The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

[moose141]

Re: 2023 - Around the Nation, Week 10

Iowa/Ohio State Big Ten championship showdown could be a national championship game before the national championship game if both teams are able to run the table the whole season.

[OldHossRadbourn]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

Honestly, great call by the administration all those years ago to get permission from Pittsburgh and redesign the uniforms to be similar to those. They look great. I know a lot of people aren't that interested in Iowa, it's generally considered a pretty boring school but I love the look.

I honestly had no idea about that until just now. Great fact!

[Hellisan]

Hawk Blog

Interview with Coach J.D. Clark

A big thank you to the Iowa Athletic department for getting me an interview with Coach Clark. It's been a great rise from fanboy to official fanboy over the last year and part of the spoils are getting to do something like this.


Coach J.D. Clark

Q: The Big Ten currently comprises five of the top 10 teams. Why is that?

A: *Chuckles* - Right out of the gate, that's a tough question!

Q: Well in fact, ever since you became the head coach at Iowa, it seems like every season the Big Ten is a major player. Big Ten teams won the national championship in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

A: Yep, and Coach Pete and USC broke up our little party last year. From a 30,000 foot perspective I think a lot of it was that this conference was a bit of a sleeping giant. There's just such a big footprint here in the history of the game. Great brands. Great rivalries - really, in my mind, all the best rivalries if I'm being honest. But at this point that's coming from a place of bias. We just have heaps of history. You add these things together and something like this was always possible.

I have to give the credit primarily to Urban. He's on the mind of every coach in this conference every week. He's won what, 85% of his games? (editor's note: 84%, 237-46) - He has elevated the art of college football coaching to a new level. He's a tough act to follow. It brings a lot of attention, and he usually has the pick of recruits. Really, though. When you look at the history of the game, the coaches that can compete with him on the basis of winning percentage are small school coaches and Notre Dame coaches when that program was so far above all the others. That's kind of it.

Q: But you've been able to compete with him.

A: Well, now he has a foil *smiles* - That's good for drama, good for the eyeballs on the league. There's a lot of attention on us. We wouldn't want it any other way.

Q: Let's move on to Larry. He's been able to stay healthy this year. Care to comment on that run last week? It might have turned around the game. Maybe the team finds a way to win the game regardless, but if felt a lot more in hand after he took control like that. He looked like a man amongst boys.

A: Well, if those defenders were trying to stop Larry Lloyd they went about it all wrong. It was like watching a couple of cowboys trying to lasso a tornado. It was a rough ride for them, like trying to saddle a wild mustang that had other plans. He was a one-man stampede there, by God.

Q: There are so many other players to give credit to on offense, as well.

A: Ain't that the truth. We have a freshman quarterback. He may not be putting up huge numbers, but he can do anything you need him to do. He's thrown 10 interceptions but in the film room, he just hasn't gotten any breaks. There's no excuse of course, this is a results oriented game, but a lot of times if you play as well as he has, that number would be lower. They've latched on to everything. Our tight end, another freshman, he's been our best receiver. Needs to improve his blocking, but that will come. You don't find freshman tight ends that do everything well. He's been losing a little bit of playing time as we've moved even more toward the run but he's a big time weapon. Finally, that left side of the line has been where our bread is really buttered. They've allowed just two sacks and paved a way for a lot of those rushing yards.

Q: How do the linebackers compare to others you've had in the past?

A: David and Brandon are more technical than the players I've had in the past. Dan Wilcox from back in the Iowa days he was a speedster and did everything for us, but these guys are a bit more advanced. We've always had numbers from the linebackers at Iowa too. They battle it out to be the best amongst themselves and are down to the nitty gritty at this point. They want to know who was the best at run fits every single week. They make the coaches call that out in film study even if they don't want the answer when they hear it. We've had so many great players, three or four years ago we had two linebackers and a defensive end get 95+ tackles. Those were all great players, but again, these guys are a little different. We play primarily out of a nickle set now and there are a lot less tackles to go around because of the way we get off the field now. Credit to them, they've managed to take us up a notch.

Q: Let's touch on the secondary real quick.

