Iowa-PSU: What Did We Learn?

JonDMiller

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
Some painful lessons this week...or harsh realities...or flukes? Let's take a look.

OFFENSIVE SPUTTERS: Is it an identity crisis? Kirk Ferentz doesn't think so. Did Iowa get too conservative in this game? At first blush, if felt that way but after watching the game again, there was a great lack of execution more often than not. I think a lot of us (me included) have seen the production this offense has had with the no huddle and shotgun looks over the past few weeks and we've overreacted.

Now, I am not saying that Iowa shouldn't use this wrinkle; they should. Rather, I believe we have been the equivalent of a man crawling through the desert finally reaching some oasis and gulping down a bunch of water. Iowa hasn't shown such levels of offensive potency through the air in many a year and we have all been excited about it.

However, this team does need to establish the run for the sake of its challenged defense. Could Iowa have attacked at the end of the first half with 1:42 to play and two timeouts? Sure, and I wish they would have. Did Iowa play it safe at times? Yes, they did and being on the road in front of over 100,000 fans probably led into that. Does this team need to be more aggressive? Perhaps, but as Kirk Ferentz said after the game, as he has said so many times, football is about execution.

Iowa didn't do enough of that in this game and shot itself in the foot a bit.

It's first turnover, a James Vandenberg sack and fumble, was a breakdown in blocking. Brad Rogers, seeing his first game action since last November, whiffed on a blitz pickup and that player got to Vandenberg and forced the fumble, giving Penn State a short porch which led to their first touchdown.

Scheme or no scheme, you don't make just one trip to the redzone without serious breakdowns in execution.

The offense rarely seemed on track or cohesive. You could say at the scheme didn't allow for that to happen and that Vandenberg is a better quarterback out of the shotgun and with a quicker pace. Penn State gave Iowa a few new defensive looks in this game and really had deep safeties.

I think Vandenberg and his offensive mates will learn from this game, from the looks they saw. We have seen this offense be potent; the next step is consistency.

Marcus Coker took every running back in this game; there was not a Damon Bullock or Jordan Canzeri sighting on offense. My guess is the staff was worried about their ability, or present lack thereof, to pick up rushers in pass protection. Then again, Iowa tried to test the edge with Coker, who does not have the speed or quickness to be successful on the edge.

THE DEFENSE IS WHAT IT IS: For the most part, I believe this to be true. I think Iowa can commit more resources to stopping the run and it will probably have to. That will put more pressure on the back end and coincidentally, this is the first game where the defense didn't give up a big play. Then again, when the opponent runs for more than 200 yards and their offense isn't doing all that much, you don't have to take many chances.

Before the season started, many of us expected this defense to struggle. Many of us knew there would be times where the Hawks would get gashed on the ground. I didn't expect them to tackle this poorly, however. If you are not going to be great at stopping the run or getting to the quarterback with your front four, you must make tackles when you have a chance; Iowa didn't do that on Saturday, something that has been a recurring theme.

Iowa dialed up some pressure on Saturday and it was effective; they will have to do more of it.

Northwestern is not a rushing juggernaut, but you won't have to be to get yards on Iowa this year. Penn State's offensive line has been middle of the road Big Ten this year but they looked elite on Saturday; they flat owned the line of scrimmage, something they had not done against decent competition this year.

This defense is what it is, personnel wise; they will be challenged in the front four, the linebackers are having to fend off offensive linemen, something we haven't seen for four or five years and not as much since the 2000 season.

Iowa is just going to have to be more aggressive stopping the run and rushing the passer and hope it's defensive backs can answer the bell.

PEAKS & VALLEYS: I am probably just as guilty as anyone of reading too much into the Pittsburgh fourth quarter comeback and the offensive dominance against ULM.

Perhaps this offense is not going to be as good as I thought it could be, or perhaps this game will serve as a final wake up call. Most people picked Iowa 3rd or 4th in the Legends, and that means you have an inconsistent team. So far, this team is inconsistent.

Did we put too much into the biggest comeback in school history? Did we take too much away from the dominance of a bad football team? That is probably the case.

