Why Iowa Wins

MelroseHawkins

Well-Known Member
I might be stating the obvious but Iowa is just going to do what Iowa does. It is a compliment. So much has been made about the high potent AZ offense with Foles & the quality WR's.

But Iowa will do what they always do & that is pound you for 4 quarters. AZ may be competitive & actually hold a small lead into the 2nd quarter of half, but the physicality of Iowa should show in the 3rd & 4th quarters, especially after half-time adjustments & a call to Norm.

Yes, Norm did not make the trip, but he is just a phone call away & I have a hard time believing he will not be a part of the game. At least a phone call at half time. That is, if Norm lays off the Velvet & cokes for the evening & doesn't crash before the game is over. Kidding aside.

Look for Iowa to ground & pound like they do & be physical in the trenches & just wear AZ down. Over 4 quarters, it gets both physically & mentally exausting & that may be what Iowa does best. They just lean on you for 4 quarters & stay strong while breaking their opponents down. We've seen it time & time again. It's Iowa's style. But, to compliment Iowa's style, they now have some veteran specialist at the skill positions that can make plays.

If you unfortunately fall asleep Saturday night & go to find the score in the paper on Sunday, without even looking at the score, you will find two telling stats that will show if Iowa is successfull or not.

1) Time of possession: If Iowa has a hefty margin in TOP, then this will show that they were able to have a run control offense controlling the time of possession & field position. This will show that they were able to keep AZ high powered passing O off the field. It will also show that AZ D was on the field a lot. Of course, this is what they will try to do.

2) Ryan Donohue's punts inside the 20: Also add opponents punt return yds. If Donohue consistently puts the ball inside the 20, this will show it made AZ go the length of the field against Iowa's stingy D, again wearing them down mentally. If Iowa is able to cover the punts & not give up a lot of field position with coverage, that would be a good sign as well.

Melrose's two key components to the Iowa vs AZ matchup. Ball control to win time of possession & Donohue's punting & punt coverage.
 


What worries me is the big plays thus nuetralizing having to drive the length of the field. Everything else you say makes sense of course.
 


What worries me is the big plays thus nuetralizing having to drive the length of the field. Everything else you say makes sense of course.


Yea. The way I understand AZ offense is that they like to dip & dunk down the field kind of similar to a W coast offense, then periodically take a chance down field. If Iowa can minimize the success of the downfield plays, they should be fine.
 


Iowa hasn't been lit up by the spread for awhile. IF Foles was fast and was a running threat, then this game would be a little more challenging, but he's one dimensional. Iowa works well against QB's that have only one part to their game.
 


Iowa hasn't been lit up by the spread for awhile. IF Foles was fast and was a running threat, then this game would be a little more challenging, but he's one dimensional. Iowa works well against QB's that have only one part to their game.


Good point. I was thinking the same thing the other day.
 






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