Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Iowa at Northwestern Preview
The Hawks will be tested Saturday Afternoon when they travel to Evanston for a battle between ranked teams. Iowa is coming off a hard fought win over Illinois 29 to 20. The bad news is they are very banged up. A number of key players suffered injuries in the win including Drew Ott tearing his ACL. Ott wasn't the only Hawkeye injured though as Ike Boettger suffered an ankle sprain so he's out. Tevaun Smith, Leshun Daniels and Boone Myers will not play. Northwestern is coming off their first loss of the season in blowout fashion to Michigan 38 to 0. The good news for Iowa is CJ Beathard will play, he's been banged up but looks ready. What will Northwestern bring to the table offensively.
Northwestern isn't the same wildcat team we are used to seeing where they spread and pass a lot. This Wildcat team wants to run first and pass second. The Wilcat offense hasn't scored a lot of points this season only 21 per game. They are throwing for 140 yards and rushing for 213. The running attack has been where there offense has been good this season. Justin Jackson has 150 carries for 650 yards but only 1 touchdown. Jackson is the bell cow for the Wildcats and has averaged 25 carries a game. Northwestern does have a running threat at quarterback in Clayton Thoson. He's run for 161 yards and 4 touchdowns on 66 carries. The Iowa run defense is ranked 5th in the nation only allowing 78 yards rushing per game. The one game where Iowa struggled against the run was North Texas who was able to exploit the edges. Northwestern runs the type of offense where they will try to do something similar. Without Drew Ott, Parker Hesse has a lot of pressure on him to keep contain. The defensive tackles getting penetration will be important to stop the run game. I think if Iowa stops the run they have a very good shot to win. I personally don't believe Thorson can beat Iowa with his arm.
Thorson has thrown for 877 yards 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. His leading receiver is tight end Dan Vitale who has 16 receptions for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. Christian Jones is the leading wide receiver with 16 catches for 179 yards and Austin Carr is the deep threat for the Wildcats with 6 catches for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Iowa pass defense struggled a little bit last week vs Illinois but the wildcats don't have anywhere near the quality of passing attack that Illinois has. Thorson has had really only one game where he threw the ball well. Thorson has had one game where he threw for more then 200 yards and that was against Ball State, he had 276 yards passing. He threw 3 of his 4 Touchdown passes in that game. The one thing Thorson does have is the ability to scramble. He's had some big runs including a long of 42 vs Stanford. What will Iowa need to do on offense vs a very stingy Northwestern defense?
This is the best Northwestern defense they've had in a while and the main reason the Wildcats are 5 and 1. First of all Iowa will have a patchwork offensive line both Boone Myers and Ike Boettger are out. Tevaun Smith is out at wide receiver so it will be the same guys we've seen the last two weeks. The key will be can the Iowa offensive line protect Beathard. James Daniels will likely make his first start at right tackle. He struggled a little bit last week when he came in,but settled down and played well down the stretch. I'm not worried about run blocking because they all can do that. The biggest key will be pass blocking vs Illinois there were times when Beathard was getting hit right when he received the snap. I expect we will see a lot of blitzes from Northwestern to try to confuse Daniels. The good news is that James will be working at right tackle all week in practice so that should help him be more comfortable.
At running back Jordan Canzeri has been great but he's also had to carry the ball a lot with the injury to Leshun Daniels. Do we finally see a little more of Akrum Wadley or Derrick Mitchell this week. Last week Canzeri carried the ball 43 times and with a patchwork offensive line this might be another day Iowa looks to to the run a lot. Northwestern has been decent against the run allowing 130 yards per game. This Iowa rushing attack is more diverse then in the past. Iowa is running a lot more counters like the one Canzeri took for 75 yards and isos. They still have the stretch play but they aren't running it like they used to. Wadley has shown glimpses over the last 2 years, he's just had some issues with fumbles. Mitchell has been hurt a lot but he showed some potential vs North Texas. Both of these guys should get a chance to play some this week because Canzeri can't carry the ball 40 times a game. I would like to see a split of 20 plus carries for Jordan 10 to 15 carries for Mitchell or Wadley. The Iowa passing attack saw a new receiver step up last week can he have a repeat performance?
Jerminic Smith came onto the scene last week vs the Illini. He caught 4 passes for 118 yards after the week before being unable to come up with a reception. Northwestern has a very solid secondary only allowing 138 yards per game. The wildcats did lose their starting cornerback Harris to a facial fracture so he will be replaced by a sophomore Keith watkins. This week I think we could see a lot of tight ends in the offensive formations for Iowa. Both Croston and Daniels might need some help so having a tight end stay in to help block or at least chip could be a good idea. Iowa rarely does this so I wouldn't be surprised if they are left on an island. Northwestern as a team has 12 sacks. With the patchwork offensive line I think we will see more quick passes, and screens. Beathard is also pretty banged up so I don't know how much running he will do. The rollouts would be good to get him out of the pocket where we've seen he can make plays. Matt Vandeberg was shutdown last week and without Tevaun he is at the top of the list for defenses on what to stop. Kreiger Coble has come on the last few weeks catching more passes. George Kittle has 3 straight games with a touchdown catch. Iowa was able to hit a couple of long passes last week which really opened up the run. They will need to do this again because Northwestern will stack the box to try to take away the run.
Final thoughts this is going to be one of those good old fashion defensive battles. I don't expect a lot of points will be scored on Saturday. Two very good defenses are going at it. The team that can run the ball and stop the run will likely have the advantage. The one big difference I see is if Iowa has their rushing attack slowed down CJ Beathard can win this game with his arm. If Northwestern can't run I don't see Clayton Thorson beating Iowa with his arm. I see Iowa winning this game 17 to 7. I think this will be a very tight game with Iowa pulling away late. I believe the Hawkeyes shut down Jackson and force some turnovers to move to 7 and 0. This one won't be easy but if the Hawks can get this one they have a bye week to get healthy before Maryland comes to town. If Iowa can deal Northwestern their second loss of the conference they really become the front runner to win the west. They've already beaten Wisconsin, and Minnesota has a loss, Nebraska has 2 losses and Northwestern would have their second loss.
