IowaLawWasRight
Well-Known Member
A 49-24 win against a blue blood to cap off a 10 win season is the best way to ease the pain of going the next 8 months without Hawkeye football. While the refs randying around didn't do Iowa any favors, having USC down to their 3rd string QB was a huge break. Perhaps most encouraging is who stepped up to make the win happen. In particular:
1. Brian Ferentz - It's a rare day when IowaLaw applauds the coach's son for a job well done, but today's game plan (worst first play of the game ever aside) was impeccable. The misdirection, play calls against tendency, and aggressive offense was exactly what was needed to beat a team with superior athletes. Where were those jet sweeps to Smith-Marsette and Tracy and pitches to Goodson all year? No audibles to a run up the middle with 8 men in the box. The Hawks DO have the horses to score points (contrary to posters making excuses in the past that Iowa simply "doesn't want to score a bunch of points"). Let's build on this as a blue print for future play calling
2. Stanley - Nate was still Nate, but he played to the best of his abilities. His accuracy was as good as we've seen, 18/27 for 213, but his yards were mediocre (Slovis threw for 260 playing just 1/2 the game). He showed the cannon for an arm that he's had all along, zipping balls the way only an NFL bound QB can. His play clock unawareness remained clueless (2 more unexplainable delay of games). He fumbled, and had some bad misses to open receivers, but all in all, Nate put the ball where it needed to go against a ranked opponent. He gained the tough yards on sneaks that sealed the game. Three bowl wins is not a feat that many QBs in our lifetime will achieve, so let's give Nate his due. He's going to be near the top of Iowa's record books for decades to come.
3. Running game - I'm not sure Iowa has had a back that people love so much who produced so little. We all see the potential in Goodson, but 18 rushes for 48 yards is not one for the highlight reel. Is it all on the OL? Probably not. Is it the scheme? Maybe. I would have loved to see more of what Young could do this year (just 4 rushes for 18 yards today). Like Derrick Mitchell in years past, he led the team in yards per carry in pretty much every game he saw touches, but Kirk never seemed to want him to play. My guess is either Young or Sargent bids farewell, as there just aren't enough carries to go around.
4. Smith-Marsette - USC may have had the 2018 recruiting class's #1 overall recruit in WR St. Brown (9 catches for 163 yards), and a first round draft pick WR, but Smith-Marsette was the best offensive player on the field today. How arrogant to kick to him over and over. On offense, his 46 yards receiving and 15 yards aren't eye popping, but his 2 offensive touchdowns in the first half give hope that, for the first time since DJK and McNutt, the Hawks could have one of the best WR corps in the Big 10 next year (assuming Martin is playing over Ragaini, who had 2 more drops today). We are going to need elite WRs to help a QB who didn't throw a meaningful pass all year.
5. LaPorta - 6 targets, 6 catches, 44 yards. That's a solid stat line for a senior tight end. LaPorta is an 18 yr old true freshmen who didn't have a pass thrown to him until the second half of the season. This guy will be starting next year, and winning the Macky Award as a junior. He's got a knack for getting open and has better hands than most of the WRs on the team. He's going to put on 5 pounds between now and fall, so the sky is the limit.
6. AJE - It's been fun to watch the only 5 star recruit in decades. While I'd love to see him return next year, and he's just the kind of level headed star that might consider it, I think we've seen the last of AJE in a Hawkeye uniform. Two years in a row with double digit, the first to accomplish that since Matt Roth, and plenty more QB disruptions that would never show up on the stat sheet. Today, he had 4 tackles, with 2.5 sacks. While AJE was a legacy recruit, perhaps it's time for the Hawks to start mining Polynesian talent more often. The rosters at the top Pac 12 schools like USC, Washington, and Utah are loaded with them, and if AJE loved his time at Iowa, surely others could follow.
1. Brian Ferentz - It's a rare day when IowaLaw applauds the coach's son for a job well done, but today's game plan (worst first play of the game ever aside) was impeccable. The misdirection, play calls against tendency, and aggressive offense was exactly what was needed to beat a team with superior athletes. Where were those jet sweeps to Smith-Marsette and Tracy and pitches to Goodson all year? No audibles to a run up the middle with 8 men in the box. The Hawks DO have the horses to score points (contrary to posters making excuses in the past that Iowa simply "doesn't want to score a bunch of points"). Let's build on this as a blue print for future play calling
2. Stanley - Nate was still Nate, but he played to the best of his abilities. His accuracy was as good as we've seen, 18/27 for 213, but his yards were mediocre (Slovis threw for 260 playing just 1/2 the game). He showed the cannon for an arm that he's had all along, zipping balls the way only an NFL bound QB can. His play clock unawareness remained clueless (2 more unexplainable delay of games). He fumbled, and had some bad misses to open receivers, but all in all, Nate put the ball where it needed to go against a ranked opponent. He gained the tough yards on sneaks that sealed the game. Three bowl wins is not a feat that many QBs in our lifetime will achieve, so let's give Nate his due. He's going to be near the top of Iowa's record books for decades to come.
3. Running game - I'm not sure Iowa has had a back that people love so much who produced so little. We all see the potential in Goodson, but 18 rushes for 48 yards is not one for the highlight reel. Is it all on the OL? Probably not. Is it the scheme? Maybe. I would have loved to see more of what Young could do this year (just 4 rushes for 18 yards today). Like Derrick Mitchell in years past, he led the team in yards per carry in pretty much every game he saw touches, but Kirk never seemed to want him to play. My guess is either Young or Sargent bids farewell, as there just aren't enough carries to go around.
4. Smith-Marsette - USC may have had the 2018 recruiting class's #1 overall recruit in WR St. Brown (9 catches for 163 yards), and a first round draft pick WR, but Smith-Marsette was the best offensive player on the field today. How arrogant to kick to him over and over. On offense, his 46 yards receiving and 15 yards aren't eye popping, but his 2 offensive touchdowns in the first half give hope that, for the first time since DJK and McNutt, the Hawks could have one of the best WR corps in the Big 10 next year (assuming Martin is playing over Ragaini, who had 2 more drops today). We are going to need elite WRs to help a QB who didn't throw a meaningful pass all year.
5. LaPorta - 6 targets, 6 catches, 44 yards. That's a solid stat line for a senior tight end. LaPorta is an 18 yr old true freshmen who didn't have a pass thrown to him until the second half of the season. This guy will be starting next year, and winning the Macky Award as a junior. He's got a knack for getting open and has better hands than most of the WRs on the team. He's going to put on 5 pounds between now and fall, so the sky is the limit.
6. AJE - It's been fun to watch the only 5 star recruit in decades. While I'd love to see him return next year, and he's just the kind of level headed star that might consider it, I think we've seen the last of AJE in a Hawkeye uniform. Two years in a row with double digit, the first to accomplish that since Matt Roth, and plenty more QB disruptions that would never show up on the stat sheet. Today, he had 4 tackles, with 2.5 sacks. While AJE was a legacy recruit, perhaps it's time for the Hawks to start mining Polynesian talent more often. The rosters at the top Pac 12 schools like USC, Washington, and Utah are loaded with them, and if AJE loved his time at Iowa, surely others could follow.
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