[washingtonismoney]

... I did laugh at the confidence he showed in claiming that 2012/13 Wiscy was absolutely the better team than 2015/16 Iowa, just based on their record in close games and nothing else. I also think that winning close games can be a sign of a good team. More than anything, though, my memory tells me that we gave Wisconsin chances to win that game and played not to lose, hanging on for dear life. My gut tells me that wouldn't work agst. this Iowa team.

Sure, allowing a team chances to come back is never a good idea. And I wouldn't say there's absolutely *zero* skill to winning close games (I imagine teams with great quarterbacks tend to do better in such games). But the record is pretty consistent.

Also have to disagree with your point w/r/t the Big Ten, made earlier: it may or may not have been a good conference this year, but aside from Michigan State Iowa avoided the cream of the crop.

Anyway, it's hard to be definitive when comparing across years, but let's take a look at how the major rating systems rank the two:

ESPN FPI:
Iowa 2015: #27
Wisconsin 2012: #21

Football Outsiders' F/+:
Iowa 2015: #25
Wisconsin 2012: #15

Sagarin:
Iowa 2015: #13
Wisconsin 2012: #23

Let's eyeball this and call it a draw, then? They're about equally as good.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure *Stanford* is much better than the 2012 version. Stanford's 2015 offense and 2012 defense are about even. With Hogan at the helm, I'd actually give a slight edge to the 2012 offense over the 2015 defense. But I'd also give a nice edge to the 2015 special teams -- more reliable kicking, more reliable returners (remember Montgomery was injured), though less reliable kickoff coverage teams.

[washingtonismoney]

... I did laugh at the confidence he showed in claiming that 2012/13 Wiscy was absolutely the better team than 2015/16 Iowa, just based on their record in close games and nothing else. I also think that winning close games can be a sign of a good team. More than anything, though, my memory tells me that we gave Wisconsin chances to win that game and played not to lose, hanging on for dear life. My gut tells me that wouldn't work agst. this Iowa team.

Sure, allowing a team chances to come back is never a good idea. And I wouldn't say there's absolutely *zero* skill to winning close games (I imagine teams with great quarterbacks tend to do better in such games). But the record is pretty consistent.

Also have to disagree with your point w/r/t the Big Ten, made earlier: it may or may not have been a good conference this year, but aside from Michigan State Iowa avoided the cream of the crop.

Anyway, it's hard to be definitive when comparing across years, but let's take a look at how the major rating systems rank the two:

ESPN FPI:
Iowa 2015: #27
Wisconsin 2012: #21

Football Outsiders' F/+:
Iowa 2015: #25
Wisconsin 2012: #15

Sagarin:
Iowa 2015: #13
Wisconsin 2012: #23

Let's eyeball this and call it a draw, then? They're about equally as good.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure *Stanford* is much better than the 2012 version. Stanford's 2015 offense and 2012 defense are about even. With Hogan at the helm, I'd actually give a slight edge to the 2012 offense over the 2015 defense. But I'd also give a nice edge to the 2015 special teams -- more reliable kicking, more reliable returners (remember Montgomery was injured), though less reliable kickoff coverage teams.