A: I can't believe the level they're playing at. The way we play is very aggressive, and our bugaboo has always been getting off the field against the passing attack. What you have to remember as a coach and as players is, that's a week-to-week battle. This is an ongoing thing to get off the field. They're studying us, we're studying them and it could be a first half where we do it and a second half where we don't. You know that of course. I give credit where it's due but they have to continue. As we've had success we've gradually mixed in more aggressive setups, zone blitzes, fewer in the back. The emergence of Jay Cook from a guy with all the talent in the world to a world class safety that's going to be in the NFL, and adding Drew Farmer to pair with him has taken us to a new level. We isolate those guys in so many ways and they're holding up their end of the bargain. Long may it continue.

Hawk Blog: Thanks Coach





Game Notes - #2 Iowa at #10 Illinois

Kyle Wade - statuesque pocket passer with good accuracy 18 touchdowns against just three interceptions on the season so he plays under control. 6'5 good height. Running backs led by JT McCarthy well-rounded but dynamic player 493 yards on the season with no rushing touchdowns. Wide receivers are led by Earl Tremblay a slow but precise route Runner with good awareness and hands. Alex Grimes. Dustin Rodriguez. Scott Gallagher these guys all funnel into the same player type without a lot of speed. Tight ends not an impressive position for the Illini as well. Offensive line is subpar with some decent players on the right side.

Defense is the strength of the Illini. who have probably been overachieving this far into the season. David Newberry 6'4 276, 91 OVR 81 SPD is the star of the defensive line. Bryant Ford 6'3 303 82 OVR 88 STR Defensive tackle mans the middle. MLB Patrick Meeks speedy but not particularly savvy in terms of tackling or play recognition.

The secondary is probably the strength of the defense but is thin. Not a lot of depth. There are two quarterbacks that are pretty good, but safeties filling in at the other cornerback positions. Alex Miller is probably the most talented of the entire defense, the free safety has six deflections on the season but has not managed to make an interception - watch out for him, as he has ideal range. SS David Williams is an impact player he has an interception and three pass deflections at strong safety with very good speed for the position.

Let's run the ball first and foremost. When we need to pass, keep them chasing players over the middle of the field with route combinations and quick hitting plays. Try to avoid giving up sacks or turnovers in this game and if we do that, we should be gravy. It's a road game, so the crowd could become a factor and change some of the dynamics.

[Hellisan]

Week 10 - #2 Iowa at #10 Illinois

[moose141]

Re: Week 10 - #2 Iowa at #10 Illinois

A win is a win! Larry getting his touches as per usual, and sounds like a tough day for Mack, but seems like it may have just been mental miscues rather than an issue with a lack of talent or anything of that nature, so those mistakes should hopefully be correctable for the youngster moving forward! Nice to see Polk step up, but it feels like Nik Vessel has gone way more under the radar than he did last season, am I right or just imagining things?

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

This is some great information for me, especially if I end up moving to another school with a talent deficit. I'm concerned about doing too much to help the pass rush now though, as I'm already getting a bit too many sacks. Mostly because my coverage heehe Thanks bro

This caught my eye in the replies - is a move on the table should Coach Clark finish the job and win his third title in four years? It does feel like a perfect close to the chapter if Iowa wins it all, with a likely 1v2 matchup in the Big Ten title game being almost an early climax (heh) and Lloyd looking like the Heisman favorite. Would be fascinating to see what school drops the bag for Coach Clark if he's willing to entertain offers - reminds me a bit of the Lincoln Riley move from Oklahoma to USC, only if Lincoln wasn't kind of a fraud.

[Hellisan]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

A win is a win! Larry getting his touches as per usual, and sounds like a tough day for Mack, but seems like it may have just been mental miscues rather than an issue with a lack of talent or anything of that nature, so those mistakes should hopefully be correctable for the youngster moving forward! Nice to see Polk step up, but it feels like Nik Vessel has gone way more under the radar than he did last season, am I right or just imagining things?

You're spot on, i.e. user error, I did change the camera angle so that I could see the sidelines better and the interactions taking place out there but I am still struggling to get used to it. However, I enjoy the struggles so I'm going to keep it where it's at and hope to improve. As for Vessel, yes and no. Due to the struggles of the passing game and the fact that Lloyd hasn't gotten injured he's catching fewer passes, but for more yards per completion, from something like 11.5 per catch to 17.5 per catch this year. He also hasn't rushed the ball this year where he had a few explosive plays last year. He looks a step slower but that is probably just me imagining things. All told I think he has a great chance to eclipse last year's yardage total however he probably won't tally 9 total touchdowns like he had last year, with just 2 so far. Freshman TE Hayden Polk is eating up all the receiving touchdowns with 7 already. Also, hasn't dropped a pass yet.

