I finally got time to re-watch the game last night between Iowa and Iowa State. What a thrilling win the Hawkeyes pulled off in overtime 44 to 41. There were a lot of positives and some things that need to be cleaned up before Big Ten play starts.
On the positive the Iowa offense played extremely well for large portions of the game. Nate Stanley in his 1st road start threw for 333 yards and 5 touchdowns. One of the more impressive things about Stanley was his patience when Iowa trailed 38 to 31. A lot of young quarterbacks force a pass into coverage and get intercepted. Even though the clock was running he kept his cool. The other great thing he did was spread the ball around, he completed passes to 9 different receivers. The only thing where he could improve is the deep ball. He missed at least 3 if not 4 receivers for touchdowns over the top. Last year we rarely saw our receivers able to get deep on anyone so the fact that the separation was their is positive. Iowa State has a very good secondary.
The other big thing we saw Saturday was Ihmir Smith Marsette made some big time plays on the outside. The Freshman Receiver fumbled on his 1st ever carry in week 1 vs Wyoming. He showed a lot of potential to be a big playmaker for this offense. He had 4 receptions for 36 yards and two touchdowns. A terrific diving catch for one and then he ran a great route in overtime for the game winner. All 3 tight ends were involved in the game, Noah Fant didn't have a huge game but he made some critical catches on the game tying drive. TJ Hockenson also got in on the action for the first time hauling in 2 passes for 41 yards. Even Peter Pekar had a 1st down catch. On the outside Nick Easley had another good game with 7 catches for 48 yards, Matt Vandeberg also looks to be getting more comfortable he caught 3 passes for 42 yards including a great diving touchdown catch.We also saw a number of the young receivers on the field Brandon Smith played a lot but was never targeted. The Fact that he's getting on the field means he's close to making some plays on offense.
At running back the carries split was pretty similar to week 1 with Wadley getting 28 carries for 118 yards and Jame Butler getting 10 carries for 37. Wadley also had 4 catches including the play of the game to tie the game at 38. I felt James Butler looked more confident this week. He just had a different look to him when he was running the football. I'm not going to say Wadley could be in the Heisman conversation but he's definitely is a true playmaker. Iowa plays enough big name teams if he puts together big numbers you never know.
Defensively the biggest disappointment for me was all the missed tackles. Now David Montgomery is a very good running back but he was breaking way too many tackles Saturday. The Hawks just weren't wrapping up. Another concern is the front 4 just didn't get much pressure on Park. Iowa State is unique in that they go so quick and they normally get rid of the ball very fast. Only a few times was Iowa able to get some real pressure on Park.
The other thing we saw a lot on Saturday was the Dime and Nickle package. A number of young players got on the field defensively for the first time. Manny Rugamba made his return to the Defensive backfield and was a little bit rusty. Hopefully he can get back in the groove this week. Saturday was the first week we really found out how good Desmond King and Greg Maybin were. There were a lot of mistakes in the secondary but you have to remember Gervase was making his 2nd career start at Safety so things are going to break down sometimes. Rugamba even though he looked great as a Freshman is only a Sophomore. Joshua Jackson played a lot in the Nickle last year but now he's in tough one on one situations. Ojemudia is another corner who hasn't played a lot. We also saw Amani Hooker on defense for the first time. Of course he got matched up on Lazard and Iowa State scored a touchdown on the play.
The Final thing we saw Saturday was the ability for this team to respond. Iowa State took an early 7 to 0 lead and the Hawks put together a terrific drive mixing the pass and run for a touchdown. Iowa State went up 10 to 7. Iowa would put together an even better drive traveling 91 yards in 10 plays to take the lead at halftime 14 to 10. After exchanging Punts the Hawks would go on another long touchdown drive this one 94 yards on 11 plays. Once Iowa State went up 31 to 21 it would have been very easy for the Hawks to give up. They didn't putting together an 11 play 92 yard touchdown drive to pull within 3. Only one play into Iowa State's drive Parker Hesse intercepted Park's pass. Even though Iowa didn't score they had a perfectly designed play on 3rd down Stanley just didn't have enough time to put the throw on Fant. The biggest punch to the stomach a team can have is after battling back to tie the game. they gave up a 74 yard touchdown pass.
