ISU Pre-game discussion

SCHawkeye2

SCHawkeye2

Well-Known Member
Happy about a 40-0 win, but thinking long term, I would like to see the Hawks do better on 3rd / 4th down conversions.
During during the NIU game, I felt they were struggling at times to convert against weak opposition.

Post game stats on total conversions during the NIU game were 6/17 or 35%.
6/14 3rd Down conversions
0-3 4th Down conversions.

A quick check of our B10 peers (in similar cupcake scenarios) showed comparative conversion rates >50% in Game 1
Minn 69%
Illinois 50%
USC 60%
IU 64%
PSU 56%
Neb 62%

Hoping this is an anomaly and we will improve as the season progresses.
 
Yeah as much as I hate to say it, this Bad News Bears isu team is going to be an actual litmus test against real FBS opponents, albeit still a bunch of burnt turds.

Not much to glean from NIU other than which receivers have hands and what kinds of throws the QBs can make.
 
While NIU was a tin can, we have to admit the offense looked different. How many of these bye games against shit opponents has Iowa struggled offensively of late? Or at least out of the gate they looked terrible. Gron was god awful in that first game last year.

Offensively, they looked like they knew what they were doing for the most part. In and out of the huddle, timely cadence and audibles, running the ball effectively and taking some shots down field. That has not been Iowa in the preseason the last 5 years. Competition or not, Iowa's offense PLAYED differently than it has of late. I think we see more of that Saturday.

The D suffocated a crappy opponent. I expect the same against the Clowns.

As long as Iowa does not turn the ball over a lot, should be a comfortable win.
 
Fryowa said:
Yeah as much as I hate to say it, this Bad News Bears isu team is going to be an actual litmus test against real FBS opponents, albeit still a bunch of burnt turds.

Not much to glean from NIU other than which receivers have hands and what kinds of throws the QBs can make.
Click to expand...
Agree. They look the part and competent. They will play a bit faster than NIU. I still think Iowa is too good in more areas. I also think Iowa will do what Iowa does and lean on them for 3 Q and I think IA State may feel the effects of that over the game. Maybe not in a couple years, but maybe this year when Rogers just threw a team together.

I'd don't know if I'd bet the over this game. I could see KF & Lester really relying on the run game to lean on Iowa State and control the ball & TOP. I could see the RB's getting many carries for ball security with the two QB's. This will lead to longer time consuming drives so not sure they will score over 31 pts.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
While NIU was a tin can, we have to admit the offense looked different. How many of these bye games against shit opponents has Iowa struggled offensively of late? Or at least out of the gate they looked terrible. Gron was god awful in that first game last year.

Offensively, they looked like they knew what they were doing for the most part. In and out of the huddle, timely cadence and audibles, running the ball effectively and taking some shots down field. That has not been Iowa in the preseason the last 5 years. Competition or not, Iowa's offense PLAYED differently than it has of late. I think we see more of that Saturday.

The D suffocated a crappy opponent. I expect the same against the Clowns.

As long as Iowa does not turn the ball over a lot, should be a comfortable win.
Click to expand...
They did look different and one can really see the difference with a 3 headed monster at the skill positions instead of 1 or 2. One key is that Iowa can run 13 personnel. When they do, they can still have their power run game and be successful running the ball. In addition, they still have a receiving threat with numbers so puts the D in a dilemma to defend. Now that you have a Diaz along with a true stud TE, what is a D to do with the O-line opening holes for Moulton. Being able to run 13 personnel is huge for Iowa and the diversity of the offense. Teams can't just load up the box to stop the run sec to Iowa now having a receiving threat.
I can't wait to watch the strategy of this game.
 
There were some definite hiccups in the game. A good portion of it was the combination of dropped passes and our back-up RBs really struggling to read blocks after Phillips went down. Both of those issues are correctable, but the RBs are going to take time after not being the focal point in camp.

ISU will scheme to control Moulton and Diaz, so others will need to step up. I have a feeling that the TEs will be heavily emphasized in the game.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
They did look different and one can really see the difference with a 3 headed monster at the skill positions instead of 1 or 2. One key is that Iowa can run 13 personnel. When they do, they can still have their power run game and be successful running the ball. In addition, they still have a receiving threat with numbers so puts the D in a dilemma to defend. Now that you have a Diaz along with a true stud TE, what is a D to do with the O-line opening holes for Moulton. Being able to run 13 personnel is huge for Iowa and the diversity of the offense. Teams can't just load up the box to stop the run sec to Iowa now having a receiving threat.
I can't wait to watch the strategy of this game
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If we had Drew Tate with these weapons and this OL this team would be a playoff contender for sure.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
While NIU was a tin can, we have to admit the offense looked different. How many of these bye games against shit opponents has Iowa struggled offensively of late? Or at least out of the gate they looked terrible. Gron was god awful in that first game last year.
Click to expand...