Five games into the season, I still don't have a handle on what type of team this is going to be, what kind of record they will have and if they will find consistency on offense. They have the horses, so I am not giving up the hope that they can put things together and become a consistent unit.

Then again, I have to acknowledge that right now, 'hope' is the operative word. Maybe this team is caught up in a rebuilding time frame in the program. If that is what it turns out to be, I can certainly live with that as this program is not one that pushes for 10-win campaigns each year. It's just way too early to tell.

Four of Iowa's next five games are in Kinnick Stadium. That is the perfect time to get on track, the perfect time to play younger players more because it's easier to communicate in your stadium than it is on the road. The lone road contest in this stretch is at Minnesota, who is the worst team in the league.

So there is hope.
 
What did we learn? I think the better question is what adaptations will we make, and the answer is unfortunately... None.
 
I think most of us felt we had about an 8-win Iowa team on our hands. The Pitt comeback and the ULM game gave us the sense that this team now had a strong upside in the mostly favorable schedule and a very average looking Penn State team. Suddenly we allowed ourselves to think about more than 8 wins. Yesterday's game has us readjusting expectations, and it leaves us with more questions than answers. What we do know is that a 3-point offensive output won't get it done vs. the rest of the Big Ten schedule. We appear to be in game-to-game territory.
 
I agree with much of what you wrote, with one exception.
Iowa doesn't "have the horses". They just don't. They have some good players, is a more accurate statement in my opinion.
On offense, outside of McNutt, they don't have a single guy that can change a game.
Keenan Davis has been a big disappointment in my mind. I'm not raging on him, he's a good player, a solid player, but that's what he is.
Coker, same thing, good player, does a lot of good things, but not a game changer.

Here's the thing...
As much as I would like to see Iowa go shotgun, 3-4 wide, no huddle, it actually goes against football common sense. It likely leads to exposing their overmatched defense even more.

I think most of us would say that if you have a poor defense, slowing down the game and reducing possessions and time that defense is on the field is probably the best way to enhance your chances at winning.

Everyone has seen Iowa's version of "no huddle" now and it isn't exactly something that people are going to be real worried about. Blitz and play press with zone behind it. It took all of two weeks for everyone to adjust to what it took Iowa 10 years to develop.

I'll say it again...If Iowa wins 7 games with this group, that's a very solid season.
 
J, you are slipping into apologist mode. The millionaire club had 2 weeks to prepare for this game and had an epic fail. just once I'd like him to stand up and admit he and his staff had a terrible prep and donate their pay for the week to the general scholarship fund. Many of us alumni and parents are starting to chafe at the amount being spent on Melrose while tuition soars and financial aid drops.
 
JonDMiller said:
Some painful lessons this week...or harsh realities...or flukes? Let's take a look.

OFFENSIVE SPUTTERS: Is it an identity crisis? Kirk Ferentz doesn't think so. Did Iowa get too conservative in this game? At first blush, if felt that way but after watching the game again, there was a great lack of execution more often than not. I think a lot of us (me included) have seen the production this offense has had with the no huddle and shotgun looks over the past few weeks and we've overreacted.

Now, I am not saying that Iowa shouldn't use this wrinkle; they should. Rather, I believe we have been the equivalent of a man crawling through the desert finally reaching some oasis and gulping down a bunch of water. Iowa hasn't shown such levels of offensive potency through the air in many a year and we have all been excited about it.

However, this team does need to establish the run for the sake of its challenged defense. Could Iowa have attacked at the end of the first half with 1:42 to play and two timeouts? Sure, and I wish they would have. Did Iowa play it safe at times? Yes, they did and being on the road in front of over 100,000 fans probably led into that. Does this team need to be more aggressive? Perhaps, but as Kirk Ferentz said after the game, as he has said so many times, football is about execution.

Iowa didn't do enough of that in this game and shot itself in the foot a bit.

It's first turnover, a James Vandenberg sack and fumble, was a breakdown in blocking. Brad Rogers, seeing his first game action since last November, whiffed on a blitz pickup and that player got to Vandenberg and forced the fumble, giving Penn State a short porch which led to their first touchdown.

