Howe: Hawkeyes Good Enough in Opener

It’s a well written article that reflected what we saw on the field. I think even life time fans like myself are getting tired of unexciting offensive football.

On Friday night I had dinner with my family and a friend and his wife. We got to talking about sports. He is a University of Washington fan. I was happy for him as his #10 team scored fifty plus points against Boise State. You suppose he is excited for the rest of the season?

Maybe things will improve moving forward but this was not a good team we played and why does this feel like Groundhog Day over and over again?
 
BigD said:
It’s a well written article that reflected what we saw on the field. I think even life time fans like myself are getting tired of unexciting offensive football.

On Friday night I had dinner with my family and a friend and his wife. We got to talking about sports. He is a University of Washington fan. I was happy for him as his #10 team scored fifty plus points against Boise State. You suppose he is excited for the rest of the season?

Maybe things will improve moving forward but this was not a good team we played and why does this feel like Groundhog Day over and over again?
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If the offense scores three touchdowns (and we win) I will be pleased next week, but I can't get excited about the season until I see an OL unit that looks competent.
 
I watched the Illinois vrs Toledo game and they lucked out and got the win. They did not look good either. That’s one we should win.
 
It appears that this year will confirm what we all already know. BF is not OC material and it is time to move on from this path. The Hawks as usual might win in spite of him, tbd, but they won't win leaning on the offense that is for sure, and never will under BF. Sometimes you just gotta face the facts - and move on.
 
Wow. The run game was underwhelming. At least I do not remember a pass behind the line of scrimmage. There was some pass protection here and there.
 
A small step forward on offense and a small step backwards on defense.

We have some better pieces on offense, but's it's obvious that it is going to take time for things to gel. As for the defense, I think most of us are underestimating the impact of the losses of Campbell, Benson and Van Ness. Our current LB core is more than adequate, but I doubt we will see the consistent domination of the LOS we are used to seeing. We got spoiled watching Campbell in particular blow plays up over and over and over. A special player.

The offensive line is the continued elephant in the room here. As per usual, Kirk pointed out how missed blocks can impact a play and there are things that can get "cleaned up." That has become a triggering narrative for the fans, and for good reason.

Coming into this season all we kept hearing is how the unit is finally mature, and how we finally had healthy competition across the line. What we saw yesterday was reasonable pass protection, but an absolutely atrocious run-blocking performance. That's after it was the major point of emphasis over the entire off-season.

I've haven't done the math, but I'm guessing we were around 2 yards/carry after the 1st quarter. The coaches can put all of the lipstick on that pig all they want, but after expecting a "statement game" from the line, that failure falls squarely at the feet of George Barnett (who's time at Iowa coincidentally(?) has coincided with some of the poorest line play we have seen under Kirk).
 
It's a "no shit" column for folks who follow the program pretty closely. That was the most common Iowa season-opener - Meh.

I feel more positive than negative about what I saw. The defensive breakdowns will be fixed (need to find pass rush, 1 sack, too much time for USU QB).

CM's accuracy is fun to watch. Hopefully the line can keep him upright and figure out run blocking.
 
I agree- CM is going to be worth the price of admission, so to speak. I love the gunslinger mentality, he played a lot better than his stats- some missed passes, maybe those decrease as they get acclimated.

WTF was that run game? It was pretty much non-existent. We have all said it before, that is strictly on the OC. One of the announcers went on about the 25 ppg being a distraction, and I cant say he is wrong.......but this isn't the first game Brian has called that had me scratching my head alot of the time..........

Defense was pretty mundane- maybe PP is saving something for ISU?? Higgins was a beast though........

Tory Taylor was "only" good, but Utah was getting some penetration there.......we are too used to seeing otherworldly at this position........but if I am special teams and taking anything from this game its that we need to protect than golden leg...........

I was pumped after the first two possessions, then I got bored. I almost wish we woulda kicked the FG instead of going for it on 4th.....at least it would have kept the scoring momentum going. Then again, cant say I am disappointed at the final score. If we are gonna hover at 25 PPG for the season, I just as soon end up at 24.9!
 
RobHowe said:
It's a "no shit" column for folks who follow the program pretty closely. That was the most common Iowa season-opener - Meh.

I feel more positive than negative about what I saw. The defensive breakdowns will be fixed (need to find pass rush, 1 sack, too much time for USU QB).

