Iowa @ Minnesota Preview

            Hey Hawk fans the BIG TEN season starts in two days as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers. It's the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale Iowa won last season 31 to 14 in probably the best game they played all season. Iowa Finished up the non conference portion of the schedule 3-1 and the Gophers finished up 4-0. Looking at both teams wins I'm not sure what to expect from either team in the game the three teams Iowa has beaten are a combined 0-9. Although the Gophers are 4-0 they haven't played another BCS conference team. The best team they beat is probably San Jose State who has a potential NFL quarterback which is why Minnesota ran the ball 67 times last week to keep the ball away from him. I haven't seen the Gophers play a lot but the games that I did get to see they weren't all that impressive. This is an interesting way to start out conference play on the road, the good thing is Iowa already went into a hostile environment in Ames to defeat the Cyclones. So lets look take a look at what Minnesota will be bringing to the table on Saturday. 

          The Gophers will try to run the football, they have only completed 33 passes in 4 games this season. The Gophers are 13th in the nation in rushing averaging 282 yards a game on the ground. Minnesota's main ball carriers will be David Cobb who has 53 carries for 332 yards, Rodney Williams Jr. is a bigger back who has had 45 carries for 277 yards. The thing about Minnesota is their quarterbacks like to run the football Mitch Leidner and Phillip Nelson have combined to rush 79 times for 472 yards. So looking at the stats we know what the Gophers are going to try to do run the ball. The thing is they have such a terrible passing game that Iowa should be able to run blitz all day. Like I said earlier they have completed 33 passes in 4 games and they only have one touchdown pass this season. One of the big questions will be who starts at quarterback for Minnesota as Phillip Nelson has been resting a hamstring probably the more elusive quarterback. Leidner more of power running Tim Tebow type quarterback played last week and ran for a school record 4 touchdowns. If Iowa shuts down the run they should win this game. Minnesota is not a team that can take advantage of Iowa's weaknesses which is the space we give them on the outside. 

   The Gophers will try to run the football a lot on Saturday using spread formations to try and open up some running lanes. The good news for Iowa fans is that the Hawkeyes have played 3 teams already this season that play a similar style of offense and for the most part they shut down the opposing teams running attack. At the Receiver position they have two main guys that they will look to throw to Max Williams who has 5 catches for 99 yards and Derrick Engle 7 catches for 93 yards. They have one other guy KJ Maye who has 6 catches for 70 yards on the season. On Saturday expect to see a team that tries to run the ball right at Iowa if the Hawks stop the run we should win this game. Iowa is 12th in the nation only allowing 366 yards rushing in the 4 games an average of 3.36 yards per carry. Now that I've previewed what we will see from Minnesota's offense here is what to look for on defense. 

            Iowa is 24th in the nation in rushing yards per game averaging 244 yards per game. We all know what Iowa will try to do vs the Gophers that is run the football to set up the playaction passing game. The Gophers have played pretty good run defense so far this season ranking 21st in the nation and only allowing 3.37 yards per carry. This could be a very interesting game if neither team is able to run the football like they want to. As we know giving up big plays has plagued the Hawkeyes this season but I'm not so sure the Gophers have the players to make the plays Northern Illinois made in week one. Looking at Minnesota's defense they are lead by Rashed'e Hageman who is a very good defensive lineman. 

         Minnesota likes to spread out there defensive line to get a good pass rush so they could be vulnerable to Iowa's power running game on Saturday. On passing downs they will pin their ears back and rush the quarterback so pass blocking will be a big key for Iowa on Saturday. Minnesota has 6 sacks so far in 4 games so they have been able to get to the quarterback a little. Minnesota has only turned the ball over 3 times all season losing one fumble and throwing 2 interceptions. Iowa on the other hand has turned the ball over 7 times so this could be a key in the game on Saturday. Since the Gophers defense is pretty good Iowa will need Jake Rudock to make more plays with his arm this week if Iowa is going to win this game. Looking at the turnovers Iowa's defense has forced 9 turnovers so far this season where as Minnesota's defense has forced only 6 turnovers. Now that we have looked at Minnesota's defense what does Iowa have to do to win this game.

           Offensively both teams are going to try and run the football on Saturday. The team that controls both sides of the line of scrimmage will be the team that takes control of this game. This is a very interesting match up with both teams that are top 24 in rushing and top 22 in rushing defense. The key for an Iowa victory is to run the football strong to set up the playaction pass but with the Gophers defense it may be tough to do that. I think the team that throws the ball better will win this game and bring home the Pig. I believe Iowa has a much better passing game even though they aren't great at passing the football either Jake Rudock will make more plays with his arm than the Gophers quarterbacks whether that be Nelson or Leidner. The receivers are going to be critical for Iowa on Saturday we can't have the drops we have had in other games. The good things is the receivers are improving but will need to continue to improve to for a Hawkeye victory. Now that we have broken down this game here's my prediction on what will happen on Saturday. 

           This will be a close game for three quarters with Iowa wearing down Minnesota's defense in the 4th quarter. I see a close game final score will be 28 to 10 with Iowa getting the victory. I think Iowa will win the game in the trenches but the Gophers will be able to keep this game close in front of their home crowd. Minnesota has has this game circled just like Iowa State did the problem for the Gophers is Iowa has the better quarterback and I believe Rudocks ability to make plays with his arm will be the difference in this game. I don't see Minnesota being able to run the ball very well which could turn this game into a blowout in Iowa's favor but I'm not ready to make that prediction yet. Honestly Iowa is just a little bit better but as we know strange things happen up at Minnesota so Iowa will have to play well if they are going to win. 

