Mr. Optimist, Mr. Pessimist hold rare post-season-opener debate
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – These guys don’t usually debate right after an Iowa football season opener, but I’m told, they made an exception for this season because of the unusual circumstances.
From Cade McNamara’s presence at quarterback to Noah Shannon’s absence at defensive tackle to Brian Ferentz’s revised contract, it’s been a surreal offseason.
The season opener is always a colossal event for Iowa fans, but this year had some additional buzz thanks to the wild and strange fact that Iowa was starting a quarterback in McNamara, who just two years ago led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title, and to the college playoff.
The season-long suspension of Shannon for gambling on sports, and the performance incentives that were added to Brian Ferentz’s contract also have added to the strange and unusual.
So, it was time for the long-time nemeses to debate Hawkeye football, matching the glass-half-full fan against the glass-half-empty hater.
And here is what transpired:
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Mr. Optimist: Tory Taylor punted six times against Utah State for a 48.7 average and had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Mr. Pessimist: Tory Taylor punted six times against Utah State.
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Mr. Optimist: Williamsburg walk-on receiver Kaden Wetjen averaged 7.3 yards on three carries, all of which were end sweeps, in the 24-14 victory over Utah State.
Mr. Pessimist: Kaleb Johnson and Leshon Willams, Iowa’s top two running backs, averaged 3.3 and 2.7 yards per carry, respectively, against Utah State.
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Mr. Optimist: Cade McNamara completed at least two passes to six different receivers in the win over Utah State, and 17-of-30 passes overall for 191 yards, and he was only sacked one time.
Mr. Pessimist: McNamara only completed 7-of-15 passes for 59 yards in the second and third quarters combined, and it became abundantly clear as he tried to scramble that he hasn’t fully recovered from the soft-tissue injury that caused him to miss over a week of preseason practice.
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Mr. Optimist: Iowa had its first opening drive touchdown pass to start a season since 1991 against Utah State.
Mr. Pessimist: Iowa had its first opening drive touchdown pass to start a season in 32 years.
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Mr. Optimist: Iowa and Wisconsin are both considered the top two contenders in the Big Ten West Division, but the Badgers are transitioning under a new head coach, and to a new philosophy and scheme on offense that is a dramatic shift from how it has played dating back to the Barry Alvarez era, and that transition could take some time.
Iowa, on the other hand, has just upgraded some key positions on offense, most notably quarterback, but the continuity, stability, and familiarity with the coaches, and with offense are still present.
Mr. Pessimist: The transition under Luke Fickell appears to be moving along just fine as Wisconsin rushed for 312 yards in a 38-17 victory over Buffalo this past Saturday, while Iowa rushed for just 88 yards on 36 attempts against Utah State.
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Mr. Optimist: The performance incentives in Brian Ferentz’s contract show that Iowa is willing to take a stand and that it demands accountability from everybody.
Mr. Pessimist: The performance incentives in Brian Ferentz’s contract are just silly because all they really do, besides probably annoy his father, Kirk Ferentz, is create an unnecessary distraction and make it easier for critics and naysayers to poke fun at his situation.
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Mr. Optimist: Iowa sophomore Kaleb Johnson broke loose for a 54-yard return on the opening kickoff, and he also averaged an impressive 25 yards on 13 kick returns last season.
Mr. Pessimist: To have your starting running back also return kicks is just asking for trouble.
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Mr. Optimist: The annual showdown between Iowa and Iowa State, which will be played this coming Saturday in Ames, is always a special event because it matches two Power Five teams from two different conferences, and from a low population state where there are no professional sports teams.
Mr. Pessimist: If the Big Ten Conference keeps expanding, the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry will soon go by the way of the dinosaurs.
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Mr. Optimist: The Utah State game was the first of six home sellouts (69,250) for the Iowa football team this season, and the seventh home game against Illinois is close to being sold out.
Mr. Pessimist: The Nebraska volleyball team drew over 92,000 fans for its match against Omaha this past Wednesday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
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Mr. Optimist: With the win over Utah State, the Iowa football team improved to 21-4 in season openers under Kirk Ferentz.
Mr. Pessimist: Those 21 wins were against in order: Kent State, Akron, Miami (Ohio), Kent State, Ball State, Montana, Northern Illinois, Maine, Northern Iowa, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Miami (Ohio), Wyoming, Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio), Indiana, South Dakota State and Utah State.
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Mr. Optimist: These are exciting times in the Big Ten Conference with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington all set to the join the conference in 2024.
Mr. Pessimist: Too bad it has come at the demise of the Pac-12 Conference, and I can’t wait for the Iowa football team to face Washington at 9.m. CST on a Thursday or Friday in Seattle.
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Mr. Optimist: Iowa deserves praise for using name, image and likeness as a way to reward current student-athletes because that it how it was intended to be used, and as way to help local charities.
Mr. Pessimist: Meanwhile, other schools take advantage of the lack of structure and transparency and use NIL as pay-for-play and that puts Iowa at a clear disadvantage.