Thanks for Reading
Go Hawks.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Iowa moves to 6-0 with Win over Illinois
The Hawkeyes remained unbeaten Saturday afternoon vs a very tough Illinois team. Iowa had to fight tooth and nail to get out of Kinnick Stadium with a victory Saturday. The Hawks beat the Illini 29 to 20. This was a nice win but Iowa did get some bad news in this game as all reports are saying Drew Ott suffered a torn ACL in the 3rd quarter and will be out for the season. So how did the Hawks find a way to get the job done when both offensive tackles were injured, even Jordan Walsh missed some time in this game?
This was really a very interesting game to watch because it felt like Iowa should have been up more yet when you looked at the scoreboard it was a one score game with just over 3 minutes left. In the first half Iowa struggled to get the running game going. Illinois was stacking the box to try to take away the run and in the first half they did a good job. The first half was all about CJ Beathard passing. Beathard finished 15 for 31 200 yards and two touchdowns with 0 interceptions. The Hawkeyes got the offense going on their second drive of the game. On second and 8 the one thing everyone was looking for happened. Jerminic Smith the true Freshman Receiver caught his first pass a 14 yard slant pattern. Later in the drive on another second and 8 Beathard showed his ability to scramble running for 9 yards for a first down at the Illinois 21. The next play the Hawks ran a well designed playaction pass with Beathard hitting George Kittle for a TD. This was George's third straight game with a touchdown reception. Illinois quickly responded for their only big plays in the first half. Wes Lunt hit Malik Turner for 34 yards on a pass against Red Shirt Freshman Corner Josh Jackson. Turner made a tremendous one handed catch with Jackson having pretty good coverage. The next play Illinois ran a quick flea flicker where Lunt hit Geronimo Allison who broke Jordan Lomax's tackle attempt and took the ball down to the 4 yard line. On second and goal Iowa gave up their first rushing touchdown of the season giving the Illini a 7 to 6 lead due to a missed PAT by Marshall Koehn.
Iowa and Illinois traded punts before the Hawkeyes put together another nice drive moving the ball all the way down to the Illinois one. The big play of the drive came on a 3rd and 27, Beathard hit Jerminic Smith for 46 yards on a bullet down the right sideline setting the hawks up at the Illini 15. The Hawkeyes had been excellent in the redzone in the Non Conference portion of the schedule, they've had a little tougher time in conference play. The Hawkeyes went for it on 4th and 1 picking up the first down at the Illini 4. The first play Iowa tried a play action pass that Beathard had to throw away. On second down Canzeri took the ball to the two yard line and on 3rd down Jordan was stopped at the one. Iowa chose to go for it on 4th down running a rub route with Smith running a Slant and Vandeberg a corner. Beathard was pressured forcing him to throw the ball quicker then he wanted and Vandeberg just had the ball go off his fingertips.
The Iowa defense only allowed one first down before forcing a punt setting Iowa up at the 42. The Hawks once again faced a long 3rd and 13. Out of Shotgun Beathard took the snap rolled to his right away from pressure before launching a 49 yard pass to Jerminic Smith down to the Illini 11. On 2nd and 15 Iowa ran a halfback screen that Jordan Canzeri took 15 yards to put Iowa back in front 13 to 7.
Iowa put together a 13 play drive to end the first half. Beathard hit his tight end Henry Krieger Coble for a 1st down on 2nd and 9. Iowa moved the ball down to the Illinois one yard line with just 19 seconds left in the first half. Iowa was out of timeouts so their options were limited on what they could do. They ran a perfectly designed play with Jerminic Smith coming open on a crossing pattern but CJ threw it a little behind him and Smith couldn't come up with the catch. Koehn made a field goal to extend Iowa's lead to 16-7 at halftime. This is now two weeks in a row where Iowa has struggled a little bit in the redzone. I would personally like to see more rollouts for Beathard giving him the run or pass option. He has proved he can run and protect the football.
Things changed very quickly to start the second half as Illinois finally decided to abandon the run and pass almost every play. The Illini really started to pick on Greg Maybin as Geronimo Allison was getting open at will for most of the second half. Illinois started the second half with a 10 play 57 yard drive to make the score 16 to 10. Drew Ott came up big on 3rd and goal from the 9 sacking Wes Lunt to force a field goal. This is where the Iowa rushing attack started to gain some traction but Illinois forced a punt. Their next drive they went 7 plays in 41 yards before Iowa finally stood up again to get a stop. The big play was a sack by Nathan Bazata causing a 6 yard loss. On 4th down everyone in the stadium went from excited to very quiet as Drew Ott was rushing the punter his right knee buckled. Ott did return to the sidelines but he was on crutches and wasn't able to walk hardly at all. All the reports are stating Drew Ott has a torn ACL.
After this play it almost felt like all the air came out of the Stadium. It started to feel like maybe Illinois was going to be the team leaving with a victory. After a 17 yard run by Jordan Canzeri, Ike Boettger went down with an ankle injury. Left Tackle Boone Myers was already sitting out this game so now Iowa was down both of their starting offensive tackles. James Daniels came into the game under very difficult circumstances. He gave up a sack on third down so Illinois once again had all the momentum and the ball. They took 6 plays to go 57 yards before the Iowa defense came up big again forcing a field goal to cut the lead to just 3. At this point in time it felt like Iowa needed something big to swing the momentum. They got just that when Jordan Canzeri ran a Counter play starting out left before cutting back to the right side where he went 75 yards for the score. The play was sprung on a great pulling block by Jordan Walsh and Austin Blythe completely turned his guy. Jame Daniels also made a nice block on the outside.
Illinois then drove right back down the field facing a 3rd and 1, they tried a reverse pass that Greg Maybin intercepted. Iowa punted 5 plays later. Illinois capitalized as Lunt hooked up with Geronimo Allison for a 53 yard touchdown pass. The Illini were back within 3 with still 10:10 to go in the 4th quarter. This is when Jordan Canzeri was given the ball on 11 straight plays as Iowa took almost 7 minutes off the clock. On 3rd and 5 Beathard tried to hit Smith on a slant pattern but Jerminic couldn't come up with it so Iowa settled for a field goal. So with Iowa leading 26 to 20 the Illini had one last chance to try to win the game. They had just executed a game winning drive last week vs Nebraska. The very first play of the drive Parker Hesse who replaced Drew Ott knocked the ball out of KeShawn Vaughns hands which was recovered by Josey Jewell. 3 Plays later Iowa kicked a field goal to put the game out of reach.