This caught my eye in the replies - is a move on the table should Coach Clark finish the job and win his third title in four years? It does feel like a perfect close to the chapter if Iowa wins it all, with a likely 1v2 matchup in the Big Ten title game being almost an early climax (heh) and Lloyd looking like the Heisman favorite. Would be fascinating to see what school drops the bag for Coach Clark if he's willing to entertain offers - reminds me a bit of the Lincoln Riley move from Oklahoma to USC, only if Lincoln wasn't kind of a fraud.

I haven't really considered too much moving away from Iowa, but I do try and think realistically about the plusses and minuses from the standpoint of a man his age, which is still in his prime for a college football coach, I think currently 54 years old. He's turned Iowa into a powerhouse and has always loved the quiet life, so I'm not itching to move him and start over. Maybe as he gets older, a move to the coasts and away from the snowed-in Winter would start to become attractive to him.

Thanks guys I appreciate your questions and interest.

[Hellisan]

Around the Nation - Week 11 Update

[OldHossRadbourn]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

Y



I haven't really considered too much moving away from Iowa, but I do try and think realistically about the plusses and minuses from the standpoint of a man his age, which is still in his prime for a college football coach, I think currently 54 years old. He's turned Iowa into a powerhouse and has always loved the quiet life, so I'm not itching to move him and start over. Maybe as he gets older, a move to the coasts and away from the snowed-in Winter would start to become attractive to him.

Thanks guys I appreciate your questions and interest.

Hellisan returning to Louisville to end his career at the place he was at when I first saw your dynasty reports at MaddenMania...would be pretty cool.

[Hellisan]

2023 - #1 Iowa at Purdue

Holding for skipped story lol

[Hellisan]

2023 Week 11 - #1 Iowa at Purdue






Defending Big Ten Conference Champion Michigan State (5-5) is set to clash with the #1 Hawkeyes in Iowa. Unfortunately for Sparty, their quest to defend the title has faltered. Their performance has been a mixed bag, including highs such as a competitive 32-35 loss to #3 Nebraska and an overtime victory against #18 Notre Dame (37-31). However, they faced a setback against the formidable #2 Ohio State, succumbing to a dominating 17-49 defeat, and also stumbled against lowly 3-7 Michigan in overtime, losing 41-35.

Despite the inconsistent record, Michigan State remains an immensely talented team, showcasing depth and top-tier talent. Last season's champions are still a force to be reckoned with.

Quarterback Corey Woods has completed 148 of 270 passes for 2,372 yards, with 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He spearheads an offensive unit that ranks in the top 45 nationally in points per game, rushing offense, passing offense, and total offense. However, the defensive side has fallen short of expectations, currently sitting at the 91st spot in total defense with a concerning -8 turnover differential.

Butler ruled out with re-occurrence of hip flexor injury

Brandon Butler will miss at least the next game with a hip injury. The junior has struggled with the injury on and off this season and will miss the game against Michigan State. The team indicated he will sit due to an abundance of caution, however, he did not practice at all this week.

[Hellisan]

2023 Week 12 - Michigan State at #1 Iowa

[moose141]

Re: 2023 Week 12 - Michigan State at #1 Iowa

When you can win a game and only throw 11 passes, now that's Big Ten football, haha! This team is like an Iowa team if you could grow them in a lab: insane rushing game, fantastic defense, and just enough passing to get you by when you need them to. Had to feel good to pound on Sparty after last year as well. Big win, keep it rolling, the finish line is in sight! Basically a championship game every week now with top ranked Nebraska and Ohio State and then *knock on wood* a BCS championship game.

[jasontoddwhitt]

Re: 2023 Week 12 - Michigan State at #1 Iowa

The snow, the playcalling, and the stats scream old-school Big Ten football.

Sparty seems to be having a rough year defending their Big Ten crown. It must've felt nice to get some revenge on last year's game.

[studbucket]

Re: 2023 Week 12 - Michigan State at #1 Iowa

Kinnick in the snow, just beautiful. Your offense really struggled and the defense and special teams stepped up in a huge way.

Shout out to Shonn Greene, but Larry Legend deserves that rushing crown.