Inside the Numbers: Iowa's Running Game in 2010

[JonDMiller]

Inside the Numbers: On the Run | Hawkeye Nation

Given this was the first weekend since the start of September where I didn't have a Saturday radio program, I was able to a) take in a lot of football and b) dig a little deeper into the 2010 Iowa season.

Here are some of the things I found when I turned the flashlight into the dark recesses of the basement...I found so many stats that I will break this up into a four or five part series, first looking at Iowa's running game.

Iowa scored 14 rushing touchdowns this year...on the whole, a pretty poor number. Adam Robinson had 10 of those through eight games, then came the concussion(s). But just two of those touchdowns came in road games, even worse. And just six of Iowa's 14 rushing touchdowns came in Big Ten play, which had to challenge for the lowest mark in the league....Iowa also scored just one rushing touchdown over its final four games, games they played with a 4th string right guard and Adam Robinson out for two of those games and seemingly 'not right' in the other two.

Iowa averaged 170 rushing yards per game at home to just 102 on the road...Iowa averaged 183 yards per game to just 84 in its losses...Iowa averaged 106 yards rushing per game against its FBS opponents that had a winning record...

Here were Iowa's average rushing totals by month:

September: 184
October: 134
November: 107

Clearly, Iowa's competition stepped up in October, as the Big Ten slate started.

Iowa had 412 rushing attempts in the regular season. 212 came in the first half, 200 came in the second half.

Iowa rushing attempts by quarter with the average yard per rush:

1st: 121/5.07
2nd: 91/4.18
3rd: 85/3.45
4th: 115/3.63

Iowa averaged more than 3.93 yards per carry in just ONE Big Ten game, when it averaged 5.34 yards per carry against Indiana.

Iowa ran the ball 210 times on 1st down, to 138 passing attempts on 1st down.

Iowa executed 120 plays in the redzone; 70 runs vs 50 passes.

Iowa had just nine running plays of 20 yards or more, compared to 11 in 2009, 20 in 2008, 11 in 2007 and 13 in 2006. People have asked me if I could have just one player 'back on the team' who was injured during the season, my immediate answer is Jewel Hampton. He is a home run hitting, and there were times this year where Iowa had created holes, but they closed quickly. Adam Robinson is one of the toughest football players I can remember putting on an Iowa jersey, but he is not quick to the hole.

I think we saw a little bit of this with Marcus Coker. Coker is quicker to the hole than is Robinson and we saw Coker shimmy through some holes and not have to spin out of the pile at the point of attack the way Robinson did. Coker also averaged 4.98 yards per carry to Robinson's 4.64. Hampton was faster and quicker than both Robinson and Coker, as was Brandon Wegher. Hampton averaged just 4.22 yards per carry in his paltry 27 attempts this season, but he was feeling his way back into the groove and would have reacquired his legs.

The loss of Hampton was a big, big deal to this team, especially late when Robinson was dinged up and Iowa had to grind its way on offense. If you have the personnel to get bigger chunks of yards, it takes pressure off of your offense.

Then again, in looking at Iowa's numbers in this category through the last five years, Iowa has not had breakaway personnel in any of these years save 2008. That year saw a very good Iowa offensive line opening up holes for Shonn Greene, and when Greene came out, Hampton came in and averaged more than 50 yards per carry.

Next up in this series, we'll take a look at Iowa's passing stats, on the whole and situationally.

 

[glnvntt]

Interesting information. I posted this on another site but though I would add it here too. The below information shows just how important our running game is to our success offensively and of course the overall team success. 2004 is really the only exception, but that was a very special year with the way Tate played. 2009 was also interesting because we were mildly effective in the running game overall but seemed to find a way to do it late in a few games to lock up some wins (PSU, Indiana, & GT). Our defense is pretty steady each year with a few exceptional years...defenses are helped by a consistent offense that eats up clock with a strong running game. Certainly, a good passing game helps the running game too so I may be simplifying things too much.

Iowa's offense is the lightning rod for most fans. The point I am making is that the philosophy is not the issue as much as the lack of execution. If your identity is a pro style, run first offense, you had better make sure you are successful and consistent with the running game. I am not sure what the issue...will leave it to the people smarter than I, whether it is schemes, OL play, play calling, etc.


2010 rushing yards - 1,704 PPG - 29.0 Opp. PPG - 16.4 7-5
2009 rushing yards - 1,485 PPG - 23.2 Opp. PPG - 15.4 11-2
2008 rushing yards - 2,453 PPG - 30.3 Opp. PPG - 13.0 9-4
2007 rushing yards - 1,515 PPG - 18.5 Opp. PPG - 18.8 6-6
2006 rushing yards - 1,865 PPG - 23.8 OPP. PPG - 20.7 6-7
2005 rushing yards - 2,096 PPG - 30.0 OPP. PPG - 20.0 7-5
2004 rushing yards - 871 PPG - 24.3 OPP. PPG - 17.6 10-2
2003 rushing yards - 2,241 PPG - 28.7 OPP. PPG - 16.2 10-3
2002 rushing yards - 2,784 PPG - 37.2 OPP. PPG - 19.7 11-2
2001 rushing yards - 2,104 PPG - 32.6 OPP. PPG - 21.5 7-5