Scheme or no scheme, you don't make just one trip to the redzone without serious breakdowns in execution.

The offense rarely seemed on track or cohesive. You could say at the scheme didn't allow for that to happen and that Vandenberg is a better quarterback out of the shotgun and with a quicker pace. Penn State gave Iowa a few new defensive looks in this game and really had deep safeties.

I think Vandenberg and his offensive mates will learn from this game, from the looks they saw. We have seen this offense be potent; the next step is consistency.

Marcus Coker took every running back in this game; there was not a Damon Bullock or Jordan Canzeri sighting on offense. My guess is the staff was worried about their ability, or present lack thereof, to pick up rushers in pass protection. Then again, Iowa tried to test the edge with Coker, who does not have the speed or quickness to be successful on the edge.

THE DEFENSE IS WHAT IT IS: For the most part, I believe this to be true. I think Iowa can commit more resources to stopping the run and it will probably have to. That will put more pressure on the back end and coincidentally, this is the first game where the defense didn't give up a big play. Then again, when the opponent runs for more than 200 yards and their offense isn't doing all that much, you don't have to take many chances.

Before the season started, many of us expected this defense to struggle. Many of us knew there would be times where the Hawks would get gashed on the ground. I didn't expect them to tackle this poorly, however. If you are not going to be great at stopping the run or getting to the quarterback with your front four, you must make tackles when you have a chance; Iowa didn't do that on Saturday, something that has been a recurring theme.

Iowa dialed up some pressure on Saturday and it was effective; they will have to do more of it.

Northwestern is not a rushing juggernaut, but you won't have to be to get yards on Iowa this year. Penn State's offensive line has been middle of the road Big Ten this year but they looked elite on Saturday; they flat owned the line of scrimmage, something they had not done against decent competition this year.

This defense is what it is, personnel wise; they will be challenged in the front four, the linebackers are having to fend off offensive linemen, something we haven't seen for four or five years and not as much since the 2000 season.

Iowa is just going to have to be more aggressive stopping the run and rushing the passer and hope it's defensive backs can answer the bell.

PEAKS & VALLEYS: I am probably just as guilty as anyone of reading too much into the Pittsburgh fourth quarter comeback and the offensive dominance against ULM.

Perhaps this offense is not going to be as good as I thought it could be, or perhaps this game will serve as a final wake up call. Most people picked Iowa 3rd or 4th in the Legends, and that means you have an inconsistent team. So far, this team is inconsistent.

Did we put too much into the biggest comeback in school history? Did we take too much away from the dominance of a bad football team? That is probably the case.

Five games into the season, I still don't have a handle on what type of team this is going to be, what kind of record they will have and if they will find consistency on offense. They have the horses, so I am not giving up the hope that they can put things together and become a consistent unit.

Then again, I have to acknowledge that right now, 'hope' is the operative word. Maybe this team is caught up in a rebuilding time frame in the program. If that is what it turns out to be, I can certainly live with that as this program is not one that pushes for 10-win campaigns each year. It's just way too early to tell.

Four of Iowa's next five games are in Kinnick Stadium. That is the perfect time to get on track, the perfect time to play younger players more because it's easier to communicate in your stadium than it is on the road. The lone road contest in this stretch is at Minnesota, who is the worst team in the league.

So there is hope.
Click to expand...

Yes there is. Still a lot of games left.

However, I caution you to pin your hopes on Iowa getting more aggressive on defense.

Iowa's best position group is their WR, which would suggest being more aggressive on offense, yet they won't, unless they are absolutely forced to. Very little chance Kirk will expose a weak defensive team more but taking more chances.
 
Jon,

And despite all of the things you mentioned, we still could have won this game. I guess I am not mad that we lost but how we lost. This was a loss against a team we could have beat especially after having 2 weeks to prepare. It appeared yet again, our opponent knew everything we were going to do where we were not prepared for anything they did.

