Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Embarrassed at Michigan State

Starting point is 00:00:00 inexcusable just a hideous loss from the Iowa football team against Michigan State offense defense it was bad all around we break it down today Locked on Hawkeyes you are Locked on Hawkeyes your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:00:38 We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube. While you're there, hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube. While you're there, hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKDOWNCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Well, that was hideous. As we saw on Saturday night, Iowa gets run off the field by Michigan State. A Michigan State program in year number one of a rebuild. A Michigan State program that had fallen on hard times.

Starting point is 00:01:10 A Michigan State program that brought in a new quarterback that was turnover prone. One of the most penalized teams in the country. And Iowa was thoroughly outplayed in all phases of the football game. Defense, offense, special teams. It didn't matter. That is a terrible effort. That is poor football.

Starting point is 00:01:31 That is not why you brought all these guys back for a one bonus year, the COVID year. Coming back for another year for this garbage, as they said, a four and three. Look, we were looking for paths to maintain, to give hope to this football team and this program. And the loss on its surface is bad. And we'll get into that. But there's more big picture concerns when you're talking about Iowa football.

Starting point is 00:02:00 As we see the changing landscape of college athletics, as we see what college football is morphing into, when we see the changing landscape of college athletics, as we see what college football is morphing into, when we see the hierarchy and where Iowa plays. Iowa football and the old Big Ten West was in a great position. You know, going up against like-minded programs, you were able to compete with them both financially, recruiting-wise. You were, if not the power program, you were at least in the conversation. Under this new Big Ten, that is not the case.

Starting point is 00:02:33 Iowa, though, in year number one of the new Big Ten, was handed a plum schedule. You couldn't ask for anything better. Yes, you had to play Ohio State on the road. But that's it. The heavyweights were not on your schedule. There's no Penn State, undefeated. No Oregon, undefeated. Hell, there's no Indiana, undefeated.

Starting point is 00:02:53 This was as good of a schedule as you could possibly get. And what has Iowa done? They've crapped the bed. And they did it in a year where they brought back so many guys. Coming back for an extra season. Jay Higgins, Nick Jackson, Quinn Schulte, Jamari Harris. These guys came back, signed up for another season of Iowa football because this was supposed to be a special season.

Starting point is 00:03:20 This was potentially going to be Kirk Ferentz's swan song. Take a team and you're number one of the college football playoff. Do that. The statue is being put up before the press conference is over. Instead, you have a program that looks slow. You have a program that can't figure out

Starting point is 00:03:42 the most important position in all of the sport quarterback. He came back for this? To go to the quick lane bowl? To go get your mayo dumped on your head at the Duke's Mayo Bowl? That's what this is? I don't know how Kirk Ferentz keeps these guys' heads up. This is not what these guys came back for. Not this.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Not to get run off the field at Michigan State in year number one of a rebuild. That's an embarrassment. That is a terrible loss. And when you look at a big picture, it becomes even bigger. First half of the football game, more of the same. Cade McNamara, it's not coming back.

Starting point is 00:04:26 Look, I still had hope that we were going to be able to see, after knocking off some rust, that Cade McNamara was going to be able to become, at minimum, a competent quarterback. He's not. The guy we saw at Michigan is never coming back. He's damaged goods. His footwork is a mess. He looks scared. He looks frightened. He doesn't is a mess. He looks scared. He looks frightened. He doesn't believe in himself. He doesn't believe in his mechanics. He is sloppy all over the place.

Starting point is 00:04:51 He's not good enough. He just isn't. Now, is Brendan Sullivan? Probably not. I mean, he's an Iowa quarterback, and the way that they've identified talent for the last half decade is as bad as anybody in college football. No, not in the Big Ten. Not in the Power Force as bad as anybody in college football. No, not in the Big

