Last season Illinois State had a pretty good defense allowing just 21 points per game, 343 totals yards. The Rushing defense for the Redbirds only allowed 119.7 yards per game and through the air they allowed 223.7 yards per game. Teddy Corwin and David Perkins are both back on defense. Corwin had 7.5 sacks last season with 98 stops, and Perkins had 8 sacks. Pat Meehan is the leading tackler with 115 tackles and Alex Donnaly returns he had 85 tackles. After seeing both the Spring Game and the Kids Day Scrimmage Iowa's offensive line against the two defensive ends will be a key match up. At times Iowa hasn't been able to protect CJ Beathard and Illinois State has some players that can put pressure on him. The Redbirds don't return a lot of there secondary so Iowa should be able to take advantage of that, if the offensive line can give Beathard time to throw. Illinois State only returned a back up Safety Drashane Glass who played a little last season. For the Hawks offensively they need the receivers to make plays down the field. I'm most interested in seeing how Iowa tries to get the ball in Tevaun Smith's hands. He's clearly the best receiver on the field and Iowa has to find away to get him more involved then last season. Iowa is still looking for more receivers to make plays so that will be something to watch too. The other big thing I will be watching Saturday is how much Jay Scheel and Jerminic Smith get on the field. I also want to see if the Hawks use the middle of the field more, last season Iowa did a lot of horizontal passing. George Kittle at tight end should be able to take advantage against the Redbirds linebacking core, he's faster then a normal tight end and I think he can make a lot of plays down the field.
Running the football is going to be important for the Hawks as last season the running game had it's moments but not enough of them. Leshun Daniels will be the main ball carrier this season with Jordan Canzeri being a change of pace back. During the Spring game and the kids scrimmage the starters didn't get a lot of carries so its hard to say what the rushing attack will look like. Daniels has dropped a lot of weight and looks like he could have a great season. With Iowa's rushing offense vision is the most important thing. Iowa runs a lot of stretch plays so picking the right hole is the biggest challenge for a Hawkeye running back. The offensive line is better in the interior so I think we will see more straight ahead runs. With Daniels being listed as the number one back I'll be curious to see what the split will be in regards to carries between Daniels, Canzeri, Mitchell and Wadley. Mitchell could be used a lot in 3rd down situations like Damon Bullock was.
Illinois State's offense returns a couple of key positions on offense but they also lost a lot across there offensive line and at the receiver position. At QB the Redbirds return Tre Roberson who is a former transfer from Indiana that passed for 3,221 yards and 30 Touchdowns while rushing for 1029 yards and 11 TD's. He is a dynamic weapon that Iowa will have to be keyed on. The good news is Iowa's defensive line should be able to control the line of scrimmage. Of all the players returning for Illinois State the offensive line is the least experienced group on offense. The Redbirds also return Marshaun Coprich at running back who ran 2,274 yards and 27 Touchdowns last year. At the receiver position the Redbirds only return two guys with experience, Jon Marc Anderson and Anthony Warrum both who only caught 15 passes. Marshaun only caught 15 balls last season but after the all the trouble the Iowa Linebackers had last season, I would expect Illinois State to try to throw it to him more. The linebacking core has changed a little with Cole Fisher moving into the starting lineup ahead of Bo Bower, the other 2 spots are filled by Ben Niemann and Josey Jewell. Fisher has been pretty good against the pass in the only practices I've seen. Iowa's secondary should make it very difficult on Tre Roberson throwing the football as Iowa has a clear advantage in that area. The tricky thing with Roberson is that he can make as many plays with his legs as he does with his arm. The key for the Iowa defense will be a good pass rush but also controlled to keep Roberson from scrambling. We've all seen scrambling QB's hurt the Hawkeyes in the past so it should be a good challenge for the defense.
My keys to an Iowa victory take Marshaun Coprich out of the game making Illinois State a one dimensional offense. Its a must to keep Tre Roberson contained he has the speed to make big plays scrambling especially on 3rd down. Offensively protecting CJ Beathard is the number one key, if he has time to throw he should be able to find open receivers. Attacking the linebackers in the middle of the field, I want to see George Kittle be a big part of the offense, and Tevaun Smith has to be a main target. The last key for me is Iowa needs to be able to run the ball if the Hawkeyes can move the ball on the ground it should open up the playaction pass down the field. I believe that the UNI team we played last season in the opener is better then this Illinois State team. I see the Hawkeyes winning Saturday by the score of 34 to 14. I think this could be a close game for awhile but I don't believe the Redbirds have enough on the outside to beat the Hawks. I guess we will all find out next weekend. I'm excited to get this season underway it was such a long off season and its time to hit the field. Thanks for Reading
Go Hawks
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