For these reasons, I feel the coaching staff needs to take some accountability in the loss and not be so smug and sarcastic when asked relevant questions during post game press conferences. I will say that I did not listen to the whole post game press conference but just am hearing about some of Ferentz's remarks about identity crisis made my blood boil. I watch a fair amount of college football and just see some other teams being so much more aggressive than we are and I just want our coaching staff to let our players go out and make plays instead of always feeling like everything is so controlled by KOK and KF.
 
VHSHAWK said:
J, you are slipping into apologist mode. The millionaire club had 2 weeks to prepare for this game and had an epic fail. just once I'd like him to stand up and admit he and his staff had a terrible prep and donate their pay for the week to the general scholarship fund. Many of us alumni and parents are starting to chafe at the amount being spent on Melrose while tuition soars and financial aid drops.
Click to expand...

This financial nonsense is such a joke. Iowa football makes money. Every time you try to link this idiocy you just look like a fool- not just you but everyone who does it, but you especially because this doesn't belong in this thread.
 
The attitude that KF doesn't need to answer some tough questions points to him getting to the point where he thinks he answers to no one, which leads one to believe his boss needs to chew his butt out. I work with rich and poor in my job and the rich have the sense of entitlement that shames the worst welfare recipient. KF is starting to show it in spades.
 
What did we learn??????????? We learned that we are a very bad football team with a mediocre coaching staff....... We learned we are in the catagory of Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana, et al.
 
bxy said:
What did we learn??????????? We learned that we are a very bad football team with a mediocre coaching staff....... We learned we are in the catagory of Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana, et al.
Click to expand...

Minnesota is likely the worst BCS team, ever. We are not Minnesota.
 
I say Iowa needs to grow a pair and man up! I'm tired of this we expect to much from our football team. No team in the SEC thinks this way so why should we? Why do we settle for mediocrity. Why should we bring down our expectations of our team? It's pathetic. If you were a mediocre manager in a business and making 3+ million your *** would be toast in no time. This is a business people and the floor we walk on is crumbling below our feet! I at least think Iowa should be competing in the B1G championship game every year no matter what. If we can't share this as a common goal then we need a new staff. They need to be doing everything possible to make this happen. Instead I see them hindering it at every chance. Iowa is embarrassing this year and it's far from over. What happens when we fall to a Minnesota or an Indiana at home this year. Are we just to turn our shoulder and look the other way again and hope for another crappy bowl game again. I want to be competing in a BCS bowl game more years than not and have possible BCS Championship shots.

Sincerely,
A truly disgruntled Hawkeye fan
 
I think we learned that we have been spoiled.Nobody wants to see our Hawkeyes struggle but we do have a lot of new faces starting this year.It's harder for us to get the recruits to come to Iowa and the ones we get are usually because there home state passed on them.Lets give them a chance to learn from this game and hope we can put some big numbers up against Northwestern because if we don't I think we will lose this game also.Bottom line is we aren't as good as we all would like to believe.
 
I think we learned we are a mediocre to bad football team this year. We have bad line play on both sides of the ball, a shaky qb, shaky special teams, mediocre RBs, coaches with an identity crisis that would prefer to play at it close to the vest if they can (ole conservative ball) but have to open it up for obvious reasons.....the talent is in the wide receivers.

The Penn St coaching staff deserves an A+ for their defensive game planning. JVB crumbles under blitzs packages and if Sweatervest would have done this in the Shoe in 09, we would have had more concerns going into the season at QB.

Jon is right though in that the schedule gives us hope. Realistically speaking, our best bet is trying to reach a bowl game at this point in time. The schedule can give us this with just a modest improvement in performance. Also, this will probably lead to more false hope (band-aid) for next year when we lose even more key players.

2011-2013 will be mediocre years by our standards in Iowa Football. Could be better, could be much worse for sure.
 
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We learned that we suck. There is no other way to describe it.

We learned that our coaches decided to rest on their laurels rather than on evidence from the first 4 games.

We learned that our defensive front 7 is the worst of the decade, even more infuriating due to the fact that it is filled with seniors.