      I see Iowa controlling this game with Gophers right there till the 4th quarter but Iowa will score a late touchdown to make the game look more out of reach than it was. I've seen a lot of teams try to run it right at Iowa and most of the time these types of teams don't have a whole lot of success running the football. Now special teams could make an impact Iowa ran two punts back last weekend and Minnesota has ran one punt and one kick back for a touchdown this season. Iowa needs to cover the kicks better as there have been a number of times they got out of their lanes to almost give up a big play. If Iowa turns the ball over they can lose this game but I feel Iowa moves to 4-1 and 1-0 in Conference setting up a big game next week at home with the Spartans. That is my prediction I'll have a review of the game coming up in the next few days. The talk is over now it's time to settle it on the field as the Hawks will retain the Pig winning 28 to 10 thanks for reading.

Go Hawks. 

             

Iowa Vs Western Michigan Review

            Hey Hawk fans the Big Ten season starts this weekend as we go on the road to take on Minnesota. Before I talk about that, lets look back at this past Saturday's game vs Western Michigan. Last Saturday couldn't have gone any better for the Hawks as they rolled the Broncos 59 to 3. It was great to see Iowa finally blow out a team as I don't remember a game where Iowa won like that in at least a few years. The best thing about the game Saturday is we played a lot of younger players and didn't have to use Weisman only giving him 10 carries. He should be really fresh for the Gophers this Saturday. So now lets take a look at what Iowa did well on Saturday.

            Saturday's game was really a game the fans needed Iowa was coming off a big win over Iowa State where they didn't finish the game real strong. That was not the case in this game as we took a 38 to 3 lead at halftime over the Broncos. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage again allowing Iowa to run for 258 yards again going over 200 yards rushing. If Iowa continues to run like this during the Big Ten season they will be a very dangerous team. We ran the ball 58 times on 76 total plays which is impressive considering they had 2 punt returns and Interception returns for touchdowns. The running game was very strong with Jordan Canzeri leading the Hawkeyes with 13 carries 74 yards, he looked very quick to the hole and will probably get more carries as we move into Big Ten season. We also got a chance to see Leshun Daniels receive 13 carries for 54 yards, he made some nice runs but ran a little bit straight up which caused him to take some hard shots in the game. Weisman was able to rest in this game only getting 10 carries for 43 yards and Damon Bullock also had 10 carries for 37 yards. The running game is our Identity we have ran 50 plus times in every game this season so expect to see that as we go into conference play. The only negative for the running backs was that Canzeri and Daniels both fumbled. We all knew the running game was good but how did the passing game do on Saturday.

            Although we didn't throw the ball a lot on Saturday only throwing the ball 18 times to complete 11 passes total between Rudock and Beathard. I thought Rudock looked very Sharp on Saturday completing 10 of 15 passes for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rudock is so poised he had a 4th down play in the 1st quarter where the snap was low he picked the ball off the ground and threw a strike to CJ Fiedorowictz to pick of the first down on 4th and 6. Later on the drive he completed a playaction pass to Jacob Hillyer who broke a tackle and scored the Hawks first touchdown. I thought Jake looked really good on the Playaction which is good news because the way we run the football we should be able to hit some passes on those plays. He also showed off his arm on an absolute strike to Damond Powell where he hit him in the endzone that was his last play of the game. He also showed he could scramble running for a number of yards to avoid a sack. That specific play looked like a designed run because the offensive line was already down the field when he was dropping back. Jake ran the ball 4 times for 30 yards on Saturday. CJ Beathard also got in the game on Saturday he completed one pass on three attempts but it was a Rocket. He threw a 54 yard completion to Damond Powell and he couldn't of thrown it any better hitting Powell right in the hands. Beathard definitely has an arm so the depth is very strong at Quarterback for the Hawks. Now that we talked about what the Quarterbacks lets look at the wide receivers.

              The receivers still need to keep improving if Iowa is going to be a strong team in the BIG Ten. Even though the running game has been very strong we are going to need our wide outs to make plays in the Conference season. The good news is Jake Hillyer has caught touchdown passes in the last 2 games so maybe he starting to take some steps forward. Damond Powell was the guy that stood out on Saturday catching two long passes one from each Quarterback a Touchdown from Rudock and a 54 yard gain from Beathard. Powell can definitely run so he will likely get more playing time as we get into Big Ten play. The other Receivers didn't do a whole lot Martin Manly had one catch for 6 yards, Tevaun Smith had 1 catch for 6 yards, CJ Fiedorowictz had 1 catch for 12 yards, and Damon Bullock also had a 12 yard reception. The guy who looks to be emerging is Ray Hamilton who had 3 catches for 39 yards. They are getting better the question is can we win a game where we don't run for 200 plus yards? I'm not sure yet but I have seen improvement from our Receivers Martin Manley is the number one guy but we are still searching for a number two guy. Hillyer, and Smith seem to be the guys that have the potential to become a number 2 Receivers but they have to get more consistent. The other guy that is coming on strong is Damond Powell he has the speed to stretch the field and open up space underneath the coverage for guys like Martin Manley, Hillyer, Smith and our tight ends. Now that I broke down offense lets take a look at how the defense played.

