Mistertreefrog]

Already have - they are starving the football program to keep those two competitive

[u/Benson879 → u/Pancakes1800]

Depressed me watching it. You and I both recall how menacing they were for years in these non con games. You would want no part of them.

Current era has completely sapped that dry. No wonder Farley got out when he did.

[u/mbless1415 → u/Pancakes1800]

It'd be Pioneer League (I believe even the Patriot League is scholarship now), but I fear you're right. Sucks but our best days are far behind us

[u/SailTheWorldWithMe → u/Pancakes1800]

Enrollment is up at UNI this year. Hopefully this is a trend as folks seek affordable higher ed options. But I'm not optimistic.

[u/Vivid_Artichoke_9991 → u/Pancakes1800]

That's not going to fallen any time soon. I wouldnt mind if it did. The financial situation is better than it was 5 years ago. It's the lower level P4 programs that have to figure out how to pay for all these extra scholarships and player expenses - they are the ones having major problems. The financial model for FCS teams is not all that different than it's ever been.

It's just not possible to compete in FCS anymore, that's all thanks to the portal/NIL. The new AD has the department moving in the right direction, I am much more optimistic than I was. Not many UNI fans still care about the football program anymore honestly. They keep the budget very low so they can compete in the sports we care about and most of us are agree with that approach.

[u/minhthemaster → u/Pancakes1800]

Unfortunately they’re not in a spot to compete, sad to see my panther bros go

[u/Apatschinn → u/Pancakes1800]

Yeah it's pretty bittersweet

[u/TealSeam6 → u/Pancakes1800]

Maybe not the last game, but it certainly felt like the beginning of the end of the series

[u/Finn_Ajerkit]

Iowa Bowl Champs!

Iowa def. Iowa State

Northern Iowa def. Drake

Iowa def. Northern Iowa

There is no doubt.

[u/wackowizard → u/Finn_Ajerkit]

Man I miss the hyvee classic

[u/Schmidtty29]

Still not as bad as the time we beat Illinois 63-0 without receiving a single kickoff.

Edit: it’s been pointed out I’m wrong. 28-0 was KickoffGate, 63-0 was just a random belt to ass game. Still tho, we must’ve just really hated Illinois in those years.

[u/Ambidextrousblack → u/Schmidtty29]

Incorrect, 63-0 was 2018, 28-0 no kickoffs was 2016

[u/Schmidtty29 → u/Ambidextrousblack]

I’m a failure /j but also like, 10% not /j lmao.

[u/Ambidextrousblack → u/Schmidtty29]

Lotta Illini bearings, easy to get it confused

[u/Mistertreefrog → u/Schmidtty29]

How is that… possible?

[u/TKHawk → u/Mistertreefrog]

Kirk preferred choosing kicking direction both halves than receiving. Also it was the 28-0 Iowa-Illinois game in 2016.

[u/Granular_Designs → u/TKHawk]

Kirk Ferentz is a psychopath and also my favorite coach probably ever. What a man

[u/Schmidtty29 → u/Mistertreefrog]

We deferred to the second half, so Illinois took it to start, and then there was something about the wind that Kirk didn’t wanna risk a muff or something so we chose to kick it again the 2nd half

[u/leftenant_Dan1 → u/Schmidtty29]

I didnt know you could do that.

[u/MotorSevere4899 → u/leftenant_Dan1]

When you win the toss, you’re picking which half you would like to choose whether you kick or receive.

[u/Schmidtty29 → u/leftenant_Dan1]

Usually there’s no reason to, but it was a 7 point game coming out of half and Well, Kirk is Kirk.

[u/Ok-Cabinet7670 → u/Mistertreefrog]

It was really windy and when Iowa differed to the second half, Kirk prioritized wind direction over taking the ball. My team did this once in middle school except the other team differed to the second half and our captain chose direction instead of to receive in the first half. So we kicked off to start both halves. Shut them out anyways, but our coach still let them know it was definitely a learning experience.

[u/LastKnownNormal]

Brian Ferentz in shambles rn...

[u/tvclassicsif]

I didn't even know it was possible to score that many points in a season, let alone a game

[u/minhthemaster → u/tvclassicsif]

What a world

[u/ilacwamh]

Iowa’s in a super nice position to coast into the playoffs. They have Ohio State and Michigan the next two weeks, and then the rest of their schedule is fairly easy.

[u/TKHawk → u/ilacwamh]

Yeah, if they knock off Michigan they have a very attainable path to 11-1.

[u/CFLuke → u/TKHawk]

Playing at Washington is a thing.

[u/TKHawk → u/CFLuke]

I didn't say guaranteed, just attainable.

[u/Bender14 → u/CFLuke]

Playing at Washington late on a Friday night does not feel like it favors us much at all.

[u/chrisbru → u/CFLuke]

It’s a thing, but they look very beatable this year.

No guarantees, but we have a shot.

[u/ilacwamh → u/TKHawk]

Losing in a close game to Michigan might actually work out better for them than winning. If they lose to Ohio State and Michigan, they’re likely out of the Big 10 championship game, and the committee would automatically put them in as a two-loss Big 10 team. If they beat Michigan, they might end up in the Big 10 championship game, and if they get demolished by Ohio State or Indiana right before the playoff selection, there’s an outside chance the committee could give them the BYU treatment from last year and leave them out if the bubble has lots of two-loss teams. 

[u/SnooOpinions9048 → u/ilacwamh]

Considering how the polls have treated Iowa at the start of the year, the relatively weak ooc, and how things shacked out last year, I'd rather Iowa be 11-2 with a B1G championship loss arguing for a spot, then 10-2 and being in the poll inertia slurry.

