OK you 2nd guessers - Which play would you have called on 4th and 2 ft to go right before Kent.'s winning drive

[uihawk82]

First of all, I would have went for it, I wanted them to go for it at the time, our run game was doing really well.

My play call is first based on what I would not do, I would not run again to the left side because we have been running to there 66% of the time over the last two years and a lot in crunch time situations.

My play call would be zone read or under center fake to the left side/over center and Petras keep the ball to the right. I know, you are all going to just rip me. Zone read of course Petras still has to read that defensive end and maybe linebacker to the right side of Iowa's formation before keeping the ball and even just stumbling forward for a yard. That is my best surprise play call and of course you could have Bruce or Jones as a lone receiver to the right where Petras could toss an RPO type short pass.

Wildcat and put the ball in your best runners' hands???

 

[JoeyLabasForPresident]

Handoff to Pottebaum, follow Linderbaum, either Williams+Petras pushing Potte from behind as necessary. Easy 3 yards.

 

[uihawk82]

Handoff to Pottebaum, follow Linderbaum, either Williams+Petras pushing Potte from behind as necessary. Easy 3 yards.

You got it. A qb sneak or the fullback are the two quickest hitting plays to pick up the yardage. And teams have really started to pinch 3 Dlinemen right over center and as we have seen Potte has the feet to slide outside.

And I would like to know if our coaches ever coach or practice a qb sneak where the qb slides a little down the line looking for a soft spot, when defenses are bunched over center, before going forward. QBs do that a lot of the times.

I just feel that our players sometimes are not told to go off script, not felt like they are allowed to improvise, as Tate got into some doghouse moments his senior year.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Handoff to Pottebaum, follow Linderbaum, either Williams+Petras pushing Potte from behind as necessary. Easy 3 yards.

linderbaum was out, dawg. You have to run something with a fake. Maybe fake it to Pottebaum and then pitch it wide to the tailback. If we had OKeefe calling plays he would have run a PA pass to Laporta down the seam and picked up 50 yards, but he is a guy with huge balls and a lot of creativity.

 

[NCHawker]

If you're running the sneak you call in prior to the previous play. Get up the the line quickly and go. no huddle.

 

[JoeyLabasForPresident]

linderbaum was out, dawg. You have to run something with a fake. Maybe fake it to Pottebaum and then pitch it wide to the tailback. If we had OKeefe calling plays he would have run a PA pass to Laporta down the seam and picked up 50 yards, but he is a guy with huge balls and a lot of creativity.

Was he still out at that point? I thought that was after he came back in. Maybe he was back on the sideline at that point, but I don't think so--I am assuming we are talking about the 4th and 1 before Kentucky's final score, not the one in the first half.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Was he still out at that point? I thought that was after he came back in.

No. He came in on the final drive, but was out for the penultimate drive, which is where the ill fated 4th and 2 foot play happened. Normally I wouldn't know these things but I am doing a dry January and wasn't piss drunk during the game.

 

[JoeyLabasForPresident]

No. He came in on the final drive, but was out for the penultimate drive, which is where the ill fated 4th and 2 foot play happened. Normally I wouldn't know these things but I am doing a dry January and wasn't piss drunk during the game.

You are correct, he's back on the sideline for the 3rd down play though, so they could have subbed him in for fourth. They probably make it on 3rd if it's a direct handoff to Monte as well, negating this whole discussion, but oh well.

 

[okeefe4prez]

You are correct, he's back on the sideline for the 3rd down play though, so they could have subbed him in for fourth. The probably make it on 3rd if it's a direct handoff to Monte as well, negating this whole discussion, but oh well.

Look, I hate to say this but Iowa typically has long spurts where they can't lose a close game and then long spurts where they can't win a close game. We didn't lose a close game from week 2 of 2020 until January 1, 2022. We may be due for 5 or 6 close losses in a row so buckle up.

There have been some epic runs of not losing a close game (like from ISU 2002 until Michigan 2005) and some horrible runs of losing every close game (like those 4 losses in 2008 but we turned the streak by beating PSU).

 

[SmokeTownHawk]

Flea flicker

 

[okeefe4prez]

Flea flicker

I would have called that end around pass play from the 2006 playbook that we used against Tejas in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Did Valero sponsor it that year?

 

[trj]

QB sneak

Even with Linderbaum out I still would have done it.

 

[ajdwhs87]

The sneak. Even if Linderbaum is out you go for it. It is KY not the steel curtain. You have a big QB and the sneaks were getting 4 or five yards at times. We joked about doing that all drive up the field. Get the damn yard!

 

[guffus]

QB bootleg throw to LaPorta. Its a classic Iowa play. It worked like 8 or 9 times against MD.

 

[dahlhawk]

Two feet guys, Williams over right tackle, play action. Potty leadblocking, damm as long as he doesn't line up in a deep drop Williams always falls forward. We can't get that should have stayed home. I could have lived with that call. Not the ball-less punt and waste of TO.

 

[HuckFinn]

Screen pass.

 

[gablegrip]

I like the fake dive to FB and counter flip to HB.

 

[uihawk82]

I like the fake dive to FB and counter flip to HB.

I love that play but on 4th and short and even 3rd and a yard I want my team going forward, QB sneak, power run straight ahead with fullback lead, or a QB type fake and keeper where the qb fakes and goes forward to a different hole or off goes forward off the edge.

And Kentucky had two of their front 7 top defenders missing in the game, so go for it. Kentucky still has to get a td even if you do not make it and if Kentucky goes ahead 20-17 you still have a chance to tie or win it.

 

[Ree4]

No. He came in on the final drive, but was out for the penultimate drive, which is where the ill fated 4th and 2 foot play happened. Normally I wouldn't know these things but I am doing a dry January and wasn't piss drunk during the game.

I was piss drunk during the game and noticed that Linderbaum was not in for the coulda been game winning QB sneak.

 

[1980HAWKFAN]

There is no play that any team has that guarantees the yardage you need. Kirk obviously thought if we don't pick it up we are giving them tremendous field position. Best punter in the Big Ten pin them deep and let the defense do it's thing. I agreed with that call. What I thought was the mistake was staying in that damn soft zone letting Wandale Robinson run wide open to a spot and the Kentucky QB picking us apart. I'm hoping in the future when we are getting torched by that kind of receiver ie...David Bell, Wandale Robinson etc... we make an adjustment. Parker seems like he is willing to take the chance that the opposing QB/ receivers will not be able to move the 80 yards without making a mistake(turnover) before scoring. Against Purdue and Kentucky that plan backfired. That being said, short toss to LaPorta would be my call.