JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Once again, it was Iowa's offense or lack thereof which was its undoing on a fall Saturday in Big Ten play. This isn't a one or two or three year thing; its been the case for the majority of the Kirk Ferentz era. The offense simply hasn't carried its weight, put the defense in tough positions and in the end, Iowa fell short.
Iowa held Wisconsin to under 370 total yards on the day. The Badgers had 13 'real' possessions and went four or fewer plays and 'out' seven times, or more than half. Iowa's defense held the Badgers to 4 of 15 on third downs.
That was a winning effort by the Iowa defense...which has been the case more often than not during the Kirk Ferentz era. But that offense...oh boy that offense.
Iowa's first four possessions began at the following yard line:
1. Wisconsin 49
2. Wisconsin 39
3. Iowa 44
4. Wisconsin 41
Total points = 6
This was an unconscionable lack of scoring and conversion. There was a mix of 'lack of execution' as Kevonte Martin-Manley dropped two passes...there were other areas where the players didn't take care of business. There was also three straight passing plays on Iowa's first possession, which certainly broke tendency but proved ineffective.
Iowa went 4 of 18 on third downs. Iowa gained less than 300 yards of offense. Iowa kept trying to run outside zone plays with Mark Weisman who is ineffective doing that against Big Ten defenses.
Speaking of Weisman; I have a great deal of respect for his toughness and believe there is a role for him in Iowa's offense. That said, I don't believe he's someone you should give the ball to 15-plus times against Big Ten teams, unless you are just physically overwhelming them. He is strong and I love seeing him truck opponents, but he has physical limitations, the most glaring is his inability to produce on outside zone plays against legitimate defenses. This is a staple of Iowa's offense and Weisman isn't going to get it done laterally; he's a north-south rusher. He needs to run out of Power-O sets or hat on hat blocking or even inside zones. The outside zone? No more of it...it's not working with him and probably won't. This isn't Weisman's fault; the coaches shouldn't be putting him in positions where he has a limited chance for success.
There's a role for Damon Bullock and there should be a role for Jordan Canzeri; get him five carries per game, or at least a series, to see what he can do. He's the only running back on the team with the ability to rip off a long run like the one he did in the second half on Saturday, so give him a few cracks.
In my opinion, LeShun Daniels is the only 'Big Ten' caliber bell-cow back on the team, but he's not going to get there this year. He's green, he's learning and the light probably won't go on until next September.
On the whole, this team just lacks playmakers. I wrote before the year that this season's receiving corps would be the most challenged of the Ferentz era and that is proving to be accurate.
That said, Iowa came out against Ohio State and ran the three tight end sets and looked like a house of fire. Where was that this game? Where has that been the last two weeks? What is this offense trying to do? Who are they? What is their identity?
They don't have one and haven't since beating Michigan State 37-6 in Kinnick Stadium on October 30th, 2010. that's over three years ago.
Since then Iowa has averaged 23.6 points per game over its next 39 games. I don't have the time to run the numbers but I am guessing that might be the worst scoring output over any 39 game stretch of the Ferentz era, unless the first 39 came in under that.
Iowa has scored 87 points in its five Big Ten games this year. One year ago, with the worst offense of my lifetime, Iowa had scored 99 points through five games. Yes, Iowa has played three good defenses this year in Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, but it played against a great MSU defense one year ago plus a solid Penn State team, in addition to Minnesota and Northwestern, which Iowa has played this year.
While this year's offense 'looks' better and 'feels' better, is it smoke and mirrors? Their third down conversion numbers are much better but the overall point production in Big Ten play just isn't there. They scored nearly 60 against Western Michigan but that included two pick sixes and two punt returns for TD's. Take those numbers out of Iowa's mix this year and their 25.3 average drops to 22.2..which is getting awfully close to last year's 19.3/ppg total.
Do you remember being a kid and pushing food you didn't like around your plate in order to give the impression that you actually ate it? That's what things are starting to feel like. Iowa hasn't scored a regulation touchdown during its last seven quarters of play all of which have come at home.
Iowa just scored 19 combined points in regulation over the last two games, in this era of offensive football...and some thought James Vandenberg was the problem?
These numbers are incredibly poor. Depressingly poor and if the message boards, twitter and post game call in shows are any indication, people are just tiring of it. Look towards the turnstiles at Kinnick Stadium; another non-sellout. Iowa has one home game left, against Michigan, and they probably won't sell it out, either. That will mean zero sellouts this entire season.
On Friday, Brian Ferentz sent out a tweet being critical of Iowa's gameday atmosphere in Kinnick. We all know he isn't referring to the fan support. It's more about the sound system (which will be upgraded next year) and what Iowa experiences on the road yet doesn't do to its opponents in Kinnick Stadium.
Let me submit this, from Brendan Stiles late Saturday night:
"Since 2010, Iowa is 16-11 at Kinnick Stadium. 4 wins are FCS opponents (E. Illinois, Tenn. Tech, UNI, Mo. State) & 2-2 vs. MAC."
That's a yo....then he added Iowa lost a total of nine games at Kinnick between 2002-2009.