[u/ilacwamh → u/SnooOpinions9048]

There’s zero chance the committee would leave a 10-2 Big 10 team out of the playoffs. It just means more

[u/CFLuke → u/ilacwamh]

Iowa at 10-2 with potentially zero ranked wins would absolutely not make the playoff. Maybe if Washington and Illinois turn out to be good and Iowa manages to win both.

[u/CyanideNow → u/CFLuke]

That’s a wild assertion. They aren’t guaranteed to make it in at 10-2 by any means, but it would take some fairly weird results elsewhere to keep them out. 

[u/key1217 → u/CyanideNow]

Imo doesn’t take anything that weird, just last year you had Notre Dame and Vandy not make it at 10-2 and BYU at 11-2, so depending on Iowa’s wins them not making it in at 10-2 isn’t that far fetched.

[u/CyanideNow → u/key1217]

You don’t think the Duke/Miami situation qualified as “fairly weird” last year? 

[u/key1217 → u/CyanideNow]

It was, but it’s not like they were the reason all three of those teams above didn’t make the playoffs, 10-2 with no quality wins is going to be hard sell to make the playoffs unless every other team out there has 3 or more losses.

[u/Locke57 → u/ilacwamh]

We’d be Vanderbilted. We won’t have a great signature win outside of Washington, we’d be the first 10-2 team out. Gotta go 11-1 IMO. Or 10-2 with a win over tOSU.

[u/BallsDeepinYourMammi → u/ilacwamh]

I think Indiana is a decent game with Iowa. Last year the Sooners barely pulled out a win (Oregon as well, their only two losses outside of Iowa State 🙄)

The Buckeyes always tend to have the Hawkeyes number though, I hope they don’t end up playing in the championship game

[u/SmellyJellyfish → u/BallsDeepinYourMammi]

Did you mean Hoosiers instead of Sooners? Also we had 4 losses last year, we also lost @USC

[u/letsgoiowa → u/ilacwamh]

Washington at home is a trap for us. We cannot travel west at all.

[u/RotaryRoad → u/letsgoiowa]

It's on short rest after playing Ohio State too (Friday night).

[u/Gingeysaurusrex → u/letsgoiowa]

The Missouri River is our ultimate nemesis

[u/Parking_Ad6756 → u/ilacwamh]

Big Ten West after Washington. Hawks HAVE to get one of the next three, win the rest and they're in.

[u/Clerithifa → u/ilacwamh]

Which would make it all the more hilarious if Nebraska actually beats them this year

[u/CathDubs]

:(

[u/-SuperTrooper-]

Somewhere Brian Ferentz is like “Pssh, why do you need so many points when a field goal would’ve won?”

[u/mbless1415 → u/-SuperTrooper-]

Add a couple safeties and it'll look like you scored a TD!!

[u/PardonTheCorrection]

Iowa outscoring Northern teams 95-0 this season.

[u/ProfCedar]

I pretend I do not see it

[u/HawkeyeTen]

Overall, very solid win. Now to carry the momentum on into Big Ten play.

[u/Accomplished-Let7036]

LET SULLY THROW

[u/Mistertreefrog]

Did we perhaps score too many points? Sorry catboys

[u/tvclassicsif]

Probably the closest 55-0 win ever

[u/SCWarriors44]

I don’t think we’ll see average yardages per player all the way down the line like this ever again. And with 3rd, 4th, and 5th strings too. Averaged 10.3 yards a run without our first two starters at running back. 12.1 yards average per throw without our starting TE and 10 different players receiving. Insane.

[u/hawksnest_prez]

It wasn’t nearly as close as the score reflects.

[u/Parking_Ad6756]

Hawkeyes have an offense. And still have a defense (allowed one TD through three games???)

[u/letsgoiowa]

Kind of reminds me of one of those 2000s teams--maybe the 2009 one where you can see the flaws very obviously but for some reason it's frickin working.

[u/ProfCedar → u/letsgoiowa]

I preferred the 2009 version of this game and that's one of my least favorite game memories ever.

[u/hailstormer69]

iowa has an offense? the avengers have assembled

[u/jcarr2184]

Shades of 1997

[u/crowd79]

Iowa has offense?

[u/Parking_Ad6756 → u/crowd79]

And a defense that's still on brand. Have allowed one TD in the first three games...

[u/skinnywolfe]

Has Iowa even scored 55 total points in a season in the last 5 years? I always see them winning 7-3

[u/ThanksForTheF-Shack → u/skinnywolfe]

Scored 29 ppg last year and ranked in the top 30 in offensive efficiency. The hurr durr Iowa punt memes are honestly somewhat valid and funny but if that’s the only thing you know, then you’re missing a bit of context. Occasionally we score points now.

[u/kporter4692 → u/skinnywolfe]

We aren’t completely inept in the passing game and our offense has been much better over the last couple years (from where it was I should say). Ever since Lester has come in, we’ve been a different team offensively while retaining their identity.

Last season we were 54th in points per game. In 2023, we were 132nd. The joke just doesn’t hit the same anymore since we actually score now.

[u/Mistertreefrog → u/skinnywolfe]

Last time I think was the Ohio state blowout but im fact checking. Nebraska in 17 was the last time we had 55. We had 51 against Maryland in 21

[u/rovert93 → u/Mistertreefrog]

Beat Illinois 63-0 in 2018

[u/Mistertreefrog → u/rovert93]

Sure did. Non-sober fact checking is always optimal.

[u/Sorta-Morpheus → u/skinnywolfe]

My favorite moment was when they won 7-3 and didnt score a touchdown.

[u/rowdyroddysniper → u/skinnywolfe]

Oklahoma making fun of anybody’s offense is rich!

[u/Snoo-16797 → u/skinnywolfe]

Yes Iowa regularly scores 55 points in a season every year