IowaLawWasRight
Well-Known Member
The non-conference portion of the schedule is complete and the Hawks are 4-0 and ranked in the top 15 in the nation. While our opponents have not exactly been world beaters (none have beat a single power 5 team), the Hawks have unquestionably looked good and are a legit contender for a Big 10 West title. Here is how the Hawks have stacked up statistically with the rest of the league:
Scoring Defense: A (3rd in Big 10). The defense has been nearly perfect in 4 weeks. This is promising for weeks to come considering they have been ravaged by injuries in the secondary. If they continue to allow just 8.5 points per game, we are looking at a college football playoffs caliber defense.
Scoring Offense: B- (7th in Big 10). The Hawks have been incredible in red zone and time of possession, so the fact that they are just in the middle of the pack in scoring is a bit surprising. Maybe they have taken their foot off the gas a little at the ends of blow out wins, but then again quite a few Big 10 teams have been winning by blow outs, so there must be other reasons at play. Poor clock management has left points on the board and the rain game against ISU was a factor.
Passing Offense: C+ (8th in Big 10). The local media LOVE to talk about Iowa’s WR corp (because it’s been a while since we’ve had one), and Jon Miller is obsessed with touting Nate Stanley’s number of touchdown passes. However, when compared with the rest of the league, Iowa’s passing game is in the bottom half at 247 yards per game, and Stanley’s completion 64% completion percentage puts him 6th in the league (although it is improved over 59% last year). Gone are two of the best TEs in the Ferentz era, but they’ve been replaced by 5 very capable WRs. Maybe Ferentz will open up the offense a bit as the level of competition increases.
Rushing Offense: A- (4th in Big 10). Averaging 218 yrd per game, this year’s OLine and RBs have stepped it up to a level beyond years past (for example, Wadley’s 2017 team averaged only 139 yrds per game). Sargent, Young, and Goodson average 5.2 yards per carry, and I don’t think I could pick one who I’d rather be in the game over the others. It’s been a while since we’ve had such a consistent RB stable.
Sacks: F (13th in Big 10). I think the position group that Hawk fans were most excited about coming into the season was DE, with Epenesa coming back as a pre-season all-American and potential top 10 NFL draft pick. So the fact that the Hawks average just 1.3 sacks per game (more than only Rutgers) is cause for concern given that we haven’t played a decent QB yet. Without pressure on the QB, our young corners are going to be exposed.
Opponents 3rd Down Conversions: A (3rd in Big 10). A huge back breaker in years past has been the bend don’t break defense that will allow Purdue/Northwestern to dink and dunk and pick up first downs on 3rd and long all day. Not this year. The Hawks are holding defenses to just 26% on 3rd down conversions.
Punt Returns: D- (12th in Big 10). Despite having a wealth of skill position talent this year, Kirk continues to stubbornly persist with throwing a freshmen PR out there who has no idea when to field a punt, when to call a fair catch, and when to let a punt roll. This year, the Hawks have returned just 5 punts in 4 games despite pitching shutouts on defense and forcing opponents to punt all the time. This glaring weak point on an otherwise solid roster needs to be fixed, or we will continue to needlessly give away field position as Nico watches punts bounce past him and roll 15 yards or fair catch balls when there’s not a defender within 10 yards of him.
Net Punting: A+ (1st in Big 10). Ferentz family take notice: what a difference a grad transfer can make! After being the worst punting team in college football in 2017 and the worst in the Big 10 in 2018, Sleep Dalton has come in and averaged 46 yards per punt with a net of 43. The extra 10 yards per punt we are getting this year will mean the difference between winning 1 extra game before the season is done.
Penalties: A+ (1st in Big 10). One thing that we can usually count on in a Ferentz coached team is discipline. This year’s Hawks are one of the least penalized teams in the nation with just 26 yards per game. If they continue to play smart and disciplined, they are going to beat teams that have more talent on their rosters (i.e. Mich, Penn State, Wis).
Scoring Defense: A (3rd in Big 10). The defense has been nearly perfect in 4 weeks. This is promising for weeks to come considering they have been ravaged by injuries in the secondary. If they continue to allow just 8.5 points per game, we are looking at a college football playoffs caliber defense.
Scoring Offense: B- (7th in Big 10). The Hawks have been incredible in red zone and time of possession, so the fact that they are just in the middle of the pack in scoring is a bit surprising. Maybe they have taken their foot off the gas a little at the ends of blow out wins, but then again quite a few Big 10 teams have been winning by blow outs, so there must be other reasons at play. Poor clock management has left points on the board and the rain game against ISU was a factor.
Passing Offense: C+ (8th in Big 10). The local media LOVE to talk about Iowa’s WR corp (because it’s been a while since we’ve had one), and Jon Miller is obsessed with touting Nate Stanley’s number of touchdown passes. However, when compared with the rest of the league, Iowa’s passing game is in the bottom half at 247 yards per game, and Stanley’s completion 64% completion percentage puts him 6th in the league (although it is improved over 59% last year). Gone are two of the best TEs in the Ferentz era, but they’ve been replaced by 5 very capable WRs. Maybe Ferentz will open up the offense a bit as the level of competition increases.
Rushing Offense: A- (4th in Big 10). Averaging 218 yrd per game, this year’s OLine and RBs have stepped it up to a level beyond years past (for example, Wadley’s 2017 team averaged only 139 yrds per game). Sargent, Young, and Goodson average 5.2 yards per carry, and I don’t think I could pick one who I’d rather be in the game over the others. It’s been a while since we’ve had such a consistent RB stable.
Sacks: F (13th in Big 10). I think the position group that Hawk fans were most excited about coming into the season was DE, with Epenesa coming back as a pre-season all-American and potential top 10 NFL draft pick. So the fact that the Hawks average just 1.3 sacks per game (more than only Rutgers) is cause for concern given that we haven’t played a decent QB yet. Without pressure on the QB, our young corners are going to be exposed.
Opponents 3rd Down Conversions: A (3rd in Big 10). A huge back breaker in years past has been the bend don’t break defense that will allow Purdue/Northwestern to dink and dunk and pick up first downs on 3rd and long all day. Not this year. The Hawks are holding defenses to just 26% on 3rd down conversions.
Punt Returns: D- (12th in Big 10). Despite having a wealth of skill position talent this year, Kirk continues to stubbornly persist with throwing a freshmen PR out there who has no idea when to field a punt, when to call a fair catch, and when to let a punt roll. This year, the Hawks have returned just 5 punts in 4 games despite pitching shutouts on defense and forcing opponents to punt all the time. This glaring weak point on an otherwise solid roster needs to be fixed, or we will continue to needlessly give away field position as Nico watches punts bounce past him and roll 15 yards or fair catch balls when there’s not a defender within 10 yards of him.
Net Punting: A+ (1st in Big 10). Ferentz family take notice: what a difference a grad transfer can make! After being the worst punting team in college football in 2017 and the worst in the Big 10 in 2018, Sleep Dalton has come in and averaged 46 yards per punt with a net of 43. The extra 10 yards per punt we are getting this year will mean the difference between winning 1 extra game before the season is done.
Penalties: A+ (1st in Big 10). One thing that we can usually count on in a Ferentz coached team is discipline. This year’s Hawks are one of the least penalized teams in the nation with just 26 yards per game. If they continue to play smart and disciplined, they are going to beat teams that have more talent on their rosters (i.e. Mich, Penn State, Wis).