Starting point is 00:05:05 Ten, not in the Power Force structure, in all of college football. But look at the bums that they've gone and brought through here. And then they go to another schools. They either can't play, or they should be on rosters at a Big Ten program. And these are the guys that they've continually brought in for the last five years. Now you can blame the former offensive coordinator that was in over his head, had no clue at the quarterback position, and we obviously saw that play out. But here we are again. Kirk Ferris gets suspended for a game for bringing in a guy that doesn't have it. He just doesn't. He can't make any of the basic throws down the field. He just can't. Physically, mentally, whatever it is, Cade McNamara can't make those

Starting point is 00:05:45 plays anymore. He could at one time. It's not coming back. With what they're doing, it's not coming back. And as Iowa sits at four and three, and you look what's coming up, Northwestern, okay. Wisconsin's playing better. Maryland, Jekyll and Hyde, who knows what turf team you're going to see. UCLA getting better. And Nebraska at the end of the season. I mean, what's more likely with this group? They go even 4-1 down the stretch.

Starting point is 00:06:19 Or they limp to the finish line at a 7-5. I think it's the latter. You see this team. You see up and down the field, the holes that are there. We're more than halfway through the season. They still can't figure out who their second cornerback is. They're throwing stuff up against the wall, seeing if it's sticking. Well, it's sticking because it's crap.

Starting point is 00:06:39 John Nestor, out of place. It's not to say John Nestor can't turn into a good cornerback because he could but he looked completely out of place on Saturday night yes Bradley Fletcher was early in his career terrible and save for Riley Moss and we can play this game with a lot of cornerbacks and you do get better throughout your career but that

Starting point is 00:06:59 TJ Hall didn't work Deshaun Lee I guess the best of the group, I would say. We're not talking about great shakes. And then these veterans that have come back, and outside of the two linebackers, Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson, who were all over the field and trying. Defensive line can't get a push.

Starting point is 00:07:20 The defensive backfield has a huge hole on one side of the cornerback spot. Quinn Schulte's regressed. And even as we've seen these last two games Xavier Wampa maybe play his two best games Quinn Schulte is not the same guy now he showed up a couple years ago there was some pop to his game there was some physicality he was not just another triad kid walk-on kid there was There was a little more to his game. It's not there. And I pose this question. These guys coming back for this extra year, fifth at times six years, is it actually good? Because you look through college football and you look through programs that have had this happen. Look at Oklahoma State.

Starting point is 00:08:05 Brought 19 starters back. They had the the same situation a lot of guys that they brought back and instead of identifying new talent molding developing bringing in your guys and building them up or going into the portal and bringing guys that played at a lower level want to get their shot to play in the big 10 now we're just going to bring all these guys back. Well, it hasn't worked. Kirk Ferentz used the term in 2006, fat cats, when he was talking about his football team. And there were some players in that locker room that were fat cats. Are there fat cats in there now? Or are the guys that just rested on their laurels, that didn't go and really do a whole lot

Starting point is 00:08:43 during spring practice? And when it got to August, well, we know what they're going to be. Iowa's not a program that can afford that. Iowa football is not a program that can go through these kinds of things and not have these guys out there competing at the highest level. It didn't work this year because this year, for all intents and purposes, it's over. And with what's coming, that is concerning. More on this football game. What happened to the defense on Saturday against Michigan State? One of the worst performances of a Phil Parker coach defense that we have seen.

Starting point is 00:09:17 It was absolutely brutal. What does Iowa do? A quarterback, we'll talk about that as we roll through. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by Z Biotics. Well, every time I have pre-alcohol before drinks, I notice a difference the next day. Even after a night out, I can confidently plan on going out the next day. Hey, I coach my daughter's softball team.

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Starting point is 00:10:55 That's going to get you 15% off with Z Biotics. Back with you once again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. I'm Trent Condon, and thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. As you can see, I'm still battling this cold. I mean, we're going on two weeks. This is just absolutely asinine. We're struggling, so we'll take a little swig here and try to clear out the throat a little bit. Look, I'm down. I really am. I'm frustrated. I'm down with this program, with this season. See what's happened with Iowa State's not helping things either. But it's not just about that.

Starting point is 00:11:39 It's that I really believed in this team. I believe the hype. I bought into the hype. that I really believed in this team. I believed the hype. I bought into the hype. And shame on me, because I think we know historically this is not the way that it goes. When Iowa has these big expectations, right, it goes poorly.