The next drive the hawks went 3 and out just missing on another deep pass to Noah Fant which could have been 6. Although the defense struggled they came up big getting Iowa State to go 3 and out. The Final drive Iowa took their time and didn't rush things. Stanley was in complete control on that final drive. On the touchdown Wadley ran a little angle route and Stanley put the ball right on him before Akrum broke a bunch of tackles to tie the game.
In overtime the Iowa defense once again came up big holding Iowa State to a Field Goal. Iowa right away was going for the win they threw deep on the 1st play. Wadley had a 4 yard run to make it 3rd and 6. Stanley found Easley for a huge 1st down. The next play James Butler ran off the left side but something I noticed on the play was Wadley faked like he was running a screen so that could be a play we see sometime. On the game winning touchdown Marsette ran a great rout to get open and Stanley put the throw on the outside away from the defender for the touchdown.
Now what does this win do for the Hawks? I think one of things it does is give Iowa confidence that they can come back if they fall behind in a game. This was a very hostile environment and for the Hawks to come away with the win was huge. This was a wild game that could have gone either way the Hawks found away to win a game a lot of people thought was over down 31 to 21. Now one bad thing is Iowa may have lost Ike Boettger for the year with an injury. Now Iowa play's North Texas this week a game they should win big but they need to take care of business. I'd expect a possible let down with Penn State on the horizon. I'll have some thoughts on North Texas this week. Thanks for reading and Go Hawks.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Friday, September 8, 2017
Iowa vs Iowa State Thoughts
The Big game is just one day away. Saturday Morning the Hawkeyes will travel to Ames to face the Iowa State Cyclones. Both teams are coming off dominant victories Iowa 24 to 3 over Wyoming and Iowa State 42 to 17 over UNI. Here are some thoughts on the match up Saturday.
Offensively Iowa will likely look to establish the run early in the game. With Stanley making his 1st career road start in a tough environment it will be important to get the run game going. The biggest positive for the Hawks is James Daniels is back at Center after missing last week's game. The running game should have a better output then last week. Iowa State is inexperienced on the Defensive Line so expect the Clones to stack the box to try and stop the run. The best part of the Iowa State defense is their secondary.
The Play action pass should work pretty well this week. I expect Iowa State to really stack the line of scrimmage which should open up opportunities for Iowa to hit some plays down the field. Also Iowa didn't run any screens vs Wyoming expect that to change this week. One of the keys will be if Iowa can get Noah Fant matched up on Iowa State's linebackers. I also think Matt Vandeberg will be more involved in the offense this week after just 2 catches last week. Iowa only threw 15 passes last week but I think Stanley will have to throw more passes this week. The other key match up offensively is Iowa's offensive line vs Iowa State's Defensive line. I expect Iowa to be able to control the line of scrimmage which should open up lanes for Wadley to have a huge day.
Defensively Iowa will get the return of Manny Rugamba at corner after being suspended last week vs Wyoming. Iowa State is a pass first team even though they showed the ability to run a little bit vs Northern Iowa last week. David Montgomery is a talented running back but Iowa's defense should be prepared to stop the run. I think this week we could see the Dime and Nickel formation's. Which as much as Iowa State will want to spread the field Iowa might need an extra corner. Jacob Park is a talented quarterback and he definitely has some weapons to work with. The match up of Iowa's secondary vs the ISU wide receivers will be one of the big factors. Does Joshua Jackson follow Allan Lazard or will they keep Rugamba and Jackson on each side of the field? Just like last week tackling in space will be very important for Iowa. The match up of Iowa's linebackers against Iowa State's Slot receivers will also be a key. The other key will be if Iowa can get pressure on Park so he can't pick apart the defense.
Special teams is always important and so far Iowa has looked good on special teams with Recinos going 1 for 1 on FG. He's also boomed kickoffs for touchbacks. Turnovers also will be very important if Iowa has 4 turnovers again it likely won't end well. Iowa State's defense came up with 2 Pick 6's and had 3 Interceptions vs UNI. They always say teams improve the most from week one to week 2 so we'll see if some of the younger players take steps forward. Also will the receivers step up? Nick Easley had a strong game vs Wyoming can he have a repeat performance? Will we see Brandon Smith for the 1st time in his career? Does Ihmir Smith Marsette play after fumbling on his only play last week?