             There really isn't anything to complain about they held Western Michigan to 3 points and even scored two touchdowns. BJ Lowery had two pick 6's that really put the game further out of reach than it was. The pass rush was very good on Saturday we didn't get any sacks but forced a number of hurried passes. Iowa was very successful getting pressure on the Quarterback with a blitz Christian Kirksey was very strong on his blitzes hitting the Quarterback on almost every blitz. The defensive line continues to improve and our run defense was outstanding only allowing 74 rushing yards. The Secondary was a whole lot better this weekend they seemed to be communicating better not allowing any big plays vs the Broncos. We forced 4 turnover 3 interceptions and one fumble. In the Broncos first 5 possessions they went 3 and out the defense continues to control the line of scrimmage and are getting better in the secondary. If the defense continues to stop the run they will be very dangerous in the conference. Iowa seems to be faster on the outside we aren't giving up the short pass like we have in the past the spread offenses don't seem to be as effective as they have been. When we played Northern Illinois we did give up a lot of big plays but that looked to be more communication issues than anything. We will see the spread in almost every game so if the defense is better vs these types of offenses we should be able to hang in with anybody left on the schedule. Those are my thoughts on the defense now lets look at special teams which was a game changer on Saturday.

            We all wanted to see Martin Manley run back more punts instead of fair catching the ball like he has done so far this season. Well whatever the game plan on the punt returns was it worked as Martin Manley ran two straight punts back for touchdowns. Special teams can be a game changer when we get into conference play. The blocking on the returns were very good and a lot of people have questioned whether Martin Manley is a play maker back there or just a guy to fair catch the ball. He answered those questions on Saturday with 3 big returns two going for touchdowns. The punting was also better as Kornbraith averaged 47 yards per punt on 3 punt attempts. The Kickoff team did give up one big return but overall they were better this weekend. They still need to improve a lot on the kickoff unit as we can't give up big plays on special teams as those can be game changing type plays.

            This was a big win for the Hawks finally blowing out a team and this has to give us a lot of momentum as we go into Big Ten play. We start Big Ten play this weekend vs the Gophers and that should be a very interesting game. I will have a preview of that game coming up in the next few days so be sure to check back thanks for reading.

Go Hawks.

Iowa Vs Western Michigan Preview

             The Big Ten season is on the horizon Hawkeye fans but we still have one last test in the non conference schedule. On Saturday afternoon the Hawks will be hosting the 0-3 Western Michigan Broncos. This is a big game for the Hawks on Saturday we have to keep the momentum going for the Big Ten season opener against the Gophers. Western Michigan on the season has lost games to Nicholls State, Michigan State and Northwestern. They played fairly well against both MSU and Northwestern losing 20 to 7 vs the Spartans, 38 to 17 vs the Wildcats. Like every team we have played this season they will play the spread and throw the ball a lot.  In the plays I saw against Northwestern they were able to hit a couple of deep balls down the field for touchdowns. This has me worried a little bit with the big plays we have given up this season but we get Jordan Lomax and Reece Flemming back this week so that should help some. Even though they do have some play makers Iowa should be able to handle them.
             
            I expect this game to be a lot like Iowa State last weekend where we control both lines of scrimmage. Western Michigan gave up 300 yards rushing last week to Northwestern so expect to see a lot of Iowa running the football. We should be able to push the Broncos around and basically do anything we want on the ground just like we did vs the Cyclones last week. The Broncos aren't very big across the front of the defensive line except for Travonte Boles who is over 300 pounds and could cause some problems in the middle as our guards had a little trouble with ISU's big tackle last weekend. The one thing I want to see is Iowa finishing a team by playing all 4 quarters. They have had opportunities to finish all 3 games this season and haven't been able to get the job done. We need to see this team put a full game and put some points on the board Saturday. The potential is there for a strong offense but they need to finish off their drives with touchdowns. So I've previewed the game a little on what we can expect from the Broncos so what do we need to see from Iowa on Saturday afternoon.

              On Saturday I want to see Iowa run the football for 200 plus yards like they have all season. I want Weisman to get his carries but I would like to see more Damon Bullock and Jordan Canzeri, Leshun Daniels so we can rest up Mark for conference play. I expect we will see Mark get his 15 to 20 carries but I don't want to see him with 30 plus carries vs the Broncos. I also want to see the Hawks use the Playaction pass to get the ball down the field more. We should be able to run anytime we want on the Broncos so I expect all of our backs to get some quality carries on Saturday. I really want to see the combination of Bullock, Canzeri and Daniels get a lot of carries this weekend. Another thing I want to see is the passing offense continue to make progress, our running game has been great all season we just need the passing game to keep improving. Kevonte Martin Manley has been the most consistent receiver for the Hawks but we need some of the other guys to continue to improve. Jacob Hillyer and Tevaun Smith both made some plays vs the Cyclones so hopefully they continue to improve vs the Broncos. I'd also like to see Damond Powell make some plays this weekend and maybe get to see Matt Vandeberg get some time on Saturday. Our Tight Ends need to make more plays down the field Ray Hamilton seems to be emerging as a real threat we just need CJ Fiedorowicz to start to play better. What I look for is the offense to have a balanced game where we run the football well while also being able to see the passing game continue to improve before BIG Ten play starts. That is what I want to see from the offense on Saturday so what should we expect from the defense. .

              Defensively Iowa needs to stop giving up big plays over the top of the defense. The secondary has struggled giving up the big play so expect the Broncos to take some shots down the field to there freshman Corey Davis who has totaled 300 yards receiving this season. Western Michigan has ran the ball pretty well this season but with the way Iowa's defense has stopped the run I think we will be fine. We held Iowa state to 56 yards rushing last week and the Broncos quarterback can't run like the other few we have seen this season. Western Michigan throws the ball a lot so we will have to make tackles and not allow the Broncos to make plays on the outside taking short passes to turn them into long gains. If Iowa can stop the run we will make them one dimensional so the pass rush becomes more important. We made strides in this area last week but need to continue to improve as we get into conference play. The main key for every game this season will be to run the football and stop the run. I expect the defense to hold down Western Michigan so if the offense can score on Saturday we should run away with this game. That is what I want to see from the defense so what can the special teams do to help the Hawks on Saturday.

