IowaLawWasRight
Well-Known Member
A 63-0 win against a Big 10 opponent! We definitely took care of business against the last place team in the Big 10 west. Illinois came in with the 128th ranked defense in college football, and the coaches did a nice job exploiting their many weaknesses. While this takes some of the sting out of the season, it sure would have been more meaningful if we weren't coming off a 3 game losing streak against beatable teams. Ultimately, this will go down as a season of what could have been.
1. Fant Mystery Has Been Solved - It was a week of speculation. Why would Iowa's all-American tight end play just 9 downs in the second half of a close game against the division leader? Injury? No, he said he was healthy. Dog house? No, Ferentz says he has a great attitude. Better players beat him out for field position? Ha! After a week of media speculation on the staff's questionable use of talent during a 3 game losing streak, the truth becomes clear...meathead Brian, who is in over his head calling plays, simply lost track of which personnel plays on which packages. His tunnel vision was calling the packages he wanted oblivious to the fact that Fant was not a part of the packages. Kirk and Brian literally didn't notice that their biggest weapon wasn't out there in close games until they were grilled about it by the soft Iowa media. Once the error was pointed out (i.e. Cooper being in late game packages instead of Fant), Brian quickly had a "doh" moment and remedied the situation, playing Fant nearly every down of today's game. 3 catches for 54 yards and a TD should have been his stat line every game this season. Unfortunately, this personnel blunder will go down as a black eye both for Brian's competence as an offensive coordinator and the program when it comes to recruiting and the most talented players being on the field.
2. AJ Epenesa - The future is bright for Iowa's DL. AJ had a season high 8 tackles, 3.5 for a loss. Not bad for a guy who has had a relatively quiet year coming in off the bench. In one sequence, in about 60 seconds, AJ managed to record a sack, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and a blocked punt. Watch for AJ to receive some conference/national player of the week awards.
3. Stanley's Resurgence - Well, Stanley proved my theory correct yet again. When the pressure is high and the competition is tough, Nate is not our guy because he's prone to randying around. But against fluff competition when the score is out of reach, Nate is as calm as a cucumber, with pin point accuracy and steady feet. 13-21 for 178 yards and 3 TDs (all to TEs). Nate started the game a little timid and threw a really awful interception that was 5 yards behind his intended receiver. However, instead of buckling, the Hawks took control and as soon as Iowa was comfortably in the lead, Nate loosened up and had a solid game. If only he could play this relaxed in the bigger games and down the stretch.
4. Sargent Solidifying Role as #1 RB - The Hawks have struggled all year with the running game. We have used 3 mediocre backs interchangeably, with none distinguishing themselves as the top dog. Today, Sargent stepped up and became the first back to surpass 100 yards in a game. 17 rushes for 121 yards (7.1 ypc). While I'd love to say Sargent is far and away the best back on the team, that isn't clear. But I do think he performed well enough to solidify his role as the starter going into 2019. Fingers crossed that the freshmen from Georgia comes in next year and beats out everyone we currently have on the roster.
5. Hooker's Role Going Forward? - Hooker had another solid outing. 3 solo tackles, 1 int, 1 pass breakup, a nice punt return, and seemed to be all over the field. The question remains: is he a LB or safety going forward? Today, he was listed as the starting SS. Nick Niemann was in the lineup as OLB. The problem is, Hooker was all over the field and Niemann, Hockaday, and Welch barely made an impact.
6. Groeneweg's Big Game - Groeneweg played like he did back when he was playing against DII competition. 6 punt returns for an average of 18 yards per return! Like with Stanley, if only Groeneweg could have had a game like he did against lowly Illinois running a kick back for a touchdown when we were up by 30 when it counted (like against Penn State, when he was fair catching on our own 3 yard line), but we will certainly take it.
7. Why is Raestetter STILL Getting All Punter Reps? - Let me get this straight, the senior walk-on that ranked 117 in the NCAA in punting last year and is 12th in the Big 10 this year continues to get all reps at punter when Iowa has a scholarship sophomore who has yet to see the field all season. Today, Raestetter averaged just 2 yards more per punt than our QB, who pooch punted early in the game. This is a poor coaching job to not get the underclassmen a rep or two to see what he can do. Perhaps if the soft local media would bring this deficiency to the coaching staff's attention like they finally brought Fant's lack of usage to their attention, this might be corrected.