'Machinehead' was audible through the TV when Iowa's defense forced a third down...several times. Who thinks that's a great song to get the crowd fired up to bring more noise? A nearly 20 year old song from Bush? Or how about the band knocking out a little 15 second riff of Quiet Riot's 'Mental Health' late in the game, a song that was released in 1983? Iowa plays so much ACDC that they are probably charged for royalties.
Iowa has to be the only team in college football who still plays it's stadium music with an eight-track player. OK, that's not true....at least I don't think it's true. But would you be shocked if it was? I've seen numerous critiques about the aforementioned environment through the years, so I will take your word for it. During the past decade, I haven't made it to many games due to radio obligations and when I have been there I haven't paid to get in. But these concerns are items I've read over and over or heard from callers over and over, so I'm simply repeating those critiques. They must be common enough for Ferentz to comment on them.
Add to it that Iowa put red, white and blue pom-poms on the seats before the game. While they were looking to honor veterans in doing so, Iowa's opponent this week is all about red. How much thought went into this one? Sort of had the feel of a last minute decision because this was 'black out' Saturday and the pom-pom release was late in the week. Did one slip past the goalie here, too?
Too many things related to the Iowa football program seem stale...the offense, the music, the environment. Iowa can change that, first and foremost, by winning, something Kirk Ferentz mentioned after the game.
Since the sledding actually got tough this year, which began against Michigan State, Iowa's offense has regressed into something akin to last year; they've averaged just 18.25 points per game over the last four games.
The silver lining is they are at Purdue next week with a chance to become bowl eligible. Purdue is horrible, but Iowa's offensive inconsistency means they aren't above losing to anyone in this league, even lowly Purdue. Michigan is a train wreck and Nebraska seemed to be heading that way before their miracle finish in Lincoln on Saturday.
As bad as Iowa has been on offense, a 3-0 finish to the year wouldn't really surprise me. 2-1 seems fairly plausible, with wins these next two weeks as the best path.
Iowa desperately needs one more win because they really need those 15 extra practices a bowl would bring.
Greg Davis is nearly two years into his stint as Iowa's offensive coordinator and while this year started out promising, it's limping to the finish line. The food has been spread all over the plate but it's hard to fool people when you can't score. Is it all on the coaches? No, as we've seen quite a bit of 'lack of execution' out there. But after a while, the evidence starts to make that irrelevant...when the same things keep happening over and over and over, the macro overtakes the micro.
Iowa has three games to win one....I hope they win more than that but one more is a must. Next week's game at Purdue is certainly a must-win for Iowa. Lose that one and....I don't even want to think about it.
OK. Let's end on a positive note. There is hope, right? There is always hope, so don't stop believin'.
Wait...that's from 1981, too.
Iowa held Wisconsin to under 370 total yards on the day. The Badgers had 13 'real' possessions and went four or fewer plays and 'out' seven times, or more than half. Iowa's defense held the Badgers to 4 of 15 on third downs.
That was a winning effort by the Iowa defense...which has been the case more often than not during the Kirk Ferentz era. But that offense...oh boy that offense.
Iowa's first four possessions began at the following yard line:
1. Wisconsin 49
2. Wisconsin 39
3. Iowa 44
4. Wisconsin 41
Total points = 6
This was an unconscionable lack of scoring and conversion. There was a mix of 'lack of execution' as Kevonte Martin-Manley dropped two passes...there were other areas where the players didn't take care of business. There was also three straight passing plays on Iowa's first possession, which certainly broke tendency but proved ineffective.
Iowa went 4 of 18 on third downs. Iowa gained less than 300 yards of offense. Iowa kept trying to run outside zone plays with Mark Weisman who is ineffective doing that against Big Ten defenses.
Speaking of Weisman; I have a great deal of respect for his toughness and believe there is a role for him in Iowa's offense. That said, I don't believe he's someone you should give the ball to 15-plus times against Big Ten teams, unless you are just physically overwhelming them. He is strong and I love seeing him truck opponents, but he has physical limitations, the most glaring is his inability to produce on outside zone plays against legitimate defenses. This is a staple of Iowa's offense and Weisman isn't going to get it done laterally; he's a north-south rusher. He needs to run out of Power-O sets or hat on hat blocking or even inside zones. The outside zone? No more of it...it's not working with him and probably won't. This isn't Weisman's fault; the coaches shouldn't be putting him in positions where he has a limited chance for success.
There's a role for Damon Bullock and there should be a role for Jordan Canzeri; get him five carries per game, or at least a series, to see what he can do. He's the only running back on the team with the ability to rip off a long run like the one he did in the second half on Saturday, so give him a few cracks.
In my opinion, LeShun Daniels is the only 'Big Ten' caliber bell-cow back on the team, but he's not going to get there this year. He's green, he's learning and the light probably won't go on until next September.
On the whole, this team just lacks playmakers. I wrote before the year that this season's receiving corps would be the most challenged of the Ferentz era and that is proving to be accurate.
That said, Iowa came out against Ohio State and ran the three tight end sets and looked like a house of fire. Where was that this game? Where has that been the last two weeks? What is this offense trying to do? Who are they? What is their identity?