This was a very physical game both defenses made multiple big hits. I love this Iowa secondary they are making huge hits and that continued Saturday. Jordan Lomax had a huge hit on the sideline just how your taught with the shoulder. Josey Jewell had a great game at linebacker leading the team in tackles and recovering the fumble that won the game. The Iowa run defense was excellent again only allowing 46 yards on 24 carries. They did however get beat through the air for 317 yards. Greg Maybin had a tough day and with the way King has played this year teams are going to be targeting him. He did come up with the big interception at the end of the 3rd quarter.
On offense I can't say enough about the performance of Jordan Canzeri. He had 43 carries for 256 yards and a touchdown. He was the key in this victory for Iowa. Without Leshun Daniels, Canzeri had to basically get every single carry. Also it was nice to see Beathard and Jerminic Smith get on the same page. Jerminic caught 4 passes for 118 yards. Now if Iowa can get Tevaun Smith back this offense is starting to look pretty dangerous. Both Jerminic and Tevaun can beat man to man coverage deep which should open up holes for Matt Vandeberg. CJ did miss one touchdown pass but for the most part when he had time to throw he made plays.
Special teams was also big. I thought Dillon Kidd was one of the reasons Iowa was able to get the victory, he had a great day punting. He averaged 46.6 yards per punt including a 55 yard punt and a 50 yard punt to keep Illinois backed up. He had 3 punts inside the 20 including one downed at the 4. Marshall Koehn did miss a PAT but he came up big late in the game making 2 pressure kicks to ice the game. Desmond King didn't get a lot of opportunities in the return game as Illinois kept the ball away from him most of the time.
This was a nice win for Iowa it didn't go exactly how I expected. I thought Iowa would have been up by more which they very easily could have if they would have scored touchdowns on those two drives in the first half. Illinios was an impressive team I think Iowa caught them at the right time because this Illini team will be very dangerous as we move forward. The Hawks are banged up as they head to Evanston so hopefully a lot of the injuries won't keep guys out this week. This is a huge game for the Hawks as they can deal Northwestern their second loss in the conference and really take control of the western division. I'll have a preview of that Game in the next couple of days.
Thanks For Reading
Go Hawks.
This was really a very interesting game to watch because it felt like Iowa should have been up more yet when you looked at the scoreboard it was a one score game with just over 3 minutes left. In the first half Iowa struggled to get the running game going. Illinois was stacking the box to try to take away the run and in the first half they did a good job. The first half was all about CJ Beathard passing. Beathard finished 15 for 31 200 yards and two touchdowns with 0 interceptions. The Hawkeyes got the offense going on their second drive of the game. On second and 8 the one thing everyone was looking for happened. Jerminic Smith the true Freshman Receiver caught his first pass a 14 yard slant pattern. Later in the drive on another second and 8 Beathard showed his ability to scramble running for 9 yards for a first down at the Illinois 21. The next play the Hawks ran a well designed playaction pass with Beathard hitting George Kittle for a TD. This was George's third straight game with a touchdown reception. Illinois quickly responded for their only big plays in the first half. Wes Lunt hit Malik Turner for 34 yards on a pass against Red Shirt Freshman Corner Josh Jackson. Turner made a tremendous one handed catch with Jackson having pretty good coverage. The next play Illinois ran a quick flea flicker where Lunt hit Geronimo Allison who broke Jordan Lomax's tackle attempt and took the ball down to the 4 yard line. On second and goal Iowa gave up their first rushing touchdown of the season giving the Illini a 7 to 6 lead due to a missed PAT by Marshall Koehn.
Iowa and Illinois traded punts before the Hawkeyes put together another nice drive moving the ball all the way down to the Illinois one. The big play of the drive came on a 3rd and 27, Beathard hit Jerminic Smith for 46 yards on a bullet down the right sideline setting the hawks up at the Illini 15. The Hawkeyes had been excellent in the redzone in the Non Conference portion of the schedule, they've had a little tougher time in conference play. The Hawkeyes went for it on 4th and 1 picking up the first down at the Illini 4. The first play Iowa tried a play action pass that Beathard had to throw away. On second down Canzeri took the ball to the two yard line and on 3rd down Jordan was stopped at the one. Iowa chose to go for it on 4th down running a rub route with Smith running a Slant and Vandeberg a corner. Beathard was pressured forcing him to throw the ball quicker then he wanted and Vandeberg just had the ball go off his fingertips.
The Iowa defense only allowed one first down before forcing a punt setting Iowa up at the 42. The Hawks once again faced a long 3rd and 13. Out of Shotgun Beathard took the snap rolled to his right away from pressure before launching a 49 yard pass to Jerminic Smith down to the Illini 11. On 2nd and 15 Iowa ran a halfback screen that Jordan Canzeri took 15 yards to put Iowa back in front 13 to 7.
Iowa put together a 13 play drive to end the first half. Beathard hit his tight end Henry Krieger Coble for a 1st down on 2nd and 9. Iowa moved the ball down to the Illinois one yard line with just 19 seconds left in the first half. Iowa was out of timeouts so their options were limited on what they could do. They ran a perfectly designed play with Jerminic Smith coming open on a crossing pattern but CJ threw it a little behind him and Smith couldn't come up with the catch. Koehn made a field goal to extend Iowa's lead to 16-7 at halftime. This is now two weeks in a row where Iowa has struggled a little bit in the redzone. I would personally like to see more rollouts for Beathard giving him the run or pass option. He has proved he can run and protect the football.
Things changed very quickly to start the second half as Illinois finally decided to abandon the run and pass almost every play. The Illini really started to pick on Greg Maybin as Geronimo Allison was getting open at will for most of the second half. Illinois started the second half with a 10 play 57 yard drive to make the score 16 to 10. Drew Ott came up big on 3rd and goal from the 9 sacking Wes Lunt to force a field goal. This is where the Iowa rushing attack started to gain some traction but Illinois forced a punt. Their next drive they went 7 plays in 41 yards before Iowa finally stood up again to get a stop. The big play was a sack by Nathan Bazata causing a 6 yard loss. On 4th down everyone in the stadium went from excited to very quiet as Drew Ott was rushing the punter his right knee buckled. Ott did return to the sidelines but he was on crutches and wasn't able to walk hardly at all. All the reports are stating Drew Ott has a torn ACL.