Overall I think Iowa should be able to run the ball effectively which could open up the play action for some big plays down the field. I think this will be a close game until the 4th quarter but Iowa will wear down the Iowa State defense. This could be the game we really see Wadley break out again he will get at least 25 touches combined through the run and pass game. Will Wadley be able to make some plays out of the slot this game. I see a score of 31 to 17 Iowa Victory. I guess we will have to wait and see what the real result is tomorrow. Thanks for Reading and Go Hawks.
Offensively Iowa will likely look to establish the run early in the game. With Stanley making his 1st career road start in a tough environment it will be important to get the run game going. The biggest positive for the Hawks is James Daniels is back at Center after missing last week's game. The running game should have a better output then last week. Iowa State is inexperienced on the Defensive Line so expect the Clones to stack the box to try and stop the run. The best part of the Iowa State defense is their secondary.
The Play action pass should work pretty well this week. I expect Iowa State to really stack the line of scrimmage which should open up opportunities for Iowa to hit some plays down the field. Also Iowa didn't run any screens vs Wyoming expect that to change this week. One of the keys will be if Iowa can get Noah Fant matched up on Iowa State's linebackers. I also think Matt Vandeberg will be more involved in the offense this week after just 2 catches last week. Iowa only threw 15 passes last week but I think Stanley will have to throw more passes this week. The other key match up offensively is Iowa's offensive line vs Iowa State's Defensive line. I expect Iowa to be able to control the line of scrimmage which should open up lanes for Wadley to have a huge day.
Defensively Iowa will get the return of Manny Rugamba at corner after being suspended last week vs Wyoming. Iowa State is a pass first team even though they showed the ability to run a little bit vs Northern Iowa last week. David Montgomery is a talented running back but Iowa's defense should be prepared to stop the run. I think this week we could see the Dime and Nickel formation's. Which as much as Iowa State will want to spread the field Iowa might need an extra corner. Jacob Park is a talented quarterback and he definitely has some weapons to work with. The match up of Iowa's secondary vs the ISU wide receivers will be one of the big factors. Does Joshua Jackson follow Allan Lazard or will they keep Rugamba and Jackson on each side of the field? Just like last week tackling in space will be very important for Iowa. The match up of Iowa's linebackers against Iowa State's Slot receivers will also be a key. The other key will be if Iowa can get pressure on Park so he can't pick apart the defense.
Special teams is always important and so far Iowa has looked good on special teams with Recinos going 1 for 1 on FG. He's also boomed kickoffs for touchbacks. Turnovers also will be very important if Iowa has 4 turnovers again it likely won't end well. Iowa State's defense came up with 2 Pick 6's and had 3 Interceptions vs UNI. They always say teams improve the most from week one to week 2 so we'll see if some of the younger players take steps forward. Also will the receivers step up? Nick Easley had a strong game vs Wyoming can he have a repeat performance? Will we see Brandon Smith for the 1st time in his career? Does Ihmir Smith Marsette play after fumbling on his only play last week?
Overall I think Iowa should be able to run the ball effectively which could open up the play action for some big plays down the field. I think this will be a close game until the 4th quarter but Iowa will wear down the Iowa State defense. This could be the game we really see Wadley break out again he will get at least 25 touches combined through the run and pass game. Will Wadley be able to make some plays out of the slot this game. I see a score of 31 to 17 Iowa Victory. I guess we will have to wait and see what the real result is tomorrow. Thanks for Reading and Go Hawks.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Iowa vs Wyoming thoughts
Well it took a little bit longer for me to find time to write my thoughts on Iowa's 24 to 3 victory over Wyoming on Saturday. It was definitely an interesting game the defense played outstanding and we may have seen the emergence of a superstar at tight end. Also we found out a little bit about how the split will be when it comes to the running backs.