              I would like to see the special teams make some more plays for the Hawks Jordan Cotton had a big Kick Return vs the Cyclones so I think he is close to breaking one for a touchdown. Mike Meyer has made most of his field goals but hopefully we only have to see him for PAT's because Iowa is scoring so many touchdowns. Punting I hope we don't see Kornbraith a lot on Saturday but when we do I want to see consistency out of him. We have been very good on kickoff this season for the most part but coverage needs to be a little better on the kick return. We gave up a number of longer kick returns vs Iowa State and Missouri State so we need to take care of that before conference season.

                Here is my prediction on Saturday Iowa 35 WMU 14. Iowa finally puts a game together on both offense and defense to win a game big. All I want to see from the Hawks is consistency the biggest key is wide receiver play they need to continue to improve. The Secondary can't allow big plays on Saturday those can be game changers. Also I want to see Iowa have some explosive plays whether that be a 20 yard plus run or some long passes down the field. This is a game where we should be able to extend the lead out and see some of our younger players. I want to see CJ Beathard get some snaps if we can extend the lead out. I expect Iowa to get a nice win to move to 3-1 on the season before we get ready for conference play. Also Western Michigan is 2-0 all time vs Iowa so we need to end that with a victory. I will have a review of the game so check it out.

Thanks

Go Hawks

Iowa Vs Iowa State Review

               The CyHawk trophy is coming back home after the Iowa Hawkeyes went on the road to beat the Cyclones. The final score was 27 to 21 but that doesn't tell the whole story of the game. The facts are Iowa put together a dominating performance on Saturday night controlling both lines of scrimmage. I was very impressed with the Hawks on Saturday night anything they wanted to do vs ISU they did do. Now is this one of ISU's better teams probably not but that really doesn't matter Iowa needed to go on the road and get this victory which is exactly what they did. It did get a little shaky at the end of the game when we blew 2 coverage assignments allowing the Cyclones to creep within 6 points. Allowing the Cyclones to recover the first onside kick was disappointing but that was a very well executed onside kick by them Hamilton got a hand on the ball, he just couldn't pull it in. Now that we have talked a little about the game lets jump right into how the Hawkeyes won this football game.

               The biggest thing Iowa did in this game was the offensive and defensive lines completely controlling both lines of scrimmages. It didn't matter how many guys ISU stacked in the box Iowa was still getting 5 yards a carry and a lot more throughout the game. Mark Weisman was a beast for the Hawks on Saturday doing what he does running through arm tackles and his vision to find the right hole almost every play. Iowa ran for a total of 218 rushing yards on 60 carries most of that from Weisman who went for 145 yards on 35 carries, Damon Bullock also carried the ball 13 times for 50 yards and looked a lot better this week as he was more direct running to the hole. Iowa ran a total of 83 plays which is 20 more plays than the Cyclones were able to run on Saturday as the Hawks controlled the tempo of the game. I believe the tempo Iowa plays at will only help when they get into Big Ten play. The running game was a big key in our win but Jake Rudock really played a nice game on Saturday night.

               Jake was very solid on the road in a hostile environment making enough plays to win the game and not making critical mistakes to lose the game. Jake went 14-23 for 160 yards and 2 touchdown passes 3 total touchdowns scoring one on the ground. I really liked the way the hawks allowed Rudock to get out of the pocket and throw on the run. He made some nice throws on the run where like the one where he hit Tevaun Smith down at the 2 yard line. That was a perfect pass and set up the first touchdown for the Hawks. Later on the drive we ran a nice play action where Rudock rolled left this time to find Kevonte Martin Manley with our first touchdown going up 7 to 0. Iowa was also very good on third down converting 11 of 20 first downs a number of those were short runs by Weisman but Rudock also made a some good passes to convert first downs. The most impressive thing for me was after the Cyclones scored to cut the lead to 13 to 7 Rudock had two huge 3rd down conversions on this drive. One was 3rd and 6 at about the 40 he hit Martin Manley on a little drag rout to pick up the first down and keep the drive going. The other big 3rd down conversion happened later that drive again 3rd and 6 the Cyclones brought all 3 of their linebackers on the blitz Rudock passed the ball to Jake Hillyer on a little curl rout he went up and caught the ball broke the tackle to score a touchdown. This was critical part of the game the Cyclones were getting some momentum and Iowa put together a great drive to extend the lead back to 20 to 7. Jake really looked comfortable in the pocket or outside the pocket throwing on the run. I could see on his face how bad he wanted to win this game and it was great to see him go over to the offensive line to pat them on the back saying great job. I thought this was his best game in his biggest game so far and he should only improve the more he plays.

                 The defense completely shut down Iowa State except for about 3 plays which were all long touchdowns the first one Lowery missed a tackle that allowed Bundridge to break it for a touchdown. The other two were late in the game where Lowery got beat in man to man coverage and the other one was a good play call by ISU with the quick slant to score another touchdown. Other than those plays Iowa completely dominated this football game. The defensive line played their best game so far this season really getting great penetration on about every single play. Another big plus for the line was they finally got to the quarterback sacking Sam Richardson once and causing Richardson to hurry a number of throws. The defense forced 2 turnovers both interceptions one by Lowery and one by Morris which set up a field goal. The defense really shut down Iowa State's offense only allowing 59 rushing yards. The secondary did give up some big plays late in the game but for the most part they were very good vs the Cyclones. The defense only allowed 7 points until late in the 4th quarter where they gave up some touchdowns to make the game look closer than it was.