After this play it almost felt like all the air came out of the Stadium. It started to feel like maybe Illinois was going to be the team leaving with a victory. After a 17 yard run by Jordan Canzeri, Ike Boettger went down with an ankle injury. Left Tackle Boone Myers was already sitting out this game so now Iowa was down both of their starting offensive tackles. James Daniels came into the game under very difficult circumstances. He gave up a sack on third down so Illinois once again had all the momentum and the ball. They took 6 plays to go 57 yards before the Iowa defense came up big again forcing a field goal to cut the lead to just 3. At this point in time it felt like Iowa needed something big to swing the momentum. They got just that when Jordan Canzeri ran a Counter play starting out left before cutting back to the right side where he went 75 yards for the score. The play was sprung on a great pulling block by Jordan Walsh and Austin Blythe completely turned his guy. Jame Daniels also made a nice block on the outside.
Illinois then drove right back down the field facing a 3rd and 1, they tried a reverse pass that Greg Maybin intercepted. Iowa punted 5 plays later. Illinois capitalized as Lunt hooked up with Geronimo Allison for a 53 yard touchdown pass. The Illini were back within 3 with still 10:10 to go in the 4th quarter. This is when Jordan Canzeri was given the ball on 11 straight plays as Iowa took almost 7 minutes off the clock. On 3rd and 5 Beathard tried to hit Smith on a slant pattern but Jerminic couldn't come up with it so Iowa settled for a field goal. So with Iowa leading 26 to 20 the Illini had one last chance to try to win the game. They had just executed a game winning drive last week vs Nebraska. The very first play of the drive Parker Hesse who replaced Drew Ott knocked the ball out of KeShawn Vaughns hands which was recovered by Josey Jewell. 3 Plays later Iowa kicked a field goal to put the game out of reach.
This was a very physical game both defenses made multiple big hits. I love this Iowa secondary they are making huge hits and that continued Saturday. Jordan Lomax had a huge hit on the sideline just how your taught with the shoulder. Josey Jewell had a great game at linebacker leading the team in tackles and recovering the fumble that won the game. The Iowa run defense was excellent again only allowing 46 yards on 24 carries. They did however get beat through the air for 317 yards. Greg Maybin had a tough day and with the way King has played this year teams are going to be targeting him. He did come up with the big interception at the end of the 3rd quarter.
On offense I can't say enough about the performance of Jordan Canzeri. He had 43 carries for 256 yards and a touchdown. He was the key in this victory for Iowa. Without Leshun Daniels, Canzeri had to basically get every single carry. Also it was nice to see Beathard and Jerminic Smith get on the same page. Jerminic caught 4 passes for 118 yards. Now if Iowa can get Tevaun Smith back this offense is starting to look pretty dangerous. Both Jerminic and Tevaun can beat man to man coverage deep which should open up holes for Matt Vandeberg. CJ did miss one touchdown pass but for the most part when he had time to throw he made plays.
Special teams was also big. I thought Dillon Kidd was one of the reasons Iowa was able to get the victory, he had a great day punting. He averaged 46.6 yards per punt including a 55 yard punt and a 50 yard punt to keep Illinois backed up. He had 3 punts inside the 20 including one downed at the 4. Marshall Koehn did miss a PAT but he came up big late in the game making 2 pressure kicks to ice the game. Desmond King didn't get a lot of opportunities in the return game as Illinois kept the ball away from him most of the time.
This was a nice win for Iowa it didn't go exactly how I expected. I thought Iowa would have been up by more which they very easily could have if they would have scored touchdowns on those two drives in the first half. Illinios was an impressive team I think Iowa caught them at the right time because this Illini team will be very dangerous as we move forward. The Hawks are banged up as they head to Evanston so hopefully a lot of the injuries won't keep guys out this week. This is a huge game for the Hawks as they can deal Northwestern their second loss in the conference and really take control of the western division. I'll have a preview of that Game in the next couple of days.
Thanks For Reading
Go Hawks.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Iowa vs Illinois Preview
The Iowa Hawkeyes return home for Homecoming to meet the Fighting Illini in a battle of two 1-0 teams in the Big Ten Western division. Iowa is coming off a hard fought victory over Wisconsin and Illinois is coming off a come from behind victory over Nebraska. Iowa is back in the rankings sitting at number 22, but this is a game they can overlook. Northwestern is next but Illinois has been a thorn in the Hawkeyes' side over the years. What will the Illini bring to Kinnick Stadium Saturday afternoon?
The Illini offense has been pretty good this year under new head coach Bill Cubitz. He took over for Tim Beck a couple of days before the season opener. Illinois hasn't played a very difficult schedule so their 4-1 record is a little bit misleading. The two toughest games they played were at North Carolina a 48 to 14 loss and the win over Nebraska last weekend. The Illini are scoring 30.2 points per game with 244 yards passing and 155 rushing. Wes Lunt is the QB for the Illini he's thrown for 1107 yards 8 touchdowns just 2 interceptions. He has a few weapons to watch for at the wide receiver position. Geronimo Allison is the lead guy with 32 catches for 453 yards 2 TD. I would expect Desmond King will be following him in man to man situations. Marchie Murdock is another target with 20 catches for 194 yards and 3 TD's. Desmond Cain is the third target he has 19 catches for 141 yards. Illinois is going to be a spread offense with a pass first mentality. They will be similar to Iowa State with less talent on the outside and similar to North Texas. The Iowa secondary has been up to the challenge all season so I expect they will be able to make some big plays. The interesting thing is Illinois might try a lot of underneath passes since Iowa tends to give those up in the zone defense.
Illinois does run the ball too, but they will be without starting running back Josh Ferguson who was injured in the Nebraska game. Freshman Ke'shawn Vaughn will be the main guy he has 76 carries for 325 yards. Iowa has been dominant vs the run allowing just 84 yards on the ground. The only time Iowa struggled a little was when North Texas was running out of the Spread. The good thing in that game was Drew Ott was clearly not 100 percent. Illinois could attempt to try and run the ball like the Mean Green did. Ott proved last week he's back dominating the Wisconsin offensive line. The defensive line for the Hawkeyes has shown their dominance so far this season. Now that we know about the Illini offense what kind of challenges will the Iowa offense face.