Starting point is 00:11:55 2005, 2010, 2016. There's been years and others. 1997. It's just, I guess it's the life of a Hawkeye fan. And maybe after 44 years I should understand it, realize it, not

Starting point is 00:12:11 fall for the trap. But here we are once again. I fell for it. And I'm disappointed. But what happened on Saturday night against Michigan State was just so un-Iowa-like. First half, going terribly.

Starting point is 00:12:31 McNamara's missing passes. Can't get the run game going at all. There's nothing there for Caleb Johnson. The game plan was amazing by Michigan State. They did a great job. I mean, you've got to give credit to them. Enough of them. But even in the moments where and maybe i was gonna get

Starting point is 00:12:47 something here come right out down the field touchdown pass back to mayor looks as good as he does all game long and it's 12-7 and you give it right back and michigan state marches right down the field i would doesn't force a punt against michigan state i guess credit for holding them to field goals but look this thing could have been a lot worse than the final score another angle so all right get it to 12-7 boom they come right back then you score again it's 19-14 you have michigan state second and 19 second and 19. Second and 19. And they give up a 22-yard play. First down.

Starting point is 00:13:29 And they march down the field and score another one. It just, it was so un-Iowa-like. And I mentioned how slow and unathletic they looked. On the defensive side. Look, that happens offensively. We get that. But they just looked so slow. Now they're playing on grass.

Starting point is 00:13:43 Who gives a crap? I mean, come on. Enough of those excuses. So enough of that. Enough. No. You have that component to it where they just, they couldn't get out in space.

Starting point is 00:13:56 I'm befuddled. And here's something I saw from Hawkeye Game Film. Great, great follow on Twitter. If you're a football nerd, it's something I think that gives you a lot of information that you really need. And he mentioned the numbers from Pro Football Focus, and we'll get into those on tomorrow's show a little bit deeper on some of

Starting point is 00:14:14 the individual players, but 19 missed tackles. Okay. What does that mean? Well, usually on average, Iowa is about six tackles a game. I mean. Three times as many missed tackles. And this is the worst of the PFF era that he could find over the last few years. Just so un-Iowa-like. What was it? What went wrong? Did they beat Washington and say, all right, we got it all figured out. No, I don't see that. It's not the way that Kirk Ferris's program operates but i mentioned the fat cats i i don't know and that's another thing that stinks right

Starting point is 00:14:52 i like to come up with theories thoughts ideas at least try to think outside the box a little bit and try to come up with with reasons ideas theories and i got nothing. They laid an egg. I mean, just an absolute dump on the 50-yard line. A putrid performance. And then we go, of course, to the quarterback position. And we come full circle to where we began the conversation with Cade McNamara. Look, we can all see it. He's not good enough.

Starting point is 00:15:22 There's no coming back from this. It's not suddenly going to happen. Look, he had 115 yards until garbage time there where he threw for, what, another 35? Made a couple of completions there. The numbers, terrible. Numbers have been terrible basically all season long. Finally threw a touchdown last week for the first time

Starting point is 00:15:40 since against Iowa in a Michigan uniform in the 2022 Big Ten Championship game. Just on and on and on we go. And Kirk Ferentz has something with quarterbacks. He's broken. He is mentally defeated when it comes to quarterback play. Well, they didn't have anybody better. Well, that's on them on them but number two we saw this year Xavier Wampa one of the few five-star players get benched we've seen at the cornerback spot three different guys rotating trying to find something every single year it feels like until this year in September they're trying to figure out the right combination on the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:16:26 Running backs, well, they went through three. There's Bolton, there's going to be Williams. Here it is, Caleb Johnson, over 1,000 yards. Every other position, Kirk Ferentz and his staff is willing to make a change. But when it comes to quarterback, he just refuses. He refuses to do one of the easiest things to do, pull a guy.

