First game surprises

L

longtimer

Well-Known Member
The fact that Iowa struggled especially in first half was not a surprise. Of course its first game and even more typical of Ferentz teams. Sometimes I think he is like a basketball coach who just doesn't want to peak early.
QB. I thought their Freshman would really struggle but played very well. Stanley was kind of as usual. Played pretty well made some good throws and missed some especially over 15 yard type throws. Not sure why so many think he can play at the next level if he doesn't improve in that area
Offensive line was impressive as I thought but especially so with all the new/young players that were in there.
RBs I really like our RBs and I thought they were maybe a bit better than I expected. Of course they got some blocking. The only thing is when is the last time we broke one for 70? Goodsen may be the answer there
WRs didnt get open in the first half but picked it up in the second. Im always surprised when WRs play well for us and they did. I thought we got a couple of great catches from Tight end. Not surprised I guess

DL Played surprisingly mediocre I thought. Sure They got the ball out quick but certainly didnt dominate a MAC offensive line which I thought they would
LBs no real big surprise I dont think we are strong at LB Colbert played well
DBs surprised at how easily they got beat. Better improve a lot before next week

Kicking About what I expected for Kick offs. No real long FGs Punted once and wasn't pretty. No surprise but hopeful it isn't the start of another long year kicking the ball

Overall game wasn't a big surprise with the exception of their Freshman QB and our Defensive Line play

























qb
 
Goodson is going to be the only real threat we have to break a long run. He looks like he is playing in fast forward compared to Sargent, and Young. Quick feet, and hits the hole hard, and makes people miss. Sargent runs very hard, but misses holes, and lacks speed. That screen he caught should have been a td, but was caught from behind by a safety. Teams will play within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage and stuff our run game, and play the receivers man up because Stanley is inaccurate over 5 yards.
 
Our red zone offense should be 3 jump balls in a row to Smith. The guy goes up and gets the ball better than any Hawk I remember. He caught all 3 jump balls last night, but once was pushed out of bounds.
 
Caddy said:
Goodson is going to be the only real threat we have to break a long run. He looks like he is playing in fast forward compared to Sargent, and Young. Quick feet, and hits the hole hard, and makes people miss. Sargent runs very hard, but misses holes, and lacks speed. That screen he caught should have been a td, but was caught from behind by a safety. Teams will play within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage and stuff our run game, and play the receivers man up because Stanley is inaccurate over 5 yards.
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This thread is about first game surprises.

This is copy-and-paste stuff for you.
 
I think what the coaching staff was doing in the first half was, treating the game like a scrimmage. They had a lot of looks they wanted to try, a lot of players they wanted to see in a game. Having said that, give Miami (O) a lot of credit, aside from their penalties, they played hard. They were well coached. They were out manned in almost any position yet they didn't quit.

AJ was double teamed a lot of the game, but he did what he was supposed to. He contained his side, when he wasn't double teamed he forced the plays to the middle or pushed his guy into the pocket disrupting the QB. He is fun to watch even when he's not making sacks.

Mikahl Sargent emerged as the go to guy. Catching passes. Getting yards. He put an exclamation point on his status as the number one back. The youngster Tyler Goodson showed us a glimpse of this abilities.It adds some clarity to the Henry Geil situation.

There is a lot of positives in this game. Plenty of potential stars in the making. Lot of things to work on, but a lot of positives. Overall good opening game.
 
PCHawk said:
Our red zone offense should be 3 jump balls in a row to Smith. The guy goes up and gets the ball better than any Hawk I remember. He caught all 3 jump balls last night, but once was pushed out of bounds.
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The best at it since Marvin. That dude had hands the size of manhole covers and would catch anything in the same zipcode.
 
HawkeyeDenis said:

I think what the coaching staff was doing in the first half was, treating the game like a scrimmage. .
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I highly doubt that as that thinking can creep to the players and get you beat. The hawks were trying hard from the opening whistle and the coaches were trying a lot on offense.

I wish the coaches would have tried running the ball a little more in the first half to pound Miami and get one more score as the hawks were averaging pretty darn good in YPC.
 
Toren Young is the solid number two running back and he and Sargent give us an above avg 1-2 punch. Later 2nd half Goodson and Sargent with more speed could carve up a tired defense. But we will need Young to get some tough yards and soften up the opponent each game.
 
Very surprised they put Goodson, almost exclusively fir the long 4th quarter drive. The game wasn’t really over yet up by 10. I think it means we’ll see a lot of him this year and he must be very talented.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
Where was IKM? 0 carries. Transfer portal?
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He came in late. Was in there in a 2rb shotgun look with Goodsen and served as a lead blocker. Would be cool to see more of that look, as IKM and Goodson out of the backfield creates mismatches.

But yeah, he's apparently been passed by Goodson, won't likely see much action unless a couple people get hurt, and I would not be surprised to see him follow Geil out the door next Spring.
 
Surprise? The # of offensive linemen who played during the game, and I don't mean garbage time. I've been attending Iowa games for 30+ years, and I've never seen a game when so many different O-linemen got a look. Triggered by Jackson's injury, obviously, but wow, there was a stretch in the 2nd half when every time the offense came onto the field there were new O-linemen, until the end where they went back to the original changes. The following guys played meaningful snaps by my count:
Starters: #77, #68, #65, #66, #73
Then: #64, #71, #73, + a couple other guys...I couldn't keep up!
#73 Ince (Redshirt Fr.) looks like a dude. At one point he was playing left guard next to Wirfs and he looked the part...my guess is they're maybe grooming him to take Jackson's spot at LT next year.
 
Grady said:
Surprise? The # of offensive linemen who played during the game, and I don't mean garbage time. I've been attending Iowa games for 30+ years, and I've never seen a game when so many different O-linemen got a look. Triggered by Jackson's injury, obviously, but wow, there was a stretch in the 2nd half when every time the offense came onto the field there were new O-linemen, until the end where they went back to the original changes. The following guys played meaningful snaps by my count:
Starters: #77, #68, #65, #66, #73
Then: #64, #71, #73, + a couple other guys...I couldn't keep up!
#73 Ince (Redshirt Fr.) looks like a dude. At one point he was playing left guard next to Wirfs and he looked the part...my guess is they're maybe grooming him to take Jackson's spot at LT next year.
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Agreed.

Probably in large part due to the new 4-game/redshirt rule. Play em early, see who sticks, who can contribute, who needs to wait.

Excellent rule tailor-made for Iowa's developmental program.
 
I was especially surprised that the announcers said nothing about Gabbert being a true freshman. Really surprised. Like really, especially surprised.
 
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