homes
Well-Known Member
It was the most maddening thing to watch. 176 yards of offense in the 4th quarter, and the D looked powerless to stop it. I don't have the answer, but, more importantly, neither did Iowa.
It does look like a patient team on offense has the best chance of success against the Hawks. Run just enough to keep the linebackers honest, dink and dunk down the field, don't waste a down trying for the home run, and just rely on Iowa's corners to play off the ball. The most critical element to me, is not wasting a down trying to score on a long pass. It's not necessary. You'll be given the underneath stuff all game long.
I normally try to hold my fire after a loss like this, but this was awesomely bad. Why on the second to last possession did Iowa pass on 2d and 6, forcing them to pass on 3d and 6. Still stinging from the Wisconsin debacle, and overreacting in my judgment because of it, why did Iowa spike the ball when they got the first down at the 15 just before the end of the half. They had 3 TOs left, they had plenty of time. In that situation, unlike vs. Wisconsin, they needed the downs, not preserving the clock. DJK dropping a pass at the 5 didn't help matters, but they then only had 1 more play instead of 2 in that situation to score a TD, because of the unnecessary spike. When the next pass was incomplete, they were forced to settle for the FG. They went to the locker room with 2 TOs in their pocket.
Finally, apparently not recalling how hard it is to loft a long ball into the wind after the Indiana game last year, what was Stanzi doing on that pass in the 4th quarter. He had 2 receivers open underneath to keep the drive alive. That possession was about pounding NW and taking the wind out of their sails. That pick did just the opposite.
For an offense that was averaging 34 points per game, they barely scored more than that the last 2 games. If they had met that average, as poor as the defense was, they still could have prevailed.
Very disheartening all the way around.
It does look like a patient team on offense has the best chance of success against the Hawks. Run just enough to keep the linebackers honest, dink and dunk down the field, don't waste a down trying for the home run, and just rely on Iowa's corners to play off the ball. The most critical element to me, is not wasting a down trying to score on a long pass. It's not necessary. You'll be given the underneath stuff all game long.
I normally try to hold my fire after a loss like this, but this was awesomely bad. Why on the second to last possession did Iowa pass on 2d and 6, forcing them to pass on 3d and 6. Still stinging from the Wisconsin debacle, and overreacting in my judgment because of it, why did Iowa spike the ball when they got the first down at the 15 just before the end of the half. They had 3 TOs left, they had plenty of time. In that situation, unlike vs. Wisconsin, they needed the downs, not preserving the clock. DJK dropping a pass at the 5 didn't help matters, but they then only had 1 more play instead of 2 in that situation to score a TD, because of the unnecessary spike. When the next pass was incomplete, they were forced to settle for the FG. They went to the locker room with 2 TOs in their pocket.
Finally, apparently not recalling how hard it is to loft a long ball into the wind after the Indiana game last year, what was Stanzi doing on that pass in the 4th quarter. He had 2 receivers open underneath to keep the drive alive. That possession was about pounding NW and taking the wind out of their sails. That pick did just the opposite.
For an offense that was averaging 34 points per game, they barely scored more than that the last 2 games. If they had met that average, as poor as the defense was, they still could have prevailed.
Very disheartening all the way around.