Illinois is only allowing 126 yards per game rushing. To be fair though they haven't played a physical rushing attack like Iowa. The Hawks are rushing for 185 yards per game and Jordan Canzeri has taken over the running back position. Leshun Daniels is getting healthier so maybe this is the week that he shows the explosiveness he had earlier this season. The Iowa passing attack had a lot of struggles last week against a very strong Wisconsin defense. The Iowa receivers had a lot of trouble getting open in man to man situations. Tevaun Smith will miss another week and a couple of guys are still day to day. Boone Myers missed last week vs Wisconsin and Derrick Mitchell also missed last week both could play Saturday.
The Illinois defense isn't nearly as good as the defense Iowa faced last week vs the Badgers. I think we could see the tight ends more involved in the offense this weekend. The biggest thing I'm looking for is how does CJ Beathard bounce back after last weeks rough Start? Can Jerminic Smith and CJ Beathard get on the same page. Smith does have the ability to get open vs man to man coverage. I think Iowa will try to get him some early touches so he can get some confidence. Matt Vandeberg is the main threat with Tevaun Smith being out of the line. I also think this is the first week we see Jake Duzey get targeted. George Kittle has come on lately so I think we might see some of the three tight end sets we saw a few years ago against Ohio State. Also Iowa has to take some shots down the field even if the receiver isn't open. Beathard has the arm to throw the ball down the field and they can complete big pass plays or draw a penalty. If the run game is rolling Iowa should have some chances on play action passes. I also want to see more play action passes on first down especially when they get into the red zone.
This could be an interesting game, Iowa is coming off an emotional victory over Wisconsin and they can't come out flat. Illinois although not a great team is capable of winning at Kinnick Stadium. The good thing is this team has been so focused that I don't see a let down. Homecoming in front of big crowd I see a rout as the Hawks move to 2-0 in the Big ten with 38 to 14 win. Again Illinois does have some talent so this isn't a game where Iowa can get caught looking ahead to Illinois.
Thanks For Reading
Go Hawks
Monday, October 5, 2015
Iowa vs Wisconsin Review
Saturday Afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium was a good old fashioned defensive battle. Iowa found a way to move to 5-0 with a 10-6 victory over 19th ranked Wisconsin. This was a crazy game both defenses were dominant. So how did Iowa get the victory on Saturday?
The Iowa offense definitely had it's struggles vs the Wisconsin defense. CJ Beathard had his worst game as the starting quarterback going just 9-21 for 77 yards 1 TD 1 Interception and one fumble. Jordan Canzeri and the Iowa offensive line made the difference Saturday. Everyone thought going into this game the team that ran the ball the best and stopped the run would win. That is exactly what happened Iowa ran for 144 yards with 125 coming from Canzeri. Wisconsin put points on the board first taking an early 3 to 0 lead. Iowa put together a very nice drive going 10 plays to take the ball to the Wisconsin 8 yard line. The Hawkeyes were facing 3rd and 2 they tried to run Leshun Daniels who was stopped for no gain. Most the time over the years Iowa kicks a field goal ties the game at 3. The Hawks gambled going for it on 4th and 2. Krieger Coble ran an out and up where it appeared that Kaputo might have got a way with a hold but either way I liked the early gamble.
The next drive after Wisconsin missed a field goal the Hawkeyes put together another nice drive taking the ball from their own 24 all the way to the Wisconsin 9 yard line. Beathard missed Jerminic Smith for what could have been a touchdown on a fade rout. Smith beat his defender but CJ just overthrew him. So on 4th and 7 Iowa settled for a field goal but Koehn missed from 27 yards out and Wisconsin maintained a 3 to 0 lead. The game changed this drive as the defense came up big. On second and 7 Desmond King intercepted Joel Stave setting the Hawkeyes up with 1st and 10 at the Wisconsin 31. The first play Canzeri ran for 19 yards down to the Wisconsin 12. Later in the drive on 3rd and 1 Beathard ran a QB sneak to get the first down. 1st and goal from the 1 Iowa ran a play action pass bringing Kittle in motion then rolling him across the formation where Beathard hit him for a 1 yard score.
The very next offensive play Wisconsin had, Drew Ott came around the right side forcing a fumble that Nate Meier recovered. Now personally I would have loved to see Iowa take a shot after the quick change but they were running the ball well so I can see either way. On 3rd and 4 CJ Beathard made a mental mistake getting called for delay game which turned 3rd and 4 into 3rd and 9. Iowa had to settle for a field goal which Koehn made to put them up 10 to 3. Wisconsin was content to try and take it to half but Iowa showed aggressiveness calling timeout to get the ball back. Beathard was sacked on the final play of the 1st half
The Badgers were playing a lot of man to man defense which made it difficult for the receivers to get much space. There were two big plays in the 3rd quarter that could have helped the Iowa offense put some more points on the board. On 3rd and 7 Beathard had his receiver Krieger Coble coming open over the middle of the field but he was hit as he threw it the ball floated and was intercepted. With all the man defense Wisconsin was playing I felt the Hawks could have taken a few more shots down the field. The other big play happened on another 3rd down as Jerminic Smith had a step on the defense but Beathard over shot him. If Iowa was able to hit those two plays they likely score some more points but the Badgers defense was tough. Joe Schobert was all over Beathard almost every time he dropped back to pass.
Iowa caught a major break after Beathard was a little bit loose with the ball rolling out. He was hit from behind and fumbled setting up what looked like Wisconsin's go ahead touchdown. Wisconsin had it 2nd and goal from the one yard line. The Right guard for Wisconsin stepped on Stave's foot and he fumbled trying to hand it off. Besides the step Nate Meier completely blew up play destroying the running back. Faith Ekakite came up with the Fumble recovery. The offense could have put the game away but immediately went 3 and out. On 4th and 2 with 44 seconds left Wisconsin had the ball at the Iowa 16 yard line. Cole Fisher made the biggest play of the game getting a good bump on the Wisconsin Tight end throwing off the timing between Stave and his receiver. The pass fell incomplete and the Hawkeyes moved to 5-0.