                The great thing to me was Iowa just physically dominated this football game on offense or defense it didn't matter the Hawks were the more physical team. This was great to see because the years Iowa has had a good football team it has been because they can run the football and play defense while making plays off the play action pass. This team has that same potential we have a number of running backs even though Weisman and Bullock have received the majority of the carries so far. Rudock has proved he can be very effective on the playaction pass I'd still like to see him hit a deep ball but overall very strong. The defense has some things to clean up in the secondary but the front 7 seems to be improving every week. Our defensive line has dominated the last 2 games what that means for the Big Ten season who knows but it's encouraging they are getting better each week. Special teams even helped out the Hawks on Saturday Mike Meyer made 2 of 2 field goals and Jordan Cotton had a big kick return after ISU scored to cut the lead to 13 to 7. This was a huge road win for the hawks and should only give us momentum as we move forward in the season.

                   Now since the Hawks didn't play until 5 on Saturday Night I had a long time to catch some of the other Big Ten teams on television. I watched parts of the Nebraska, UCLA, when I turned it on Nebraska was up 21 to 3. The next thing I know UCLA scores 28 straight points in the 3rd quarter to take a commanding lead and go on to win 41 to 21. Nebraska's defense is not good they have a lot of improving to do if they are going to be a good football team. I also was able to see a lot of the Michigan, Akron game they kind of slept through this game and got very lucky to win stopping Akron on the 2 yard line. Devin Gardner is a very good quarterback but he tends to make at least one bad mistake each game if this trend continues they could be beatable. I was able to see some of the Northwestern and Western Michigan game which was a pretty good game for a while before Northwestern pulled away to win 38 to 17. Northwestern was really able to run the ball extremely well vs Western Michigan so I believe Iowa should be able to also. I'm still not sure on the Wildcats defense they are very opportunistic but when Iowa plays them if we don't turn the ball over we should have a chance to win that game. The final 2 games I got to see on the night Purdue, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, Arizona State. I was surprised that Purdue was able to hang around with Notre Dame I still don't think they will be very good come Big Ten Season. The final game I was able to catch was Wisconsin and Arizona State the Badgers are who we thought they were a team that runs the ball a lot. Their secondary was not very good on Saturday night allowing a number of pass plays and being penalized for at least 4 pass interferences that I saw. Their QB play wasn't very good either. If you look at the Big Ten right now you have Ohio State and Michigan than the rest of the conference. There are a lot of people in the media who love the Northwestern Wildcats and Wisconsin I'm just not ready to say they will be that good. That is my little BIG Ten review now lets look ahead to next week for the Hawkeyes.

                  The Hawks have the Broncos of Western Michigan next weekend should be an interesting game another must win for the Hawks. If Iowa can get this one we finish the non conference 3 and 1 with two winnable games to start the Big Ten season. This week Iowa got a big road win next week they need to take care of Western Michigan and get ready for the start of Big Ten play. In the Big Ten I'm just not sure how good the conference is I see a lot of winnable games or games we could lose. I think Iowa will surprise some teams this season as we know Iowa always wins a game they aren't supposed to and loses one they shouldn't. I'm really excited about the team going forward this win at Iowa State should give the team a momentum boost as we move into conference play. The Big Ten Season is coming but first we must take care of the Broncos on Saturday. As always thanks for reading I will put together a preview of the Western Michigan game in the next few days.

Go Hawks

                   

CyHawk Showdown Preview

            What is up Hawk fans it's that time of the year again Iowa and Iowa State just a couple days away. The game will get under way at 5 p.m on Saturday night from Jack Trice Stadium and is the first road game of the season for the Hawks. Iowa comes into this game 1-1 with a Win over Missouri State 28 to 14 and a loss to NIU 30 to 27. The Cyclones lost week one to Northern Iowa 28 to 20 and had a bye week last week. So what can we expect in this game we know a few things Iowa State will not play like they did week one vs Northern Iowa. They will be ready to play and the crowd will be rocking on Saturday night. I'm really excited for this game it is so big for both programs Iowa State can't fall to 0-2 and Iowa can't afford to fall to 1-2. I'm really not sure what to expect on Saturday I could see Iowa blowing out the Cyclones or I could see a really close game that could go either way. So lets jump right into this game with what I think we will see from the Cyclones defense..

              This game will be Jake Rudock's first road start which does make me a little nervous about how he will play. I expect Iowa State will stack 8 and 9 guys in the box all night against Iowa because vs UNI they gave up a lot of rushing yards to the Panthers. Iowa will run the ball a lot and should have success running the football against the Cyclones but with ISU likely stacking the box the playaction pass becomes that much more important for the Hawkeyes. If you remember back against the Huskies week one we did hit some deep balls down the field on 1st down Playaction passes. I expect to see the same thing this weekend also expect to see Damond Powell in the game more if ISU is giving one on one coverage. Turnovers will be a huge key in this ball game and with a young quarterback making his first road start I just don't know what to expect. Rudock has thrown 3 interceptions so far this season and will have to make smart decisions with the football. I also expect ISU will be blitzing a lot on defense which makes the screen game to receivers and running backs a very effective weapon for the Hawks this weekend. The Cyclones likely will try to take away the running game to make Rudock try to beat them with his arm which I believe he can and will have a breakout game Saturday. Another key for Iowa to win this game we need to see the receivers step up all of them as a whole need to make plays on Saturday night. Offensively I expect the Hawks to run the football a lot and if they are successful that will open up the playaction passes down the field. The team who wins the line of scrimmage on Saturday night will be the team that has the advantage in this ball game.
           