My youngest attended his first game Saturday as a student.
He was complaining about how miserable it was (heat) in the family group chat.

My middle kid who graduated from Iowa this spring texted something along the lines of "I don't think the Hawks ever scored on an opening drive of in the opening game for the four years I was there".

Then said, for context....this was my first ever game as a student:
It was a picture of the guy in the stands at the SDSU game with his head in his hands and the score ticker that read at the time "5-3"

That was the field goal and 2 safeties 7-3 win. Against SDSU.

Again, doesn't mean we won't see misery. But it should be a little less enraging.
 
dagdaj said:
My youngest attended his first game Saturday as a student.
He was complaining about how miserable it was (heat) in the family group chat.

My middle kid who graduated from Iowa this spring texted something along the lines of "I don't think the Hawks ever scored on an opening drive of in the opening game for the four years I was there".

Then said, for context....this was my first ever game as a student:
It was a picture of the guy in the stands at the SDSU game with his head in his hands and the score ticker that read at the time "5-3"

That was the field goal and 2 safeties 7-3 win. Against SDSU.

Again, doesn't mean we won't see misery. But it should be a little less enraging.
Click to expand...
When I read your post about the score, iI threw up a little bit in my mouth. Gee. Thanks! Ha Ha…
 
Fryowa said:
Yeah as much as I hate to say it, this Bad News Bears isu team is going to be an actual litmus test against real FBS opponents, albeit still a bunch of burnt turds.

Not much to glean from NIU other than which receivers have hands and what kinds of throws the QBs can make.
Click to expand...
........ and you know they will likely play over their heads against us on Saturday. We should still win out, but we all know how that goes.................

I guess ISU's former coach was better than some first thought he would be. Penn State is not just going to hire some slouch. After seeing ISU's second or third game at ISU I predicted he would end up being a very good head coach. Apparently Penn State agreed with that assessment.
 
dagdaj said:
My youngest attended his first game Saturday as a student.
He was complaining about how miserable it was (heat) in the family group chat.

My middle kid who graduated from Iowa this spring texted something along the lines of "I don't think the Hawks ever scored on an opening drive of in the opening game for the four years I was there".

Then said, for context....this was my first ever game as a student:
It was a picture of the guy in the stands at the SDSU game with his head in his hands and the score ticker that read at the time "5-3"

That was the field goal and 2 safeties 7-3 win. Against SDSU.

Again, doesn't mean we won't see misery. But it should be a little less enraging.
Click to expand...
And the defensive coordinator on the SDSU team? None other than..... Jimmy Rogers.
 
ISU will come out slinging the ball around. They have nothing to lose. If Iowa's D plays disciplined as they usually do and gets some pressure on their QB, ISU will struggle to score.

The only other thing that could affect things is turnovers. If something goes haywire and HB or JH throw some picks it will give them a chance.

That said, I expect Iowa to assert its dominance up front and run for 250+ yards. We'll get a defensive TD as well. Unless the D plays uncharacteristically bad and makes some big mistakes I don't see the clones being close.
 
dagdaj said:
My youngest attended his first game Saturday as a student.
He was complaining about how miserable it was (heat) in the family group chat.

My middle kid who graduated from Iowa this spring texted something along the lines of "I don't think the Hawks ever scored on an opening drive of in the opening game for the four years I was there".

Then said, for context....this was my first ever game as a student:
It was a picture of the guy in the stands at the SDSU game with his head in his hands and the score ticker that read at the time "5-3"

That was the field goal and 2 safeties 7-3 win. Against SDSU.

Again, doesn't mean we won't see misery. But it should be a little less enraging.
Click to expand...
That win didnt feel like a win ....hope it was one of the games that got vacated :rolleyes:;)
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I expect Iowa to assert its dominance up front and run for 250+ yards.
Click to expand...
Iowa's inside zone and outside zone running plays are the staples where the aiming points are the guard and tight end. We've seen these for years. Against NIU, we ran a lot of midzone, where the aiming point is the tackle. The midzone we ran really got the LB's flowing, which sets up blocks beautifully for cutback lanes which Moulton's grandma could've run through. That, along with the plays we run off of them open the TE, WR, and misdirection. You just can't account for these plays unless you out athlete us. Iowa's offense is getting more complete and is a very complex system which will be really tough to stop.

I'm the OL coach for our HS team. We run these 3 zone plays, only 1 play basic, simple play of each type with a boot and a playside play action pass, but has really give teams fits in the past. Unfortunately, with the kids we graduated, we'll get out athleted on a regular basis. Next year though will be a different story. Book it.
 
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