1. Fant Mystery Has Been Solved - It was a week of speculation. Why would Iowa's all-American tight end play just 9 downs in the second half of a close game against the division leader? Injury? No, he said he was healthy. Dog house? No, Ferentz says he has a great attitude. Better players beat him out for field position? Ha! After a week of media speculation on the staff's questionable use of talent during a 3 game losing streak, the truth becomes clear...meathead Brian, who is in over his head calling plays, simply lost track of which personnel plays on which packages. His tunnel vision was calling the packages he wanted oblivious to the fact that Fant was not a part of the packages. Kirk and Brian literally didn't notice that their biggest weapon wasn't out there in close games until they were grilled about it by the soft Iowa media. Once the error was pointed out (i.e. Cooper being in late game packages instead of Fant), Brian quickly had a "doh" moment and remedied the situation, playing Fant nearly every down of today's game. 3 catches for 54 yards and a TD should have been his stat line every game this season. Unfortunately, this personnel blunder will go down as a black eye both for Brian's competence as an offensive coordinator and the program when it comes to recruiting and the most talented players being on the field.
2. AJ Epenesa - The future is bright for Iowa's DL. AJ had a season high 8 tackles, 3.5 for a loss. Not bad for a guy who has had a relatively quiet year coming in off the bench. In one sequence, in about 60 seconds, AJ managed to record a sack, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and a blocked punt. Watch for AJ to receive some conference/national player of the week awards.
3. Stanley's Resurgence - Well, Stanley proved my theory correct yet again. When the pressure is high and the competition is tough, Nate is not our guy because he's prone to randying around. But against fluff competition when the score is out of reach, Nate is as calm as a cucumber, with pin point accuracy and steady feet. 13-21 for 178 yards and 3 TDs (all to TEs). Nate started the game a little timid and threw a really awful interception that was 5 yards behind his intended receiver. However, instead of buckling, the Hawks took control and as soon as Iowa was comfortably in the lead, Nate loosened up and had a solid game. If only he could play this relaxed in the bigger games and down the stretch.
4. Sargent Solidifying Role as #1 RB - The Hawks have struggled all year with the running game. We have used 3 mediocre backs interchangeably, with none distinguishing themselves as the top dog. Today, Sargent stepped up and became the first back to surpass 100 yards in a game. 17 rushes for 121 yards (7.1 ypc). While I'd love to say Sargent is far and away the best back on the team, that isn't clear. But I do think he performed well enough to solidify his role as the starter going into 2019. Fingers crossed that the freshmen from Georgia comes in next year and beats out everyone we currently have on the roster.
5. Hooker's Role Going Forward? - Hooker had another solid outing. 3 solo tackles, 1 int, 1 pass breakup, a nice punt return, and seemed to be all over the field. The question remains: is he a LB or safety going forward? Today, he was listed as the starting SS. Nick Niemann was in the lineup as OLB. The problem is, Hooker was all over the field and Niemann, Hockaday, and Welch barely made an impact.
6. Groeneweg's Big Game - Groeneweg played like he did back when he was playing against DII competition. 6 punt returns for an average of 18 yards per return! Like with Stanley, if only Groeneweg could have had a game like he did against lowly Illinois running a kick back for a touchdown when we were up by 30 when it counted (like against Penn State, when he was fair catching on our own 3 yard line), but we will certainly take it.
7. Why is Raestetter STILL Getting All Punter Reps? - Let me get this straight, the senior walk-on that ranked 117 in the NCAA in punting last year and is 12th in the Big 10 this year continues to get all reps at punter when Iowa has a scholarship sophomore who has yet to see the field all season. Today, Raestetter averaged just 2 yards more per punt than our QB, who pooch punted early in the game. This is a poor coaching job to not get the underclassmen a rep or two to see what he can do. Perhaps if the soft local media would bring this deficiency to the coaching staff's attention like they finally brought Fant's lack of usage to their attention, this might be corrected.