First of all starting with Nate Stanley making his 1st career start. He had some good and bad plays which you'd expect from a young quarterback. The one thing that is slightly concerning is the fumbles but I doubt he's been hit much in a game environment in a while. Stanley was 8 for 15 for 125 yards 3 Touchdowns just one interception. Wyoming's game plan was basically to all out blitz most of the game. It was a great test with the way Wyoming played defense it forced Stanley to make quick decisions. His leading receiver was Nick Easley who caught 4 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Noah Fant also saw a lot of targets he only caught 2 passes for 29 yards but both were for touchdowns. Fant looks like he could be a match up nightmare for defenses this year. He had a similar seam rout that he scored the TD on later in the game where he took a big hit and dropped the pass. Matt Vandeberg had the other 2 catches for 19 yards. I also think the more Vandeberg gets to play in a game environment we will begin to see the old Matt. I was a little bit surprised we didn't see many of the younger receivers. The only guy's that got in were Devonte Young and Ihmir Smith Marsette who fumbled on a jet sweep.
The Rushing attack was a little bit shorthanded with two starting lineman sitting with injuries James Daniels and Boone Myers. Alaric Jackson made his first career start at left tackle and overall he looked very good. Ike Boettger had a tough day on Saturday allowing some sacks. The running game overall wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Wadley had 24 carries for 116 yards and Butler had 10 carries for 47 yards. This was one of the big questions I had in how much of a split would Wadley and Butler have. The first game it was mostly Wadley with Butler as more of the change of pace instead of the 50/50 split some expected. Akrum did do some things out of the slot but was never able to really get the ball in space. Look for Wadley to be more involved in the pass game against ISU this Weekend.
Defensively Iowa had a big test in front of them going against a quarterback with the talent of Josh Allen. The Linebackers were outstanding all 3 had double digit tackles in the game. Josey Jewell had 14 tackles with 2 sacks. What those stats tell me is the defensive line was doing their job allowing the linebackers to flow and not get blocked. Wyoming is a tough team to defend with the way they spread teams out, they threw a lot of short passes and tackling in space can be a challenge. On Saturday Iowa had a number of players make one on one tackles in space.
On the defensive line the Hawks put a lot of pressure on Allen. A number of guys played on the line I counted at least 8 Parker Hesse, Anthony Nelson, Cedrick Lattimore and Nathan Bazata were the starters. Rotating in were Matt Nelson, A.J. Epenesa, Sam Brinks and Brady Reiff. On 3rd down passing situations all 4 defensive ends stayed in to rush the passer. They didn't show a raider package but a similar package to the raider. Reiff also had maybe the most impressive play reading a screen pass and getting the interception.
The Secondary deserves a lot of praise for their performance as well. Joshua Jackson had a tremendous game coming up with a big deflection and also jumping a route for an interception. Michael Ojemudia also filled in nicely for the suspended Manny Rugamba. He did get beat on a deep ball after a fumble but the wide receiver bobbled the pass and couldn't bring it in. Jake Gervase looked really good at safety he made a nice play where he jumped in front of the receiver to knock the ball away. He also made a great tackle at the line of scrimmage to force a Wyoming punt. Miles Taylor had a little bit of trouble tackling in the 1st quarter but after that he was wrapping up better he had 8 tackles. We really didn't see a whole lot of nickle or dime formations and with Rugamba out that wasn't unexpected. Matt Hankins got in at the Nickle Corner on one play I remember. I would expect to see more nickle and dime with Ojemudia playing the slot when Rugamba returns as starter this weekend.
Special teams was a little bit of a mixed bag on Saturday. Iowa Punter Colton Rastetter punted 4 times for 153 yards with a long of 42. He only averaged a little over 38 yards per punt. It was his first game so their definitely could have been some nerves. Miguel Recinos has taken hold of the kicking job he made a 44 yard field goal and all 3 PATS.
Overall it was a good performance to start the season. Now its time to go on the road for the first time and it won't be easy. Iowa will travel to Ames to face Iowa State on Saturday Morning at 11 am. They say teams make their most improvement from week one to week 2 so I'm excited to see if some of the young players are more relaxed in their second game. Stanley now has a game under his belt so hopefully he will have more confidence in what he's seeing this week. Iowa should get James Daniels back which will be a big help for the offensive line. I'll put together a full preview of the Cy-Hawk Showdown sometime this week.
