BirdsOfPrey
Well-Known Member
The Hawkeyes defense held 4 of their first 5 opponents to less than 90 yards total rushing. That's an outstanding effort by the defense. Pitt was the only team to gain more yards on Iowa and they featured one of the top runners in the country. After a tough first half, Iowa locked down on Conner and shut him down in the 2nd half of the Pitt game. Strange, after a bye week and time to heal, our defense disappeared. Indiana ripped Iowa for over 300 yards rushing. The majority of that yardage came on a half dozen big runs. Maryland racked up over 200 yards on the Hawks. Indiana has one of the top running backs in the country and their rushing offense was highly rated, but Maryland was not supposed to have a strong running game. Iowa's rushing defense was supposed to be a defensive strength while the secondary gained experience. A few weeks ago, I would have bet that Iowa could shut down the rushing games of upcoming opponents - Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconson and Nebraska especially with those teams seemingly one dimensional offenses. Now, I'm not sure. What's happened to our rushing defense? Injuries? Poor tackling? Is it a product of too many 3 & outs by our offense that has kept the defense on the field way too long? Personally, I think Spearman's suspension will help our linebackers improve. The Hawks need more speed at that position. Were the Hawks focusing on stopping the passing game? Hopefully, the bye week has given the Hawks time to heal and re-find their stout rushing defense as that's going to be the key to winning these last 5 games. Go Hawks!!