Iowa vs Iowa State Preview

Its that time of the year when the Hawkeyes and Cyclones get together to battle for the CyHawk trophy. Both Teams are coming off dominant wins over top FCS teams. Iowa dominated Illinois State 31 to 14 and Iowa State took it to UNI 31 to 7. First lets take a look at Iowa's offense against the Cyclones Defense.

Iowa wants to run the football and be the more physical team every time they take the field. The Hawkeyes ran for 211 yards Saturday vs Illinois State. I expect to see a similar game plan with the Hawkeyes running the football. UNI didn't have a lot of success running against the Cyclones only getting 126 yards on 41 carries. We got a look at what the running backs will look like this year with Leshun Daniels being the main ball carrier, Jordan Canzeri getting some carries but the majority of his plays will come as a receiving threat. Also Derrick Mitchell Jr. who was banged up on Saturday a former Receiver can be used in that role too. I expect Iowa State to stack the box to try and force CJ Beathard to beat them. I noticed during the Cyclones game with the Panthers they were running a 3-4 defense.

The key to a successful rushing attack for the Hawkeyes will be if they can make some plays down the field. Last week Iowa didn't need to stretch the field vs Iowa State they will need too. This means pass protection will become even more important this weekend, last week ISU had 5 sacks against UNI. Iowa didn't allow a sack vs Illinois State, I believe If CJ Beathard gets time to throw he will be able to make some big Plays. Beathards ability to get out of the pocket and make plays with his legs could be big too. CJ had 211 yards passing on 15 for 24. Iowa State has one really good defensive end in Dale Pierson so Boone Myers will have his hands full at Left Tackle. The Cyclones sacked Aaron Bailey 5 times last week so they will try to get after Beathard. Last week we didn't see the tight ends targeted much at all, is this a setup for them to be a bigger factor this week. The Receivers have to continue to make some plays especially down the field. Last week Jordan Canzeri made the biggest plays for the offense through the air. Matt Vandeberg also stepped up last week with 6 catches for 59 yards. Tevaun Smith was a little bit quiet last week but he needs to be targeted more vs the Cyclones. ISU has a fast and athletic secondary but they don't have the size with Tribune being 5 ft 10 and Sam E Richardson being just 5 Ft 8. If the Cyclones stack the box to stop the run that should open up some one on one opportunities down the field.

Looking at the Iowa State offense the first thing that jumped out to me was they want to pass the football. They will run that normal spread offense throwing a lot of short passes to their talented wide receivers to try to get them in the open field. Sam Richardson is back at QB and for the first time it seems like Iowa State finally has a stable quarterback situation. Richardson was 21 for 29 233 yards with 2 TD's. He is what makes the Cyclones tick, if he plays well they can be a good football team but over the years he's had a tendency to throw interceptions. The Cyclones have a very talented Receiving core with Allan Lazard, Dondre Dailey, Quenton Bundrage and Dvario Montgomery. This will be a great matchup between the Iowa State Receivers and Iowa's secondary. I expect we will see a lot of nickle defense from the Hawks since Iowa State likes to run 4 WR Sets. Iowa has big physical corners in King and Maybin both with NFL Size. Tackling in space will be the number one objective for the defense. The Cyclones like to throw short passes that turn into big gains by missed tackles, make tackles and that takes a large weapon away from Iowa State. Iowa must pressure Sam Richardson last season they gave him too much time, this year they have to put pressure on him. Against Illinois State Iowa racked up 5 sacks and when I was watching the UNI vs Iowa State game the Panthers were able to pressure Richardson. Drew Ott will have a lot of one on one chances if the Cyclones stick with the 4 WR look. Ott was a monster last week so I expect him to live in the backfield again. Iowa State doesn't run the football a lot they will try to run a little but for the most part the defensive line should be able to rush the passer first.

Special teams neither team did a lot of good or bad. Allan Lazard had a big day returning punts for Iowa State but it looked to me like the UNI punter was out kicking his coverage. Desmond King returned punts for Iowa averaging 13 yards per return. The kickers Marshall Koehn was 1 for 1 for the Hawkeyes and Cole Netten was only 1 for 3 for the Cyclones. Dillon Kidd has had his punting issues in the past, he averaged 47 yards per punt Saturday which is good but they were pooch punt chances. Iowa State's Punter Colin Downing punted 5 times 40 yards per punt. Special teams can be a game changer we all remember Andy Brodell's big punt Return vs Iowa State and of course last year Iowa State won on a field goal.

I think Iowa needs to set the tone that they are bigger and more physical then the Cyclones. I see the Hawkeyes coming out running the ball, a couple of years ago Iowa completely dominated the line of scrimmage. The big question will be can they do that again in Ames. My next biggest question is does Drew Ott continue to look like a monster? Last week he lived in the Redbirds backfield can he do that again. Another big question in my mind will be if we see the receivers make some plays down the field and with that do we see some of the younger players get a chance. Last week Iowa ran a lot of formations that had Jerminic Smith on the field but they were all runs. I'm curious if they pull a play action pass out of that formation. The Final key is turnovers I believe if Iowa wins the Turnover battle or our even they should win this game. I see score of 27 to 17 Iowa victory, but if Iowa turns the ball over that could change. This is an improved Iowa State Football team but the way Iowa was so aggressive vs Illinois State last week makes me think this team knows what they have to do.

One final note is a sad one as the Hawkeye Family lost Tyler Sash today. He was only 27 years old. Tyler was one of the better Strong Safeties to play at Iowa. He made so many big plays from his Interception vs Penn State in 2008 that set up the game winning field goal. The interception he picked off vs Michigan State and pitched it to Micah Hyde who went all the way for a touchdown, Or how about the pinball interception vs Indiana that kept Iowa undefeated. The final memory I have of Tyler is the game he played at Iowa State where he had 3 Interceptions in a 35 to 3 victory. R.I.P. Tyler Sash Thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

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Go Hawks