The defense came up big time and time again Saturday afternoon. Desmond King proved why he's the best corner back in the Big Ten intercepting two passes. Drew Ott is back to 100 percent or at least darn close he was an animal. He forced a Fumble and had some big tackles for loss. Nate Meier came up big perfectly defending a shovel pass, recovering a fumble and just putting pressure on Stave. This defensive line is showing the potential I thought they had. At times they were dominant against a huge Wisconsin Offensive line. Is there a better pair of tacklers at corner back in college football? I mean how many times have we seen Desmond King and Greg Maybin make big hits on the perimeter? It's also crazy how much of a difference a year makes for this linebacking core. All 3 of them are flying around the field making plays. Ben Niemann made a big tackle for loss after Wisconsin had a good drive going. Josey Jewell was all over the field. Cole Fisher made the biggest play of the game breaking up the final pass to seal the victory. He also had a sack and a big hit that forced Stave to throw high missing his receiver. Iowa held Wisconsin to just 86 yards on 34 carries an average of 2.5 yards per carry. This was the difference in the game Iowa stopped the run and forced turnovers.
We've already seen through the first 5 games the offense have to come up big on the road vs Iowa State. We saw special teams come up big with a Koehn 57 yard field goal against Pittsburgh, and now we've seen the defense come through in the clutch to win a game on the road. Over the years Iowa has played a lot of close games. The years they are good they win the close games over the past few years it seemed like every close game Iowa would find a way to lose. In the first 5 games Iowa has found a way to win. Once again just like vs Iowa State, Iowa calmly swarmed across to pick up the heartland trophy. Last year the Hawks were 0-4 in Trophy games this year they've already taken two of those back and have two more on the agenda. This was a good old fashioned Defensive battle and the tougher more physical team would win. On Saturday that was Iowa. I'll have preview for the Illinois game coming up later in the week, as the Illini pulled of a 14-13 win over Nebraska.
Thanks For Reading
Go Hawks
The Iowa offense definitely had it's struggles vs the Wisconsin defense. CJ Beathard had his worst game as the starting quarterback going just 9-21 for 77 yards 1 TD 1 Interception and one fumble. Jordan Canzeri and the Iowa offensive line made the difference Saturday. Everyone thought going into this game the team that ran the ball the best and stopped the run would win. That is exactly what happened Iowa ran for 144 yards with 125 coming from Canzeri. Wisconsin put points on the board first taking an early 3 to 0 lead. Iowa put together a very nice drive going 10 plays to take the ball to the Wisconsin 8 yard line. The Hawkeyes were facing 3rd and 2 they tried to run Leshun Daniels who was stopped for no gain. Most the time over the years Iowa kicks a field goal ties the game at 3. The Hawks gambled going for it on 4th and 2. Krieger Coble ran an out and up where it appeared that Kaputo might have got a way with a hold but either way I liked the early gamble.
The next drive after Wisconsin missed a field goal the Hawkeyes put together another nice drive taking the ball from their own 24 all the way to the Wisconsin 9 yard line. Beathard missed Jerminic Smith for what could have been a touchdown on a fade rout. Smith beat his defender but CJ just overthrew him. So on 4th and 7 Iowa settled for a field goal but Koehn missed from 27 yards out and Wisconsin maintained a 3 to 0 lead. The game changed this drive as the defense came up big. On second and 7 Desmond King intercepted Joel Stave setting the Hawkeyes up with 1st and 10 at the Wisconsin 31. The first play Canzeri ran for 19 yards down to the Wisconsin 12. Later in the drive on 3rd and 1 Beathard ran a QB sneak to get the first down. 1st and goal from the 1 Iowa ran a play action pass bringing Kittle in motion then rolling him across the formation where Beathard hit him for a 1 yard score.
The very next offensive play Wisconsin had, Drew Ott came around the right side forcing a fumble that Nate Meier recovered. Now personally I would have loved to see Iowa take a shot after the quick change but they were running the ball well so I can see either way. On 3rd and 4 CJ Beathard made a mental mistake getting called for delay game which turned 3rd and 4 into 3rd and 9. Iowa had to settle for a field goal which Koehn made to put them up 10 to 3. Wisconsin was content to try and take it to half but Iowa showed aggressiveness calling timeout to get the ball back. Beathard was sacked on the final play of the 1st half
The Badgers were playing a lot of man to man defense which made it difficult for the receivers to get much space. There were two big plays in the 3rd quarter that could have helped the Iowa offense put some more points on the board. On 3rd and 7 Beathard had his receiver Krieger Coble coming open over the middle of the field but he was hit as he threw it the ball floated and was intercepted. With all the man defense Wisconsin was playing I felt the Hawks could have taken a few more shots down the field. The other big play happened on another 3rd down as Jerminic Smith had a step on the defense but Beathard over shot him. If Iowa was able to hit those two plays they likely score some more points but the Badgers defense was tough. Joe Schobert was all over Beathard almost every time he dropped back to pass.
Iowa caught a major break after Beathard was a little bit loose with the ball rolling out. He was hit from behind and fumbled setting up what looked like Wisconsin's go ahead touchdown. Wisconsin had it 2nd and goal from the one yard line. The Right guard for Wisconsin stepped on Stave's foot and he fumbled trying to hand it off. Besides the step Nate Meier completely blew up play destroying the running back. Faith Ekakite came up with the Fumble recovery. The offense could have put the game away but immediately went 3 and out. On 4th and 2 with 44 seconds left Wisconsin had the ball at the Iowa 16 yard line. Cole Fisher made the biggest play of the game getting a good bump on the Wisconsin Tight end throwing off the timing between Stave and his receiver. The pass fell incomplete and the Hawkeyes moved to 5-0.
The defense came up big time and time again Saturday afternoon. Desmond King proved why he's the best corner back in the Big Ten intercepting two passes. Drew Ott is back to 100 percent or at least darn close he was an animal. He forced a Fumble and had some big tackles for loss. Nate Meier came up big perfectly defending a shovel pass, recovering a fumble and just putting pressure on Stave. This defensive line is showing the potential I thought they had. At times they were dominant against a huge Wisconsin Offensive line. Is there a better pair of tacklers at corner back in college football? I mean how many times have we seen Desmond King and Greg Maybin make big hits on the perimeter? It's also crazy how much of a difference a year makes for this linebacking core. All 3 of them are flying around the field making plays. Ben Niemann made a big tackle for loss after Wisconsin had a good drive going. Josey Jewell was all over the field. Cole Fisher made the biggest play of the game breaking up the final pass to seal the victory. He also had a sack and a big hit that forced Stave to throw high missing his receiver. Iowa held Wisconsin to just 86 yards on 34 carries an average of 2.5 yards per carry. This was the difference in the game Iowa stopped the run and forced turnovers.