Thanks for reading and GO Hawks
First of all starting with Nate Stanley making his 1st career start. He had some good and bad plays which you'd expect from a young quarterback. The one thing that is slightly concerning is the fumbles but I doubt he's been hit much in a game environment in a while. Stanley was 8 for 15 for 125 yards 3 Touchdowns just one interception. Wyoming's game plan was basically to all out blitz most of the game. It was a great test with the way Wyoming played defense it forced Stanley to make quick decisions. His leading receiver was Nick Easley who caught 4 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Noah Fant also saw a lot of targets he only caught 2 passes for 29 yards but both were for touchdowns. Fant looks like he could be a match up nightmare for defenses this year. He had a similar seam rout that he scored the TD on later in the game where he took a big hit and dropped the pass. Matt Vandeberg had the other 2 catches for 19 yards. I also think the more Vandeberg gets to play in a game environment we will begin to see the old Matt. I was a little bit surprised we didn't see many of the younger receivers. The only guy's that got in were Devonte Young and Ihmir Smith Marsette who fumbled on a jet sweep.
The Rushing attack was a little bit shorthanded with two starting lineman sitting with injuries James Daniels and Boone Myers. Alaric Jackson made his first career start at left tackle and overall he looked very good. Ike Boettger had a tough day on Saturday allowing some sacks. The running game overall wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Wadley had 24 carries for 116 yards and Butler had 10 carries for 47 yards. This was one of the big questions I had in how much of a split would Wadley and Butler have. The first game it was mostly Wadley with Butler as more of the change of pace instead of the 50/50 split some expected. Akrum did do some things out of the slot but was never able to really get the ball in space. Look for Wadley to be more involved in the pass game against ISU this Weekend.
Defensively Iowa had a big test in front of them going against a quarterback with the talent of Josh Allen. The Linebackers were outstanding all 3 had double digit tackles in the game. Josey Jewell had 14 tackles with 2 sacks. What those stats tell me is the defensive line was doing their job allowing the linebackers to flow and not get blocked. Wyoming is a tough team to defend with the way they spread teams out, they threw a lot of short passes and tackling in space can be a challenge. On Saturday Iowa had a number of players make one on one tackles in space.
On the defensive line the Hawks put a lot of pressure on Allen. A number of guys played on the line I counted at least 8 Parker Hesse, Anthony Nelson, Cedrick Lattimore and Nathan Bazata were the starters. Rotating in were Matt Nelson, A.J. Epenesa, Sam Brinks and Brady Reiff. On 3rd down passing situations all 4 defensive ends stayed in to rush the passer. They didn't show a raider package but a similar package to the raider. Reiff also had maybe the most impressive play reading a screen pass and getting the interception.
The Secondary deserves a lot of praise for their performance as well. Joshua Jackson had a tremendous game coming up with a big deflection and also jumping a route for an interception. Michael Ojemudia also filled in nicely for the suspended Manny Rugamba. He did get beat on a deep ball after a fumble but the wide receiver bobbled the pass and couldn't bring it in. Jake Gervase looked really good at safety he made a nice play where he jumped in front of the receiver to knock the ball away. He also made a great tackle at the line of scrimmage to force a Wyoming punt. Miles Taylor had a little bit of trouble tackling in the 1st quarter but after that he was wrapping up better he had 8 tackles. We really didn't see a whole lot of nickle or dime formations and with Rugamba out that wasn't unexpected. Matt Hankins got in at the Nickle Corner on one play I remember. I would expect to see more nickle and dime with Ojemudia playing the slot when Rugamba returns as starter this weekend.
Special teams was a little bit of a mixed bag on Saturday. Iowa Punter Colton Rastetter punted 4 times for 153 yards with a long of 42. He only averaged a little over 38 yards per punt. It was his first game so their definitely could have been some nerves. Miguel Recinos has taken hold of the kicking job he made a 44 yard field goal and all 3 PATS.
Overall it was a good performance to start the season. Now its time to go on the road for the first time and it won't be easy. Iowa will travel to Ames to face Iowa State on Saturday Morning at 11 am. They say teams make their most improvement from week one to week 2 so I'm excited to see if some of the young players are more relaxed in their second game. Stanley now has a game under his belt so hopefully he will have more confidence in what he's seeing this week. Iowa should get James Daniels back which will be a big help for the offensive line. I'll put together a full preview of the Cy-Hawk Showdown sometime this week.
Thanks for reading and GO Hawks
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