             Now I haven't seen a whole lot of Iowa State's offense as I didn't get to see their game against UNI week one. Looking at the stats Iowa State will run a lot of quarterback read and Sam Richardson isn't afraid to run as he almost runs too much. Iowa will have to contain Sam Richardson which is why playing against mobile quarterbacks in week one and two will only help us in this game vs the Cyclones. ISU will spread the field most of the time on Saturday night which means our linebackers will be tested in coverage this weekend as we will see some on one on one match ups with our linebackers. The Cyclones do have some speed but listening to the reaction to the UNI game people were saying the ISU's receivers had trouble getting separation from the Panthers defensive backs. Tackling will be a huge key for the Hawks as ISU likes to throw a lot of quick passes and let their playmakers try to make plays after the catch. The other major key for Iowa is they must have a pass rush of some sort they can't let Richardson just sit in the pocket and make plays. Also we can't let Richardson scramble and make big plays with his legs he has already proved that he has no fear of running with the football. The last big key for Iowa on defense they must limit the big plays we have already seen this season the secondary giving up long TD passes and they must limit these plays if they are going to beat the Cyclones on Saturday night.

           Iowa really struggled with penalties last weekend and they must clean that up this week if they want to win. Iowa will also be running their no huddle offense for the first time on the road so it will be interesting to see how effective they are running it. Can they get into the right plays or will they struggle with the crowd noise. The major key in this ball game for Iowa is to score touchdowns when they get in the red zone. They should be able to move up and down the field on the Cyclones Saturday night but the key will be once they get inside the 20 yard line can they score touchdowns. I believe if Iowa scores touchdowns they should be able to run away with this game. Those are my keys to an Iowa victory now I'll give a few keys to to a Cyclone victory.

             For ISU to win this game they must slow down Iowa's running attack and make Jake Rudock try to beat them. They also must generate a rushing attack of their own from there running backs so Iowa can't focus in on just Sam Richardson running the football. I think the team that makes more big plays at the wide receiver position will come out on top Saturday night. Now it's time for my prediction I've given you some keys to both teams winning the game now here is how I feel the game plays out.

               Iowa's offense has been extremely close to putting together a great game this season and I think this is the week they put it all together. I believe Iowa will win the game Saturday by the score of 31 to 17. I think it will be a close game for a long time but Iowa will pull away at the end. I think Iowa will be able to run the football on Saturday night which should open up the playaction pass down the field. I see Damond Powell catching a long TD pass and I also see Jordan Cotton making some big plays in the passing game. I think Iowa's defense will be able to shut down ISU's rushing attack which will make them one dimensional the one big injury question for Iowa is whether or not Jordan Lomax will play as he is dealing with a hamstring injury. I just feel this is the week we see what this Iowa offense can be this season, they will finally be able to score touchdowns which will lead them to a big win. That is my prediction now it's time for the Hawks to go out and get a big win on the road as always thanks for reading.

GO
Hawks

           

Review Iowa Vs Missouri State

                What is up Hawk fans I'm back with a review of last Saturday's win over Missouri State 28 to 14. Okay we didn't blow them out like every fan hoped we would but the Hawks still got a win and moved to 1-1 on the season. The first half was not a whole lot of fun as the Hawks made a number of key mistakes that killed potential scoring drives.The game could of easily been 21-0 at the half but it didn't turn out that way. The red zone we need to get this solved last season we had trouble scoring touchdowns in the area last season. I liked seeing Jake Rudock getting a run pass option down in the red zone and think he can be very effective doing that to help the offense score more points not just move the ball.

                  So lets get to the positives the first one is we won a game after 7 consecutive losses the team needed a win to get some momentum for the season and reward them for the hard work they put in this off season. We ran the ball very well as Weisman continued to carry the load with 30 carries for 180 yards on the ground and  2 touchdown's. We also got to see Leshun Daniels this week and he looked the part in the 6 carries he received rushing for 30 yards. Damon Bullock ran the ball 10 times for 40 yards but I really believe he will have a breakout game soon. He didn't have his best game but still has the total package of speed and power that can complement the power of Weisman. The problem I see with Bullock right now is he isn't reading the holes as well as Weisman which is the reason he is getting more carries.  Jordan Canzeri also had 3 carries for 13 yards as Iowa ran the ball 58 times vs MO State. I would like to see Jordan used more in spread run formations because he doesn't have the power of Bullock and Weisman but he definitely has the speed to make some things happen. When we ran the ball out of shotgun to him was when he looked to be his most comfortable. Now the thing about this number is it seemed to me that Iowa decided we could run all over them so they played pretty conservative just running the ball most of the time instead of opening up the deep Play action passes. The Running backs as a whole really had a nice game rushing for 263 total yards. We really had a lot of success running the ball to the left side of the line, the right side of the line we seemed to have some problems blocking the the bears 3-4 defense. Now remember we do have some inexperienced guards so that could be why our running backs were hit in the backfield a number of times.

                   Now lets get to the QB play Jake Rudock was very efficient for the most part but didn't get a lot of help from his receivers especially in that 1st half. Rudock showed off some of his mobility in this game escaping the pocket and scrambling away from the pressure to pick up 1st downs. He ran the ball 7 times for 33 yards including 2 Touchdown runs on the day. His passing numbers were 19 of 28 for 193 yards and 1 interception which turned out to be a pick 6. On the play it was a quick pop pass to Fiedorowicz where the linebacker faked like he was rushing the passer than dropped straight back into the passing lane to intercept the pass. Jake hit 10 different receivers on 19 completions which is a pretty good indication that we don't have one main receiver this season.We need the receivers as a collective group to make plays if we are going to win a lot of games this season. I though Rudock had a very good game and continues to have great potential to be a strong QB for Iowa. The only weakness I saw was he checked down a couple of times to quickly when guys were about to come open but that will happen with a younger QB especially when the Bears played a 3-4 defense and blitzed out of it a lot.

