In order to win ...

A

AFAcademyHawk

Well-Known Member
Does the offense really need to open it up that much tomorrow?

I don't think so ... yes, I realize that our offense has been the cause of basically all of the Kirk Ferentz losses to NW. But in my opinion, last year' s loss came about because Stanzi tried to open it up and go for the long ball and ended up throwing a momentum shifting INT. The prior year, Stanzi got greedy and threw an interception ... then we were pinned deep in our territory on the next possession .. then Stanzi fumbled and got injured ... then on the very next possession, KOK dials up a long ball for Vandy to throw (was it even the first play?), and he throws an interception. One NW TD later, and the game is over.

We have had trouble running the ball against NW, especially in the second half ... but for god's sake, Army beat a Persa-less NW this season with only 6 yards of passing THE ENTIRE GAME. Army is not very good, trust me. Certainly, NW is a much better team with Persa than without him, but Colter's a pretty darn good QB as well.

I think it comes down to the turnover battle tomorrow ... yes, I'd like to see the Hawkeyes capitalize on big-play opportunities. But I really think they can play a FAIRLY conservative style of offense and be effective against NW if they don't turn the ball over.

As far as defense goes, I think Jon is right now--this defense isn't nearly at the level of last year's, and that defense had a nightmare defending Dan Persa in the second half. Have to create pressure, have to get turnovers.
 
Yes. Iowa will have to open it up in order to win. This is not a year in where Iowa can play conservative like you say and the reason is because of our Defense. This Defense will allow points.

IMO Iowa will need at a minimum 27 points to win.
 
NW gameplan:
Defense: 8 in the box, press the WR's & blitz LB's.
Offense: 40-50 pass attempts, 99% of which within 8yds of the line of scrimmage targeting the receiver they scheme by formation that matches up with a LB or S.

Iowa gameplan:
Offense: Run directly into the 8-9 man fronts. Pass 100% of the time out of shotgun. Run slow developing patterns when its obvious the blitz is coming.
Defense: Give 7-8yd cushion to WR's. Worry more about "contain" than, you know, actually tackling anyone. Cover slot WR's with LB's, that we know are going to run crossing routes.

So pretty much what it always is.
 
I don't even know anymore. The hawks will probably have 100 total yards but score 3 defensive TDs and lose on a safety. I have no idea what going to happen each week.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Yes. Iowa will have to open it up in order to win. This is not a year in where Iowa can play conservative like you say and the reason is because of our Defense. This Defense will allow points.

IMO Iowa will need at a minimum 27 points to win.
Click to expand...

Iowa can score 30 on their poor D without using the no huddle
 
treychase said:
NW gameplan:
Defense: 8 in the box, press the WR's & blitz LB's.
Offense: 40-50 pass attempts, 99% of which within 8yds of the line of scrimmage targeting the receiver they scheme by formation that matches up with a LB or S.

Iowa gameplan:
Offense: Run directly into the 8-9 man fronts. Pass 100% of the time out of shotgun. Run slow developing patterns when its obvious the blitz is coming.
Defense: Give 7-8yd cushion to WR's. Worry more about "contain" than, you know, actually tackling anyone. Cover slot WR's with LB's, that we know are going to run crossing routes.

So pretty much what it always is.
Click to expand...

Ding-ding, we have a winner! KF postgame will include the players did not execute and have a few sarcastic remarks for the media.
 
treychase said:
NW gameplan:
Defense: 8 in the box, press the WR's & blitz LB's.
Offense: 40-50 pass attempts, 99% of which within 8yds of the line of scrimmage targeting the receiver they scheme by formation that matches up with a LB or S.

Iowa gameplan:
Offense: Run directly into the 8-9 man fronts. Pass 100% of the time out of shotgun. Run slow developing patterns when its obvious the blitz is coming.
Defense: Give 7-8yd cushion to WR's. Worry more about "contain" than, you know, actually tackling anyone. Cover slot WR's with LB's, that we know are going to run crossing routes.

So pretty much what it always is.
Click to expand...

That is what I expect. NW will sell out against the run and throw the kitchen sink at our QB because they KNOW Kirk will keep trying to run the ball.

Iowa needs to really mix things up....quick passes and SCREENS to help diffuse the blitz...throw on first down...throw downfield several times. Attack...attack...attack. If they get a lead...attack some more.

On defense....try a little man to man tight coverage. Don't play so far off the receivers. MOre nickel and dime packages so we don't have LB's covering wide receivers. Our d line needs to somehow put pressure on Persa...and don't let him break contain.

If Kirk thinks the Hawks can win a 17-14 game...he is sadly mistaken. Unfortunately I feel Fitzgerald will outcoach Kirk once again.
 
busabus114 said:
How much do we see the no huddle? I would say 50/50...but i think we can score at will either way barring turnovers. Northwestern has a horrible defense. Horrible
Click to expand...

the concern from me is that we won't see the no huddle as KF wants to keep the ball away from Persa. Establish the run, establish the run, establish, etc.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
the concern from me is that we won't see the no huddle as KF wants to keep the ball away from Persa. Establish the run, establish the run, establish, etc.
Click to expand...

If KF decides to do that we will still win. It might actually be the best strategy assuming Iowa can avg 5+ ypc

Our D isnt good but we will hold them to a few fg when they get in the red zone. We will score TDs and that will be the difference
 
Why are people so sure that No huddle will solve so many of our problems? No huddle isn't going to help us win a damned thing.
 
busabus114 said:
If KF decides to do that we will still win. It might actually be the best strategy assuming Iowa can avg 5+ ypc

Our D isnt good but we will hold them to a few fg when they get in the red zone. We will score TDs and that will be the difference
Click to expand...

That's a pretty demanding assumption for most teams, and Iowa is averaging 3.7 ypc this year. See 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes Statistics | College Football at Sports-Reference.com.

Not saying it's impossible, but it's going to take some long runs we didn't break against even TTU and ULM. Couple that with NW's traditional run-blitzing vs. Iowa, and I would think 5+ ypc is unlikely.

That said, I agree with the OP that we don't NEED to open up and go up-tempo. Just need to be efficient as far as points per possession whether it takes 1 play or 20 each time.
 
going to have to get the other RB's involved if we're going to try for those stretch plays. that's not coker's strength, and it just makes me cringe when we try it. use him on the inside stuff and use the quick guys for screens and all that.

i highly doubt we "open it up" unless we get down a bunch, which i don't see happening. we might just be in nickel the whole game if Morris and Nardo are out. that way we can get Lowry out there and basically have JB be the extra LB
 
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