For no good reason

W

Wundershozen

Well-Known Member
I got us winning 27-21. Don't ask why/how ...no one knows how when it comes down to Hawkeye football.

I guess if anything it's because we shouldn't win and these are the games we always surprise.
 




Other than the one brain fart drive that Iowa always seems to give up in the first half, the defense, including the secondary, was dominant against a very weak opponent on Saturday.

ISU was a bit sloppy against KState, but part of that was weather and field conditions. They have a good QB, OL, and some receivers. Iowa State will try not to play this game in a phone booth. To win, I think Iowa has to force turnovers early and shake Rocco's confidence so that they have to play more conservatively. We can win this game like 21-17. We don't win a track meet, and if Rocco's gets in rythym we will be in trouble.
 


NorthKCHawk said:
Other than the one brain fart drive that Iowa always seems to give up in the first half, the defense, including the secondary, was dominant against a very weak opponent on Saturday.

ISU was a bit sloppy against KState, but part of that was weather and field conditions. They have a good QB, OL, and some receivers. Iowa State will try not to play this game in a phone booth. To win, I think Iowa has to force turnovers early and shake Rocco's confidence so that they have to play more conservatively. We can win this game like 21-17. We don't win a track meet, and if Rocco's gets in rythym we will be in trouble.
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This is going to sound sarcastic but it isn't, our punter is a huge difference maker.

Being able to pin teams deep when things aren't going well gives a cushion to be able to figure out whatever isn't going well.
 


We know they're going to be looking to attack us through the air and we keep hearing about whether or not our secondary can rise up to the challenge, but the flipside that I'm not hearing a whole lot about is whether or not they can stop our running game. So much focus was put on our passing game last week that looked far from polished, but the dominance of our oline and our running game IMO stood out more then I anticipated, albeit against a weaker opponent. That said K State looked far from a world beater last week and ISU did exactly what they were supposed to against a weaker opponent. I'm just not sure after two games how good OSU really is or convinced that they're any better then we are. I think it's going to be another slugfest that could very easily end another one score game or come down to a final possession.
 


Fryowa said:
This is going to sound sarcastic but it isn't, our punter is a huge difference maker.

Being able to pin teams deep when things aren't going well gives a cushion to be able to figure out whatever isn't going well.
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This is a great point. Our punter and punt returner are a decided advantage for Iowa. If ISU is starting drives insider their 20, they will play conservatively and any turnovers will be killers. Turnovers and field position can dictate play calling and confidence. A lot. Iowa State does not want to play a field position game with Iowa. They lose that game. They need to move the ball and score early and often.
 


Fryowa said:
This game is gonna be fought through the air by ISU. If the Hawks secondary doesn't get things figured out this week it's gonna be a problem.
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IMO this will be a deciding factor in the game. Can we stop them on third and long? Can we limit big pass plays? A side note but related, can we get some sacks/hits on Becht and make him uncomfortable?

The defensive side isn't being talked about a lot but it should be. I'm not sold on the secondary yet. I hope they can show up and do well.
 




I think we'll need multiple turnovers and a handful of sacks in order to win this game. I just don't feel confident in our defensive backfield and the pressure up front is going to be a must to help them out.
 




While it might feel that this may get out of hand lets remember the nature of the rivalry. Games are generally incredibly close and come down to the wire. Sure there's the occasional blowout, but fact is we've had what looked to be great teams get beat by weaker ISU teams and we've done the same thing to them. Its the nature of the beast and generally its a nail biter. Not sure why this feels any different.

The way I see it is they're the ranked team playing at home. The pressure should be on them because of the expectations and perception that we're weak after week one. Could be detrimental if either team goes in thinking cake walk. And last I knew ISU hasn't exactly been protecting their home field in this series lately.
 


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