Starting point is 00:16:50 If he's playing terrible, pull him. He won't do it at that position. I don't know what it is because we go through time and we go through this era and the beginning of his regime, he was pulling quarterbacks all the time scott mullen john mutcher just all over the place got new guy new guy new guy we gotta find something right he was willing to do it was it jake christiansen i know jake's dad was a handful was that it because we remember how long it took from go to jake christiansen

Starting point is 00:17:23 into ricky stansy which obviously was the obvious right choice. Was it Casey Beathard, C.J. Beathard's dad? Basically calling him out and saying, come on. Jake Ruddock was a fine college quarterback. C.J. Beathard was a pro. And it took that long to get to that spot. I don't get it. I don't understand why every other position on the football field, they won a game last

Starting point is 00:17:50 year with Marshall Meter kicking a field goal, a guy that nobody had heard of. You take out Drew Stevens to try to kick a game winner against Nebraska. You're willing to do that. A guy that had never done anything. He had no equity in your program. You'll do it at the kicker position to win a football game. But God forbid you take out a guy that is looking awful at the quarterback spot. It's inexplicable.

Starting point is 00:18:17 And the only thing that I can come up with with Kirk Ferentz is his brain is broken when it comes to quarterback play. I mean, there's nothing else that could possibly make sense. If you're going to do it at every other spot, other leader, come on. Get out of here with this leadership garbage. We see quarterbacks pulled all the time. We see quarterbacks pulled, come back in and play well.

Starting point is 00:18:39 It's not an Oklahoma State Friday night. Speaking of Okie State. I, again, I'm at a loss. It's a podcast. I can't be at a loss for words. I'm at a loss for words when it comes to this. We have seen this now for the better part of a half decade. Just the inability to make a change.

Starting point is 00:19:00 What's the upside? The better that. Maybe the downside is greater of Brandon Sullivan. Maybe the guy upside? Better than that. Maybe the downside is greater of Brandon Sullivan. Maybe the guy can't throw the football. They won't let us see it. All we get out of him is goal line plays, but the time is now.

Starting point is 00:19:16 Look, you have to understand, this is for big picture of the program. The program going forward. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about the program going forward, and we know it's going to be Cade McNamara trotting out there. And the first three and out, the Boob Birds will be out

Starting point is 00:19:29 just like they were against Washington. They went three and out in the first possession and the Boob Birds were there. You think that was bad? That's coming off being beat by Ohio State, not Michigan State. It's going to be ugly at Kinnick. This thing goes awry, look out.

Starting point is 00:19:44 Big picture talk for Iowa football. We continue. What is the future of Kirk Ferentz? We'll do that next as we roll through. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Hey, GameTime has a new feature.

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Starting point is 00:21:04 Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LockedOnCollege, code it's locked on college for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code locked on college l-o-c-k-e-d-o-n-c-o-l-l-e-g-e for twenty dollars off download game time today what time is it game time back with you one final time i'm trent condon this is locked on hawkeyes hey if you're still here make sure you hit the subscribe button really appreciate it if you're watching on YouTube if you're on the podcast side five-star review appreciate that it gets us in front of more Hawkeye fans and and that's what you could do here for me pour my heart out a little bit and just frustrated to no end.

Starting point is 00:21:45 All right. Big picture. Kirk Ferentz is 69 years old. Kirk Ferentz isn't going to be here forever. We got 20 years of Hayden. We've got a quarter century now of Kirk Ferentz. We have seen two coaches in my lifetime. I'm in my mid-40s.

Starting point is 00:22:04 So, yeah, this has been happening for a long time. But for somebody that remembers the end of the Hayden-Fry era, in 1997, big expectations, didn't go well. Matt Sherman got hurt, lost close games. The team that pushed Michigan the hardest throughout the course of that season, they won a national championship, but it didn't happen. Then 98 happened, and he could see the slide quickly. And you saw leading into that, recruiting was taking a small step back, as you see in parts of the Iowa football program. Now it's a different environment, a different era.

Starting point is 00:22:40 The NIL era is different. The transfer portal makes it different, but you're seeing similarities there. In fact, Hayden Fry, when he retired, was 69 years old. And the concern with this Iowa football program going forward is you don't have the cushy Big Ten West anymore. You don't get yearly dates against Illinois and Purdue and Northwestern. And then your brethren, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska.