CM's accuracy is fun to watch. Hopefully the line can keep him upright and figure out run blocking.
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My seat at Kinnick is in Row 15, and I can tell you, the Utah St. D-line was shorter and probably 30 lbs lighter per man than Iowa's OLine, yet the Hawks were getting absolutely ZERO push off the LOS. It didn't matter if it was 1st down or 4th down -- on nearly every run play the LOS was neutralized.
I've been hesitant to be critical of the new(ish) OLine coach -- seems like a great guy. But this is NOT working. Most of the starters yesterday have been in the program 2-3 years, many have a full season or more under their belt, yet it was impossible to see any improvement vs a team they should have easily been pushing around. KF may be seeing "improvement", but the #s do not reflect that in the run game.
 
I was disappointed to see Iowa's defense being out-schemed in the 2nd half. The Aggies figured out if they came out with a 1 back set with their WRs set out wide, and Iowa was in their 4-2-5 defense, if they sent their lone RB in motion toward a sideline, 1 of Iowa's 2 LBs would run toward the sideline with the RB, thereby leaving only 1 LB to patrol the entire middle of the field hashmark to hashmark -- an almost impossible task. They had lots of success with that look the 2nd half, and you can bet $$ Iowa St. will take advantage of that look on Sat.
The lack of pass rush from the Hawks didn't concern me, as nearly all of Utah St's passes were quick throws to their WRs near the sideline -- no way to get a QB sack or even a hurry on those throws.
However, the other Iowa defensive concern I saw was when the Aggies would go 5 wide, Iowa moved #10 LB Jackson over near the sideline to guard a slot WR -- a complete and total mismatch that they repeatedly took advantage of in the 2nd half. Iowa's got to get some other option figured out, or the defense is gonna be 'bending' every game, all game.
If as a layperson I can see this stuff, you can bet opposing coaches see these + numerous others.
 
Grady said:
I was disappointed to see Iowa's defense being out-schemed in the 2nd half. The Aggies figured out if they came out with a 1 back set with their WRs set out wide, and Iowa was in their 4-2-5 defense, if they sent their lone RB in motion toward a sideline, 1 of Iowa's 2 LBs would run toward the sideline with the RB, thereby leaving only 1 LB to patrol the entire middle of the field hashmark to hashmark -- an almost impossible task. They had lots of success with that look the 2nd half, and you can bet $$ Iowa St. will take advantage of that look on Sat.
The lack of pass rush from the Hawks didn't concern me, as nearly all of Utah St's passes were quick throws to their WRs near the sideline -- no way to get a QB sack or even a hurry on those throws.
However, the other Iowa defensive concern I saw was when the Aggies would go 5 wide, Iowa moved #10 LB Jackson over near the sideline to guard a slot WR -- a complete and total mismatch that they repeatedly took advantage of in the 2nd half. Iowa's got to get some other option figured out, or the defense is gonna be 'bending' every game, all game.
If as a layperson I can see this stuff, you can bet opposing coaches see these + numerous others.
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If they were being out schemed it didn't really show on the scoreboard. USU scored a total of six points through three and a half quarters before the second team defense gave up the late touchdown drive, with the aid of a 15-yard penalty.
 
Grady said:
They had lots of success with that look the 2nd half, and you can bet $$ Iowa St. will take advantage of that look on Sat.
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Well, if you call a touchdown with a 1:36 left against Iowa's reserves in a then 18 point deficit a lot of success, USU had a lot of success

If you're willing to throw 48 times you will get a few consecutive completions. Those plays will look good, then the field starts to shrink, and the OL gets a little tired, and mistakes begin to happen. It happened again yesterday. It will continue to happen many more times this season.
 
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haydensly said:
If they were being out schemed it didn't really show on the scoreboard. USU scored a total of six points through three and a half quarters before the second team defense gave up the late touchdown drive, with the aid of a 15-yard penalty.
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It certainly showed up in total yards gained in the 2nd half. Before Iowa put in their 2nd team offense and defense 1/2 way through the 4th quarter, the Aggies outgained Iowa's offense roughly 140-110 in the 3rd qtr and first 1/2 of the 4th. And that wasn't because Iowa's playcalling got conservative -- that was first team Utah St. vs first team Iowa.
And considering how weak and limited the Aggie offense is, yes, that's cause for concern...it was a classic case not of the Jimmies & Joes, but Xs and Os.
 
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