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I think he is worth what we pay him, mostly because I'm not sure who we would get to come to Iowa for only $3.7MM. Our only advantage is that we can recruit the line and te's from here. Skill players are an issue for us. Also, if you look at our results historically, what he has done since he's been here is pretty good. T10, and one kinda, sorta NC run.

Nebraska has the same problem. Maybe worse. Their population is actually smaller than Iowa's. They've had to recruit nationally for a long, long time. The issue is now everyone is doing this. TV exposure, population, 85 scholarships.

We are now recruiting slightly differently. More speed on defense. More blitzing defenders. We are trying to step up with wide receivers.

We are a ways away. Two new coordinators last year. A lot of hold over from the past era, which was even more conservative. FWIW, I am a believer that defense and rushing win games, and win championships.

You beat us if you torch our secondary with your two WR's. You beat us if you keep our D on the field. We have a good D. They are under appreciated nationally. There is a significant % of our D that will be in the NFL. None of this matters if LSU game plans our weak spots, and they are on the field all game long. Our offense will struggle to keep up and put up points.

At Iowa it has always been our defense. In many ways, when we have a ball control offense, our offense is just an extension of our defense.

Well said. Iowa feasts on other teams' mistakes. If an opponent can be patient and execute well, the Hawks are in trouble because we aren't going to wow anyone with supreme athleticism.

Fortunately, most college teams out there don't play mistake-free football, which leaves the door open.

We win by being more physical and with better execution and technique. It's a very NFL-like approach, and can be a beautiful thing when done properly.

Not to beat a dead horse, but we won the Cap One Bowl doing just what I mentioned. Took advantage of a safety blitz for a long TD pass in the first half, blocked a couple punts, absolutely mauled everyone we could, so much so the analyst made mention of ot, and then took advantage of a broken coverage. LSU scored all if their points by allowing their players to make great plays, and straight up out performing the defender across from them.

We don't have that ability and absolutely need to confer the LOS to have a chance. Fortunately we are able to do that in most cases.