Iowa Shutout by #7 Penn State 31 to 0 thoughts.

     Wow that wasn't what we were all hoping to see on Saturday Night. Iowa literally could do nothing on offense. Penn State ran 97 plays to Iowa's 33 just an embarrassing performance. Now I know Penn State is a terrific team, but 76 total yards of offense is completely unacceptable. I really don't know where the offense goes from here. 

    This was as brutal of a game as I can remember. Iowa had 4 first downs, 1/9 of 3rd down it was so ugly. Offensive Line was bad, even though Penn State had just 3 sacks they were in Cade's face all game. Early in the game Iowa did have some positive things happen. The fumble by Erick All felt big at the time now I don't know if the momentum changes much or the outcome changes much if Iowa can grab the lead on Saturday. 

    I'm just not sure how they can fix the offense. I really don't know who's at fault because it feels like Iowa does have some playmakers, they just can't get them the ball. 4 Turnovers on Saturday obviously didn't help. I think the tough thing is it just seems like everything has to be perfect on a play for it to work. The offense seems to focus so much on the tight ends which has worked in the past, but we are just too one dimensional. Currently Lachey and All have combined for 20 Receptions for 247 yards the rest of the wide receivers have 14 receptions for 148 yards. Iowa has to find a way to get the receivers more involved it's been this way for a while now. We need to run more rub routes to try and open up some space but to get to some of these passes the offensive line has to be able to protect the quarterback. Ironically, I liked the shovel pass we ran to the TE Erick All of course that was the play he fumbled. If the Offensive Line is going to struggle again, we have to get Cade out of the pocket and maybe that would be the plan if he was healthy. I also wonder if the Coaches hammer into the QB's head so much that we can't have turnovers that they don't take some chances down the field. 

    The Running game did absolutely nothing on Saturday averaging just 1.1 yards per carry. I don't know if it's just me or if others out there feel the same way does the zone running game just not work anymore. Anytime Iowa plays a good defense it just seems like the zone scheme doesn't work anymore. Iowa has tried a bit more gap running schemes, but I don't know. The Zone blocking scheme everyone has to be perfect and if one offensive lineman misses a block or can't get the reach block the play will be blown up. Also watching other teams, I see them running out of shotgun having a ton of success and not all of them have a running quarterback. Even when we put 3 tight ends on the field, we still got very little push in the running game. 

    The Defense did keep Iowa in it for a while, but turnovers were costly. The Run defense was a slight concern though as they gave up 215 yards on the ground. Also, in the second quarter when they needed a stop, they couldn't get off the field. Obviously, they played the entire game because the offense was going 3 and out all the time but there were some plays to be made by the defense to keep the score closer, but they couldn't get stops. 

    The Bottom line is the offense isn't likely to make wholesale changes during the season. It's probably going to be in the offseason potentially but who knows. The biggest key is the offensive line has to get better or it's going to be another year where the defense has to win us games with turnovers. They have been so up and down this year. Utah State we couldn't run the ball, at Iowa State we did run the ball okay, vs Western Michigan, best running performance in a while but now pass blocking. Saturday Night at Penn State they couldn't run or protect the quarterback. Now we flush this game and move on to Michigan State Saturday. Even with this loss the team still can win the West and do a lot of positive things this year.