                  Lets talk about the Wide receivers this past weekend as they did drop a number of passes which was disappointing and hopefully this doesn't become a problem moving forward. Dropped passes have to be cleaned up the good this week we finally found CJ Fiedorowicz who caught 3 balls for 31 yards,also I loved the use of Powell as a decoy to get George Kittle wide open on the wheel route. It was nice to see Matt Vandeberg get a chance to play, he made a nice catch and is a receiver that will get to play more as we get further into the season. George Kittle is a guy that I got to see at the kids day he hasn't been used a whole lot yet except for on the deep pass to him. Another thing that I saw back at the kids day is we practiced specifically on screen passes to Damon Bullock and Jordan Canzeri from the wide receiver position. We haven't seen this play once this season so it will be interesting if we see it vs ISU. Don Shumpert had a rough game at first but looked pretty good on the 2 balls that he caught he also did a nice job blocking. Kevonte Martin Manley didn't have the number of catches he did last week but he is still a big part of the offense. The one thing this group needs is for someone to emerge whether that be Powell, Hillyer probably the best run blocker, Shumpert or Tevaun Smith or another younger receiver. We need someone to become that number 2 guy for the offense, right now it's kind of a mixed bag one week guys make plays the next week they don't. I also like the idea of getting the tight ends more involved in the offense that little screen to Jake Duzey was a great play and I would like to see more of that. This is a group where one week it might be Martin Manley with a big game and the next week Shumpert or Powell. We need these guys to find consistency if we are going to win a lot of games this season.

                  Defensively I thought the team was outstanding really only giving up one big play on a stop and go that Freshmen Desmond King bit on for a Touchdown. Other than that play the defense shut the Bears down as you would expect. They didn't allow their QB to scramble and even pressured him a lot even though that didn't lead to a sack, it did force some hurried passes like the one Tanner Miller Intercepted in the Endzone. Carl Davis and Louis Trinca Pasat were all over the field Saturday disrupting the Bears running game. I didn't see a lot of rotating on the defensive line and I believe that was for a reason they didn't want to show the Cyclones anything for this weeks game. I thought defense was very good most of the day they had a couple of plays that weren't smart like Hitchens hit out of bounds but overall the defense had a good performance Saturday.
                 This game could of easily been 42 to 7 if not for the penalties Iowa racked up 10 for 100 yards. This  isn't going to get it done come this weekend and Big Ten Season. It wasn't the holding's though it is the pre-snap penalties that just kill you. We had a number of nice drives moving the ball down the field and a false start penalty makes it 1st and 15 this happened twice and it Cost Iowa points. Late hits also aren't going to help you Iowa had 2 of them one on Anthony Hitchens and one of Jacob Hillyer on Special teams. Another negative for special teams they gave up a longer kick Return which was a problem last season and Mike Meyer missed a chip shot field goal. These are some of the things Iowa needs to get cleaned up before the big game this weekend.
                So what can we take away from this game vs MSU I really don't think you can take a whole lot away good or bad. It was a game where if you don't blow out the Bears the team is bad and if we did well we were supposed to do that. This was a win and that was the most important thing to come out of this game the team needed to know what it felt like to win again after 7 straight losses. I truly believe the next 4 games at least are very winnable @ ISU, VS Western Michigan, @ Minnesota and VS Michigan State. Iowa could easily be 5-1 when we head to Columbus now things could go the other way too. This is one of those seasons where it is unpredictable I could see Iowa going in and thumping ISU or I could see us lose a close one I will have my preview for the Big game in next few days so check back. I know this wasn't a pretty game overall but it is a win and that in itself was more important than blowing out a bad football team.

Thanks
Go Hawks

Iowa Vs Northern Illinois Review

               Saturday wasn't the day Iowa fans were hoping for as the Hawks fell to the Huskies 30 to 27. This was a really tough way to start the season but the good news is the team looked a lot better in this one game than all last season. The offense could move the ball in the first half. The game didn't start out good as Iowa was driving across midfield when Weisman fumbled the football. This was kind of a theme early in the game and during the 3rd quarter we made mistakes when we starting to get a good drive going. NIU got an early field goal to take a 3 to 0 lead and than hit a Playaction pass for a Touchdown to go up by the score of 10 to 0. This is where things were getting a little tense especially after we had to punt on our next offensive series but Christian Kirksey made the play of the day forcing a fumble and running it in for a Touchdown.

                From this point on late in the 1st quarter till end of the second quarter Iowa dominated this football game. We got their offense off the field and forced a punt that had the Hawks backed up at our own 10 yard line. This was the first opportunity Damond Powell had in the game and made an immediate impact on a great play call a Playaction pass on 1st down completed for a 50 yard gain. On this drive Rudock seemed to be finding a bit of a rhythm just missing KMM on a crossing pattern and CJ Fiedorowicz on a post pattern. The passes were on the money and could of been caught and failed on 4th down. The next drive we really got the run game going with 7 consecutive runs to put us in field goal range I would of liked to see a Playaction pass during all the success running but we didn't and settled for a field goal.  Once again after this score the defense came up big forcing Northern Illinois to go 3 and out getting the offense good field position. The play calling was aggressive on first down again as we pulled off the the Flea Flicker to Jordan Cotton for a long play probably 50 yards or so. To cap the drive off it was nice to see us find our 6 ft 7 tight end CJ Fiedorowicz for a Touchdown. This was the first lead Iowa had on the day and it really looked like we were going to start to pull away a little bit. The Defense almost had NIU off the field but on 3rd and long Jordan Lynch scrambled for a big first down if we could of got that stop I think we could of really put a lot of pressure on the Huskies. Instead NIU put together a nice drive which they capped with a little wheel rout for a touchdown as Tommy Lee Lewis beat Anthony Hitchens. Our best drive of the game which turned out to be the last Touchdown we scored was a mixture of running the football and throwing some quick passes. Rudock capped the drive with a nice 8 yard Touch down run to give Iowa 24 to 17 lead at the half.