We also learned as a fan base that the internet hype surrounding our players is beyond moronic. A redshirt freshmen goes into the horseshoe and goes to overtime, largely because of a kickoff return for a TD and is crowned.

A RB breaks off 2 long runs in a bowl game and is a Heisman candidate.

Who is the walk on that is going to become a serviceable Big 10 player that we are going to latch onto next?

We learned that not being able to wait "until Doyle gets a hold of him" means getting pushed around massively out muscled.

We suck too.
 
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nothing can be taken for granted.

This offense will not just show up and score 24. Every first down should be celebrated. (no sarcsm here) Call it scheme, execution whatever in the end it is, and has been for quite some time - ineffective, not getting the job done. The response of going to review film and work on it is about 1 1/2 years old.

This defense cannot get off the field on 3rd downs. This defense got the ball run down their throat by a team most would say -not a juggernaut rushing team.
A little off topic- what is so frustrating is that it is an expected shortcoming with the squad this year. However, it was the same last year with all the NFL bound players and other experienced players. So when I hear the reply- well we had to replace alot of quality players- that describes this year, but also acknowledges what a complete lost oppurtunity last year was.
 
I would also like to add that Iowa & the entire B1G needs to decide if they want to win or continue to stand on their moral high ground in regards to signing players.

Iowa continues to sign classes that range from about 18-22 per season. Yet of those 20 or so players, typically 12-15 make it to the end of eligibility. So anyone that wants to know why there are 10 walk-ons on the two deep, this is why.

Start signing classes that actually are representative of reality. This moral BS that we have 20 scholarships so we sign 20 guys is exactly that...BS. The entire B1G plays by this moronic belief and it shows. The B1G is the worst it has EVER been and its not even close.

The B1G actually has an advantage in the signing of players today, as the SEC self instituted a 25 signee rule this year. B1G schools can sign up to 28 per year.

Bottom line is that the B1G needs to decide if they want to win or not. My guess is they continue to stand on what they think is some type of moral high ground and nothing changes. Only the problem with that will be the continued demise of the B1G conference competitively. A decade ago a Michigan loss to Appy St was viewed as an impossibility, and now the B1G consistently loses to FCS type programs, gets handled in bowl games against SEC programs and is viewed as an inferior product by everyone outside of B1G country. Money and fan following will likely keep the B1G from ever becoming the Ivy League but reality is they're headed in that direction.

I once stood on the other side of this issue, viewing it as "the right thing to do".
I no longer believe that.
There is no reason that Iowa should not sign 25-28 players every year. NONE.
Sign 20 and end up with 13-15 players that A) actually can play at a B1G level & B) actually remain in the program thru their eligibility. Or sign 25 and end up with 18-20 that make it thru to the end. That difference in 5 players per season is EXACTLY why the SEC has dominated college football recently.
 
We can talk offense / defense all we want.... Recent results are more predictable by HOME or AWAY. @ Penn St., @ Iowa St., @ Minn., @ NW, @ Ind (win, by a drop catch),@ Ariz St., @ Ohio St. (OT)

Eliminate neutral site bowl games and analyze Big 10 teams (throw out the best (OSU) and the worst (Ind.) over the last 4-5 years) and we'll find it is still very tough for 18-22 yr olds to win in hostile environments.

For the Hawks, almost everyone of these road games is winnable or loseable after 52 minutes of play (like yesterday)... learning to win on the road in the Big 10 is tough!
 
What did we learn? That the Hawk's immediate future is very scary. Clearly no other back besides Coker is good enough to play NCAA football. Because it would make no sense to keep a big plodder in the game when we needed to make quick yards.

Just like last year on the Oline, when MacMillan went down. There is no quality depth, because the Oline has broken down consistently when he went out - Boselli, Scherff, Donnell, etc. Clearly none are B1G caliber.

Finally, we realize that Iowa will not be able to field a DL next year, because the only guys playing are 5th year seniors that can't even slow down a ONE-DIMENSIONAL team. Clearly no younger player is good enough to play B1G ball.

Oh yeah, and the TE's...

(PS, read for hyperbole.)
 
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