A quick look at the Penn State - TOE game....
PENN STATE
The Nits come with a lot of hype, but it is kinda hard to tell if they can stand behind that hype. As it stands the power rankings give Penn State a lot of love, being power ranked anywhere between 7th and 12th. But they have accomplished that lofty ranking by having played a fairly easy schedule.
Sagarin has their SOS as 86th in the county, and Massy has it 54th. Looking at games played, three of opponents have been sub-75, with two being sub-100.
The other two wins were Pitt and Maryland, both being ranked in the 30th-40th range, though the Terps rating is falling like a rock. Their win over Syracuse being not as impressive as first though, with 'Cuse being nowhere near the team the polls thought early on
Pitt may be a legit 30's ranked team, but they have been hit and miss in the top-30. But Penn State beat them only 17-10 at home. Adjusted for home field advantage, and that was only a seven point win over a roughly a 50th equivalent team.
Everyone else though, the Lions have beaten mercilessly, leaving no survivors in battle.
The bottom line is that Penn State is FAR from tested in the top-30 range, and there is a good chance that they are the classic over-hyped Big-10 team. I think they are likely still top-25 good....but no way am I sold on the ideal that that they are top-10 good. And, they go on the road to play Iowa.
IOWA
Last week I said to brace yourself for a Iowa beatdown of Michigan. I am more than content eating that one. But how far wrong was I? It is amazing that Stanley had eight sacks, three interceptions, untold penalties, and yet was still in a position to win the game right to the very end.
It leaves us with the question: Are both teams decent, or are both teams average at best? The jury is still out.
Michigan's only top-60 win is against Iowa. Iowa's only top-80 win is against Iowa State. And most people...including Iowa fans.....think that Iowa got that win against a team that solidly outplayed them.
I still hang to the fact that Iowa has yet to beat a top-40 team not named Iowa State in regular season in the the past two years
You want a REALLY crazy stat?...… Iowa has not beaten more than one top-35 power ranked team in regular season (not named Iowa State) since 2009! And many years they did beat a single top-35 team.
So, the question stand if Iowa is any different than any team since 2009 when it comes to beating top level teams? Except for that one good win every now and then?
IOWA VS. PENN STATE
So are these two good teams playing each other or just two average teams? That question isn't going to be answered for a while.
So who has the advantage?
Penn State had more "peer" wins than Iowa had last year, and the are perceived to be better than they were last year. Penn State also beat Iowa last year (at home) as well.
Iowa though, has that propensity to beat one good team each year, and there aren't that many chances left. It's either Penn State or Wisconsin (everyone else is currently ranked sub-50).
Everyone knows my notion that Kirk "leapfrogs" preparing for some teams to get ready for others, and I am convinced that is the only reason that Iowa has that freak top-35 win from time to time.
There is no arguing that Iowa's performance against Michigan was one of the worst ever against a solid team, most especially the inability for their offensive line to pick up the blitz play after play. That suggests that there are all kinds of indicators that Iowa was ill prepared for Michigan. So was it a leapfrog loss? Dunno...but it sure smells like it for now.
So for whatever its worth, all the nuggets tip the scales toward Iowa....
- They have the home field.
- Penn State is not proven to be a top ranked team.
- Iowa tends to pull off that top ranked win about once a year.
- Indicators suggest that Kirk has been looking ahead to Penn State.
- Historically, Iowa has played well against Penn State, especially at home.
Hopefully all that is moot, and Penn State is simply that much better than Iowa that it won't make a difference.
But honestly, I am not as sold about this one being in the bag for the Lions as some people are thinking. If it comes down to anything....it comes down to whether Iowa has an offense or not.
(In my opinion.)
PENN STATE
The Nits come with a lot of hype, but it is kinda hard to tell if they can stand behind that hype. As it stands the power rankings give Penn State a lot of love, being power ranked anywhere between 7th and 12th. But they have accomplished that lofty ranking by having played a fairly easy schedule.
Sagarin has their SOS as 86th in the county, and Massy has it 54th. Looking at games played, three of opponents have been sub-75, with two being sub-100.
The other two wins were Pitt and Maryland, both being ranked in the 30th-40th range, though the Terps rating is falling like a rock. Their win over Syracuse being not as impressive as first though, with 'Cuse being nowhere near the team the polls thought early on
Pitt may be a legit 30's ranked team, but they have been hit and miss in the top-30. But Penn State beat them only 17-10 at home. Adjusted for home field advantage, and that was only a seven point win over a roughly a 50th equivalent team.
Everyone else though, the Lions have beaten mercilessly, leaving no survivors in battle.
The bottom line is that Penn State is FAR from tested in the top-30 range, and there is a good chance that they are the classic over-hyped Big-10 team. I think they are likely still top-25 good....but no way am I sold on the ideal that that they are top-10 good. And, they go on the road to play Iowa.
IOWA
Last week I said to brace yourself for a Iowa beatdown of Michigan. I am more than content eating that one. But how far wrong was I? It is amazing that Stanley had eight sacks, three interceptions, untold penalties, and yet was still in a position to win the game right to the very end.
It leaves us with the question: Are both teams decent, or are both teams average at best? The jury is still out.
Michigan's only top-60 win is against Iowa. Iowa's only top-80 win is against Iowa State. And most people...including Iowa fans.....think that Iowa got that win against a team that solidly outplayed them.
I still hang to the fact that Iowa has yet to beat a top-40 team not named Iowa State in regular season in the the past two years
You want a REALLY crazy stat?...… Iowa has not beaten more than one top-35 power ranked team in regular season (not named Iowa State) since 2009! And many years they did beat a single top-35 team.
So, the question stand if Iowa is any different than any team since 2009 when it comes to beating top level teams? Except for that one good win every now and then?
IOWA VS. PENN STATE
So are these two good teams playing each other or just two average teams? That question isn't going to be answered for a while.
So who has the advantage?
Penn State had more "peer" wins than Iowa had last year, and the are perceived to be better than they were last year. Penn State also beat Iowa last year (at home) as well.
Iowa though, has that propensity to beat one good team each year, and there aren't that many chances left. It's either Penn State or Wisconsin (everyone else is currently ranked sub-50).
Everyone knows my notion that Kirk "leapfrogs" preparing for some teams to get ready for others, and I am convinced that is the only reason that Iowa has that freak top-35 win from time to time.
There is no arguing that Iowa's performance against Michigan was one of the worst ever against a solid team, most especially the inability for their offensive line to pick up the blitz play after play. That suggests that there are all kinds of indicators that Iowa was ill prepared for Michigan. So was it a leapfrog loss? Dunno...but it sure smells like it for now.
So for whatever its worth, all the nuggets tip the scales toward Iowa....
- They have the home field.
- Penn State is not proven to be a top ranked team.
- Iowa tends to pull off that top ranked win about once a year.
- Indicators suggest that Kirk has been looking ahead to Penn State.
- Historically, Iowa has played well against Penn State, especially at home.
Hopefully all that is moot, and Penn State is simply that much better than Iowa that it won't make a difference.
But honestly, I am not as sold about this one being in the bag for the Lions as some people are thinking. If it comes down to anything....it comes down to whether Iowa has an offense or not.
(In my opinion.)
