Most concerning part of the loss

[HawkeyeStout]

First off, I want to say that Iowa lost that game themselves. No other way around it. NDSU played darn near perfect (kudos) but Iowa made mistake after mistake shooting themselves in the foot from penalties to drops to bad snaps, tripping, weird play calls, etc... and they still had a chance to win

Defense played really well until the 4th quarter and that was due to the offense not sustaining drives and they got worn out. But the scariest part of that was the lack of DL depth. I mean Iowa has no depth there.. none. And it feels like and there is nothing they can do to fix that.

And you can bet your behind UM and UW will wear those guys out like today and that is what worries me the most. Offense can be mostly fixed, CJ had an off day, best 2 OL were hurt including Wadley not 100%. Im not worried about that as much as the DL. What can be done about that? Very little, i'm afraid.

 

[ibahawkeye]

You say it diffident than I. I saw a Bison team dominate both lines of scrimmage and a team that controlled the clock and wore our D down.

 

[PCHawk]

First off, I want to say that Iowa lost that game themselves. No other way around it. NDSU played darn near perfect (kudos) but Iowa made mistake after mistake shooting themselves in the foot from penalties to drops to bad snaps, tripping, weird play calls, etc... and they still had a chance to win

Defense played really well until the 4th quarter and that was due to the offense not sustaining drives and they got worn out. But the scariest part of that was the lack of DL depth. I mean Iowa has no depth there.. none. And it feels like and there is nothing they can do to fix that.

And you can bet your behind UM and UW will wear those guys out like today and that is what worries me the most. Offense can be mostly fixed, CJ had an off day, best 2 OL were hurt including Wadley not 100%. Im not worried about that as much as the DL. What can be done about that? Very little, i'm afraid.

Completely agree about the offense being an easier fix. If the offense plays better, the defense stays off the field. If the defense stays off the field, they play better in the 4th.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Agreed. A good OC could change our offense simply by using our strengths and not being utterly predictable with playcalling.

We don't have a good OC. And as much as I like and respect KF, that's on him.

Our defense is average outside of a few studs. Our offense will win or lose us games...they lost the game on Saturday. 21 points and 35 yards rushing....unacceptable. and that's on Davis. Playcalling can hide deficiency, for a decent OC.

 

[NCHawker]

Well, the O will just have to outscore the other teams I guess.

But Kirk has to have X% running plays, even if they don't work. So don't expect Iowa to score more than 24 points in any game the rest of the way.

 

[DBAHawkFan]

Iowa does what it does. Maybe a handful of times have we seen the Hawks come out with a gameplan that isn't 50% run 50% pass

Last game I can think of was OSU in 2013, and possibly NW in 2014

Both times we came out passing, and against OSU we used the TE more than anytime since KOK

If a team is weak in the secondary, we run. If a team is strong against the run, we run.

If they're weak against the run, sometimes we pass

I've said it for years, I would rather lose a game that we gave 100% effort and were well coached schemed than to lose the way we do constantly.

But we have to wait another 10 years for that possibility

 

[eveningnewsteam]

The Dline is alarming right now, and surprisingly the interior guys. NDSU isnt the first team to push them all over the field, Miami OH did too

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Iowa will have to take some chances on D going forward. Did they ever even blitz on Saturday or adjust on defense? I realize they were "afraid" of Stick getting free & wanting to contain him but they never sped his clock up or got after him. They have to take chances to get off the field, even if that means the other team getting a play here and there. The coaches HAVE GOT TO stop playing to not lose or playing scared.

 

[jldhawk]

You say it diffident than I. I saw a Bison team dominate both lines of scrimmage and a team that controlled the clock and wore our D down.

Absolutely, they dominated our lines and outplayed us all the way. We did have some weird and stupid plays. The two trips and two drops on passes by Wadley and I think Smith. Plus the hold on Daniel's long run. I said during the game it was not a good time to have a bad day. That first quarter through us off the whole game as well I think. We barely had the ball, didn't move it on either possession.

 

[1hawkeye1]

The Dline is alarming right now, and surprisingly the interior guys. NDSU isnt the first team to push them all over the field, Miami OH did too

It is alarming. And according to this stat from Jon's Hawkeye Nation podcast, Iowa has run the fewest offensive plays in the nation except for Georgia State. Now that is alarming because it means Iowa's defense is on the field a helluva lot.