We've already seen through the first 5 games the offense have to come up big on the road vs Iowa State. We saw special teams come up big with a Koehn 57 yard field goal against Pittsburgh, and now we've seen the defense come through in the clutch to win a game on the road. Over the years Iowa has played a lot of close games. The years they are good they win the close games over the past few years it seemed like every close game Iowa would find a way to lose. In the first 5 games Iowa has found a way to win. Once again just like vs Iowa State, Iowa calmly swarmed across to pick up the heartland trophy. Last year the Hawks were 0-4 in Trophy games this year they've already taken two of those back and have two more on the agenda. This was a good old fashioned Defensive battle and the tougher more physical team would win. On Saturday that was Iowa. I'll have preview for the Illinois game coming up later in the week, as the Illini pulled of a 14-13 win over Nebraska.
Thanks For Reading
Go Hawks
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Iowa vs Wisconsin: The Battle for the Heartland Trophy
The Big Ten Conference Opener is finally here! Saturday Afternoon Iowa travels to Wisconsin to face the 19th Ranked Badgers. The Non-conference portion of the schedule couldn't have gone any better. The Hawks went 4-0 with two mentally tough 4th quarter victories. Iowa faced a hostile environment when they beat Iowa State so they should be ready for the atmosphere at Wisconsin. This will be Iowa's toughest challenge as Wisconsin is the first ranked team they've played this year. So what do the Hawks need to do to come away with a victory on Saturday.
Wisconsin's offense normally is a dominant rushing attack but this season they haven't run the ball like we are used to seeing. Wisconsin is rushing for 188 yards per game,but most season's when Wisconsin plays teams like Miami Ohio, Troy and Hawaii they usually have an average of well over 200 yards. The Badgers rushing attack has run into injuries this season as the main ball carrier was supposed to be Corey Clement. Clement is out with a Sports Hernia so the main running back now is Freshman Taiwan Deal. Deal has rushed 62 times for 290 yards and 4 TD's. Dare Ogunbowale is the second Running back with 48 carries for 281 yards and 3 TD's. The Iowa run defense is 12th nationally allowing just 84 yards per game. This will be a key factor because If the Hawks can stop the Badgers rushing attack that puts a lot of pressure on Joel Stave. The defensive line gave up some big yardage on outside runs vs North Texas so they will have to be ready for a more physical rushing attack this week. Wisconsin likes to lineup with two FB's and a RB, they finally had their first good running game of the year vs Hawaii. The Badgers will run the ball more like Pittsburgh a physical, smash mouth style. Drew Ott is still working his way back to 100 percent so hopefully he can keep the outside contained.
Stave is back for another year, he's been the QB for the Badgers off and on for the last few seasons. The other guy who has played QB in key situations is Tanner McEvoy. He is mainly a runner and did have a big game running last season. Stave has thrown for 890 yards this season with 7 TD's and only 2 Interceptions. Stave doesn't have a big arm he throws the underneath routes a lot. Wisconsin likes to run the ball then play action to hit their tight ends over the middle of the field. The Badgers do have some nice talent at receiver Alex Erickson, is the top receiving target with 23 Catches for 320 yards 1 TD. Robert Wheelwright is the second target for Wisconsin he has 10 receptions for 147 yards and 3 TD's. Austin Traylor is the Badgers tight end he has 8 receptions for 121 yards 3 TD's. Iowa's secondary should be able to handle the Badgers passing attack. Now the Hawkeyes have had some little injuries with Miles Taylor and Greg Maybin dealing with some non significant injuries. Hopefully both Taylor and Maybin are ready to go because they will be needed vs Wisconsin.
The Iowa offense continues to improve every week, with a dominating victory over North Texas now they will face the unique challenge of a 3-4 defense. Iowa State played a little bit of a 3-4 defense in week 2 but Wisconsin has a more talented defense then the Cyclones. The Hawks are averaging 37.2 points per game and rushing for 196 yards. Jordan Canzeri has been the main ball carrier the last couple weeks with Leshun Daniels dealing with an ankle injury. Jordan has 63 carries for 316 yards and 8 TDS, Leshun has 48 Carries for 217 yards. Hopefully Daniels is closer to 100 percent this weekend because he hasn't had the same burst the last 2 weeks. The Wisconsin run defense is allowing 82 yards per game. Again this will be the main key which team can run the ball and which team can stop the run.
The Hawks passing attack has come on strong during the Non-conference portion of the schedule. CJ Beathard has 962 yards passing with 6 TD's and only 1 Interception. Matt Vandeberg has been the main target with 25 receptions for 242 yards and 2 TD's. Tevaun Smith has 12 receptions for 235 yards and 2 TD's. Jacob Hillyer has improved a lot from last year. Last year it seemed like he dropped everything, this year he's caught everything. The Tight ends are starting to get more involved too with Krieger Coble hauling in 10 passes for 105 yards, and George Kittle showed some of his potential last week with 4 catches for 69 yards and a TD. Riley McCarron has made plays too. This offense is only going to get better, plus Jake Duzey is ready to return which should impact the offense even more. The Badgers like to blitz a lot which gives Iowa a chance for one on one opportunities down the field. Last year Tevaun Smith took advantage of the Badgers corners drawing pass interference penalties. Iowa will have opportunities to throw the ball down the field they just have to make those big plays. Big news in regards to the Iowa passing attack. Rumors are circulating that Tevaun Smith hurt his knee and will be out 2 weeks. This is a big injury taking one of the Hawkeyes best threats off the field. The question now is who will get a lot of Smith's playing time? I expect it to be by committee with Jake Hillyer getting more playing time. I think it will be important to see Jerminic Smith some too because he has the speed to get down the field. Riley McCarron has played a lot too. Without Tevaun it will be interesting to see who steps up to make plays along side Matt Vandeberg.