They don't have one and haven't since beating Michigan State 37-6 in Kinnick Stadium on October 30th, 2010. that's over three years ago.
Since then Iowa has averaged 23.6 points per game over its next 39 games. I don't have the time to run the numbers but I am guessing that might be the worst scoring output over any 39 game stretch of the Ferentz era, unless the first 39 came in under that.
Iowa has scored 87 points in its five Big Ten games this year. One year ago, with the worst offense of my lifetime, Iowa had scored 99 points through five games. Yes, Iowa has played three good defenses this year in Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, but it played against a great MSU defense one year ago plus a solid Penn State team, in addition to Minnesota and Northwestern, which Iowa has played this year.
While this year's offense 'looks' better and 'feels' better, is it smoke and mirrors? Their third down conversion numbers are much better but the overall point production in Big Ten play just isn't there. They scored nearly 60 against Western Michigan but that included two pick sixes and two punt returns for TD's. Take those numbers out of Iowa's mix this year and their 25.3 average drops to 22.2..which is getting awfully close to last year's 19.3/ppg total.
Do you remember being a kid and pushing food you didn't like around your plate in order to give the impression that you actually ate it? That's what things are starting to feel like. Iowa hasn't scored a regulation touchdown during its last seven quarters of play all of which have come at home.
Iowa just scored 19 combined points in regulation over the last two games, in this era of offensive football...and some thought James Vandenberg was the problem?
These numbers are incredibly poor. Depressingly poor and if the message boards, twitter and post game call in shows are any indication, people are just tiring of it. Look towards the turnstiles at Kinnick Stadium; another non-sellout. Iowa has one home game left, against Michigan, and they probably won't sell it out, either. That will mean zero sellouts this entire season.
On Friday, Brian Ferentz sent out a tweet being critical of Iowa's gameday atmosphere in Kinnick. We all know he isn't referring to the fan support. It's more about the sound system (which will be upgraded next year) and what Iowa experiences on the road yet doesn't do to its opponents in Kinnick Stadium.
Let me submit this, from Brendan Stiles late Saturday night:
"Since 2010, Iowa is 16-11 at Kinnick Stadium. 4 wins are FCS opponents (E. Illinois, Tenn. Tech, UNI, Mo. State) & 2-2 vs. MAC."
That's a yo....then he added Iowa lost a total of nine games at Kinnick between 2002-2009.
'Machinehead' was audible through the TV when Iowa's defense forced a third down...several times. Who thinks that's a great song to get the crowd fired up to bring more noise? A nearly 20 year old song from Bush? Or how about the band knocking out a little 15 second riff of Quiet Riot's 'Mental Health' late in the game, a song that was released in 1983? Iowa plays so much ACDC that they are probably charged for royalties.
Iowa has to be the only team in college football who still plays it's stadium music with an eight-track player. OK, that's not true....at least I don't think it's true. But would you be shocked if it was? I've seen numerous critiques about the aforementioned environment through the years, so I will take your word for it. During the past decade, I haven't made it to many games due to radio obligations and when I have been there I haven't paid to get in. But these concerns are items I've read over and over or heard from callers over and over, so I'm simply repeating those critiques. They must be common enough for Ferentz to comment on them.
Add to it that Iowa put red, white and blue pom-poms on the seats before the game. While they were looking to honor veterans in doing so, Iowa's opponent this week is all about red. How much thought went into this one? Sort of had the feel of a last minute decision because this was 'black out' Saturday and the pom-pom release was late in the week. Did one slip past the goalie here, too?
Too many things related to the Iowa football program seem stale...the offense, the music, the environment. Iowa can change that, first and foremost, by winning, something Kirk Ferentz mentioned after the game.
Since the sledding actually got tough this year, which began against Michigan State, Iowa's offense has regressed into something akin to last year; they've averaged just 18.25 points per game over the last four games.
The silver lining is they are at Purdue next week with a chance to become bowl eligible. Purdue is horrible, but Iowa's offensive inconsistency means they aren't above losing to anyone in this league, even lowly Purdue. Michigan is a train wreck and Nebraska seemed to be heading that way before their miracle finish in Lincoln on Saturday.
As bad as Iowa has been on offense, a 3-0 finish to the year wouldn't really surprise me. 2-1 seems fairly plausible, with wins these next two weeks as the best path.
Iowa desperately needs one more win because they really need those 15 extra practices a bowl would bring.
Greg Davis is nearly two years into his stint as Iowa's offensive coordinator and while this year started out promising, it's limping to the finish line. The food has been spread all over the plate but it's hard to fool people when you can't score. Is it all on the coaches? No, as we've seen quite a bit of 'lack of execution' out there. But after a while, the evidence starts to make that irrelevant...when the same things keep happening over and over and over, the macro overtakes the micro.
Iowa has three games to win one....I hope they win more than that but one more is a must. Next week's game at Purdue is certainly a must-win for Iowa. Lose that one and....I don't even want to think about it.
OK. Let's end on a positive note. There is hope, right? There is always hope, so don't stop believin'.
Wait...that's from 1981, too.
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