Starting point is 00:23:07 That's gone. It's much more difficult. Those days are over. And we've talked in the past about what the schedules are going to look like in the coming years and the bear that it's going to be in the next couple of seasons. Just getting the bowl eligible next year would be an accomplishment for whoever the coach is going to be.

Starting point is 00:23:28 Now the coach likely is going to be Kirk Ferentz. Kirk Ferentz has built enough that he deserves a down year, a disappointing year. But there's work that needs to be done. And even as we've seen improvements offensively,

Starting point is 00:23:47 they're still being left behind. And when your defense takes a step back, as it has this season, there's nowhere to go. Iowa doesn't have a counterpunch. Iowa doesn't have anything. And you have to be very careful, because I think some of you youngsters don't realize

Starting point is 00:24:04 it's not an automatic that Kinnick Stadium is going to be sold out every Saturday. It's not an automatic that Iowa is going to be at least solid every single year because it's gone down and it's gone really down. And you look at financially where Iowa sits compared to some of the other programs in the Big Ten, you look at the way that other programs are willing to fund their NIL programs, and Iowa's behind. Iowa's not in the same spot as some of the teams,

Starting point is 00:24:38 even in the same tier or in the same ballpark as a program as they are. And because of that, you have to spend to get dudes. And if Iowa doesn't have that big bag, they're going to be in deep trouble. Now give credit to Kirk Ferentz, what he did two years ago, going into the portal, bringing in nine guys. They went out there and tried. And I think they're going to try again this off season.

Starting point is 00:25:03 But there needs to be more work that's done under the hood. This is not just something where you need a new paint job, right? There's more that needs to be done. Step one, installing a competent offensive coordinator. And I think Tim Lester is that. He needs a quarterback to make it happen. So is Iowa willing and are Iowa willing, to pony up to go out there and get a good quarterback? No, they're not going to be able to compete for a guy like Cam Ward, who is now one of the Heisman favorites of Miami. I was not in those financial waters.

Starting point is 00:25:37 But Indiana went out and got Curtis Wark out of Ohio. He was always a solid, good back quarterback. Iowa can do that. There's guys out there. But what they have to do is they have to identify the right guy. Not damaged goods like Cade McNamara. Not a guy that you're hoping could turn into a quarterback like they've done recently. You have to go out there and find somebody that can go in there and help you win right away.

Starting point is 00:26:06 Is he there in Brendan Sullivan? We'll likely never know. Maybe he'll be the guy next season. If that's the case, and he couldn't beat out Cade McNamara, I think that's pretty concerning. This is a scary time to be a Hawkeye football fan. Because the future does not look very bright. We got you covered each and every day here

Starting point is 00:26:29 on Locked On Hawkeyes. A lot to get into this week. Northwestern around the corner fouled up against Wisconsin. What's this going to look like in Kinnick Stadium? 2.30 kickoff, it's homecoming. So a lot of people that come to one game a year, this is the game that they usually make their way to.

Starting point is 00:26:45 There'll be, as always, a good crowd on hand. But how testy is this crowd going to be? I think you're going to hear a lot of murmurs. I think you're going to hear a lot of frustration in a game where Iowa is a two touchdown favorite. Believe it or not, Vanduul, 13 and a half, the number Iowa favorite in this one is the total since the 37 and a half. Well, we have seen better Iowa football teams than this. Lose to Northwestern in the past and lose at home to Northwestern. We'll see.

Starting point is 00:27:15 We'll break it down as we do each and every day. Your team every day. That's what we do here on Locked On Hawkeyes and what we do across the Locked On Network. Thank you for making Locked On Hawkeyes and what we do across the Locked on Network. Thank you for making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the Locked on Big Ten podcast. Greg Scheman puts the Big Ten first when everybody else out there is overlooking it. You can find Locked on Big Ten on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. Back with you tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:27:42 Hopefully the voice is a little bit stronger for you. Until then, go hawks

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Embarrassed at Michigan State

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