One of the biggest keys to victory will be Iowa's redzone offense against the Redzone defense of Wisconsin. The Badgers have allowed one rushing, one passing and one field goal in the redzone this season. Iowa has scored 14 TD's in 16 trips to the redzone. For Iowa to win they have to score touchdowns when they get a chance, field goals are nice but on the road you need to get 7 when your in the redzone. Another big key will be which team can run the ball and which team can stop the run? The other key matchup is CJ Beathard against Joel Stave, the quarterback that makes the biggest plays will win. I feel Iowa gets it done in a close game. I think the running game will be a wash, but I believe CJ Beathard is the better quarterback and therefore the Hawks will find a way to win. My prediction is Iowa 24 Wisconsin 17. Scoring could be a little higher but these are two very good defense's. We will find out how good this team is? They got through the Non-conference undefeated now can they make a statement on the road Saturday at Wisconsin?
Thanks for reading
Go Hawks
Wisconsin's offense normally is a dominant rushing attack but this season they haven't run the ball like we are used to seeing. Wisconsin is rushing for 188 yards per game,but most season's when Wisconsin plays teams like Miami Ohio, Troy and Hawaii they usually have an average of well over 200 yards. The Badgers rushing attack has run into injuries this season as the main ball carrier was supposed to be Corey Clement. Clement is out with a Sports Hernia so the main running back now is Freshman Taiwan Deal. Deal has rushed 62 times for 290 yards and 4 TD's. Dare Ogunbowale is the second Running back with 48 carries for 281 yards and 3 TD's. The Iowa run defense is 12th nationally allowing just 84 yards per game. This will be a key factor because If the Hawks can stop the Badgers rushing attack that puts a lot of pressure on Joel Stave. The defensive line gave up some big yardage on outside runs vs North Texas so they will have to be ready for a more physical rushing attack this week. Wisconsin likes to lineup with two FB's and a RB, they finally had their first good running game of the year vs Hawaii. The Badgers will run the ball more like Pittsburgh a physical, smash mouth style. Drew Ott is still working his way back to 100 percent so hopefully he can keep the outside contained.
Stave is back for another year, he's been the QB for the Badgers off and on for the last few seasons. The other guy who has played QB in key situations is Tanner McEvoy. He is mainly a runner and did have a big game running last season. Stave has thrown for 890 yards this season with 7 TD's and only 2 Interceptions. Stave doesn't have a big arm he throws the underneath routes a lot. Wisconsin likes to run the ball then play action to hit their tight ends over the middle of the field. The Badgers do have some nice talent at receiver Alex Erickson, is the top receiving target with 23 Catches for 320 yards 1 TD. Robert Wheelwright is the second target for Wisconsin he has 10 receptions for 147 yards and 3 TD's. Austin Traylor is the Badgers tight end he has 8 receptions for 121 yards 3 TD's. Iowa's secondary should be able to handle the Badgers passing attack. Now the Hawkeyes have had some little injuries with Miles Taylor and Greg Maybin dealing with some non significant injuries. Hopefully both Taylor and Maybin are ready to go because they will be needed vs Wisconsin.
The Iowa offense continues to improve every week, with a dominating victory over North Texas now they will face the unique challenge of a 3-4 defense. Iowa State played a little bit of a 3-4 defense in week 2 but Wisconsin has a more talented defense then the Cyclones. The Hawks are averaging 37.2 points per game and rushing for 196 yards. Jordan Canzeri has been the main ball carrier the last couple weeks with Leshun Daniels dealing with an ankle injury. Jordan has 63 carries for 316 yards and 8 TDS, Leshun has 48 Carries for 217 yards. Hopefully Daniels is closer to 100 percent this weekend because he hasn't had the same burst the last 2 weeks. The Wisconsin run defense is allowing 82 yards per game. Again this will be the main key which team can run the ball and which team can stop the run.
The Hawks passing attack has come on strong during the Non-conference portion of the schedule. CJ Beathard has 962 yards passing with 6 TD's and only 1 Interception. Matt Vandeberg has been the main target with 25 receptions for 242 yards and 2 TD's. Tevaun Smith has 12 receptions for 235 yards and 2 TD's. Jacob Hillyer has improved a lot from last year. Last year it seemed like he dropped everything, this year he's caught everything. The Tight ends are starting to get more involved too with Krieger Coble hauling in 10 passes for 105 yards, and George Kittle showed some of his potential last week with 4 catches for 69 yards and a TD. Riley McCarron has made plays too. This offense is only going to get better, plus Jake Duzey is ready to return which should impact the offense even more. The Badgers like to blitz a lot which gives Iowa a chance for one on one opportunities down the field. Last year Tevaun Smith took advantage of the Badgers corners drawing pass interference penalties. Iowa will have opportunities to throw the ball down the field they just have to make those big plays. Big news in regards to the Iowa passing attack. Rumors are circulating that Tevaun Smith hurt his knee and will be out 2 weeks. This is a big injury taking one of the Hawkeyes best threats off the field. The question now is who will get a lot of Smith's playing time? I expect it to be by committee with Jake Hillyer getting more playing time. I think it will be important to see Jerminic Smith some too because he has the speed to get down the field. Riley McCarron has played a lot too. Without Tevaun it will be interesting to see who steps up to make plays along side Matt Vandeberg.
One of the biggest keys to victory will be Iowa's redzone offense against the Redzone defense of Wisconsin. The Badgers have allowed one rushing, one passing and one field goal in the redzone this season. Iowa has scored 14 TD's in 16 trips to the redzone. For Iowa to win they have to score touchdowns when they get a chance, field goals are nice but on the road you need to get 7 when your in the redzone. Another big key will be which team can run the ball and which team can stop the run? The other key matchup is CJ Beathard against Joel Stave, the quarterback that makes the biggest plays will win. I feel Iowa gets it done in a close game. I think the running game will be a wash, but I believe CJ Beathard is the better quarterback and therefore the Hawks will find a way to win. My prediction is Iowa 24 Wisconsin 17. Scoring could be a little higher but these are two very good defense's. We will find out how good this team is? They got through the Non-conference undefeated now can they make a statement on the road Saturday at Wisconsin?
Thanks for reading
Go Hawks
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