               The Halftime stats looked like this
NIU 140 passing yards, 60 rushing, 200 total 10 1st downs,  3-7 on 3rd down and 11:12 of TOP
IA    188 passing yards,114 rushing 302 total 16 1st downs  6-10on 3rd down and 18:48 of TOP

Individual stats Jake Rudock 13-21 188 yards passing with 2 total Touchdowns.

              Everything was looking great until the 3rd quarter started, the defense continued to shut down the Northern Illinois offense getting a stop on their opening drive of the second half. This is where the team started to make some critical mistakes the offense could of had an easy 1st down but the offense wasn't set when we called a QB sneak. After this play a quick slant to Shumpert was thrown behind him so we had to punt. Kornbraith had a really nice punt backing up NIU to their 3 yard line. The defense got a big stop giving Iowa great field position. On the first play of the drive we ran a Playaction deep pass to Powell who was open just Rudock's arm was hit on the throw and the ball was intercepted. NIU took over around the 50 yard line where the defense once again got a big stop. This time the special teams let us down as NIU pulled off a fake punt that took them all the way inside the 10 yard line. Once again the defense made plays to force a field goal making it 24 to 20 Iowa still leading. At the very end of the 3rd quarter on 3rd and 1 Iowa made a controversial call going for the deep pass to Damond Powell another aggressive play call Rudock missed Powell by about a step or two which is a touchdown if we completed it. I personally didn't have a problem with this play, people want the offense to be more aggressive and they were you can't have it both ways. Looking back do I wish they would of just ran the ball to pick up the 1st down yeah but you can't second guess on that now.

                I know the defense is taking a bad wrap for this game but they made so many stops the offense just couldn't make the plays to put this game away. The offense finally got a drive going had it 4th and 2 on the 20 yard line and we were forced to take the field goal which Mike Meyer knocked right through. The next drive for NIU Jordan Lynch found a receiver wide open in the end zone on 3rd and 7 which was a heart breaker at the time should we of blitzed because were were so successful with it all day maybe but no one knew that Lowery would hang too long on the inside receiver not allowing him to get back to the other receiver who scored to tie the game at 27. This is where we once again couldn't make the big play to put us in position to win the game on offense. The defense came up big with a clutch defensive stop when NIU got the ball back with about a minute 25 seconds. After this stop it sure looked like we had the game in the bag than on the very first play Jake Rudock made a bad decision throwing an out rout to KMM which was intercepted by Jimmy Ward to set up the game winning field goal. If you look at that play closely if Rudock would of waited just a little bit longer Jacob Hillyer was coming wide open on the curl route but he forced it and that would turn out to be the game. I don't feel that Rudock lost the game for us the execution in the 3rd quarter is what cost Iowa the game just one Touchdown in that second half and Iowa is sitting at 1-0 instead of 0-1. I still feel Iowa looked like the better team on the field we turned the ball over 3 times where NIU only turned it over once that was the difference in the game. A really tough loss to start the season but there were a lot of positives that makes me excited for the rest of the season.


                Here are the final stats of the game
NIU passing yards 275, rushing 163 yards, total 438, TOP 29:20
IA    passing yards 256, rushing 202 yards, total 458, TOP 30:40

Individual stats Iowa

Jake Rudock 21-37 286 yards total offense 2 TD's 2 INT's

Mark Weisman 20 CAR 100 yards
Damon Bullock 17 CAR  76  yards

KMM 9 Catches 78 yards
Cotton 2 Catches 58 yards
Powell 1  catche   49 yards

Defensively

Dominic  9 tackles
Kirksey 14 tackles FF Touchdown

             Those are some of the stats that stood out for Iowa in this ball game what a tough loss but don't give up on this team yet. I saw a lot of good things from Jake Rudock and he will get better as he gets more experience. I really enjoyed the running back rotation with Bullock and Weisman in and out on about every play. I really liked what I saw from KMM did a nice job getting open, and Powell looked like a playmaker, cotton made some plays I also liked seeing the quick screens to Jake Hillyer he is a big guy who is hard to get to the ground. On defense the linebackers were free to run and make a lot of plays last Saturday because the defensive line did a nice job of tying up the NIU's offensive line. Blitzing was very effective for the Hawks as we were able to get to Lynch a number of times. I would like to see more blitzing as we move in to the schedule deeper.
       
               Iowa now play's Missouri State this Saturday where we can end this losing streak and get ready for the Cyclones a week later. Some things I look for this weekend Iowa needs to put together a complete game, vs NIU we played really one good quarter I want to see 4 quarters of good football. I also want to see Leshun Daniels get some carries Ferentz said he will play this season so expect to see him play this weekend. Also I want to see Damond Powell more involved in the offense he has that Play making ability, I would like to see Jordan Canzeri get some more touches in space. These are some of the things I want to see this weekend. I would also like to see Jake Rudock keep the football a time or too if we are going to keep running the zone read. On defense the Line needs to be able to apply pressure on the quarterback with just 4 and the secondary needs to limit the big plays this weekend. NIU had a lot of big pass plays and Iowa needs to correct that if we are going to have a successful season. The NIU game wasn't the way we wanted to start but that is where we are now Iowa has to beat Missouri State next week and get this thing going in a positive direction. Not looking too far ahead but ISU was beat by UNI on Saturday what does that mean who knows as we have all seen this story before. All the focus needs to be on MSU get by them which we should fairly easily than get ready for ISU. There will be brighter days on the horizon Hawk fans don't give up on this team yet as always thanks for reading.

Go Hawks