Lee Barfknecht's POV on a tired Hawkeye defense going into the Nebby game. I'd say he's pretty much right on on his observations. Thankfully the offense has responded to outscore its opponents. I love Kirk's response at the end. Nobody's feeling sorry for us.
Barfknecht: Hawkeye defense looking fatigued
Column by Lee Barfknecht / World-Herald staff writer | Updated 9 hours ago
IOWA CITY — I know it’s a busy time, dear readers, but today’s menu is loaded. We’ve got Mark Mangino’s bitterness and Paul Rhoads’ classiness and Urban Meyer’s ugly offense and Tim Beck’s hide-and-seek act to discuss.
But we must start with the undefeated, third-ranked and national championship-contending Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0, 7-0). Roll that sentence around in your head for a while.
Iowa linebacker Cole Fisher can hardly believe it himself, after seeing the previous five Hawkeye teams go 29-30 against FBS opponents.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” said the senior out of Millard North. “Our philosophy the whole time has been to do the little things right. Once you do little things, it turns into big success.
“So far, this season is a pretty cool example of that.”
Standing in Iowa’s way of completing a perfect regular season is Nebraska, a supposed newly minted rival when the Huskers joined the Big Ten five years ago.
Do the Hawkeyes hate Nebraska?
“I don’t know about hate, but we know we need to get after these guys in order to win,” said senior tight end Henry Krieger Coble from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. “They are a rival for us.
“Even though we haven’t been playing each other forever like all these Big Ten teams, we know that they are a heck of a program and pose a huge challenge for us, regardless of record.”
Krieger Coble said finishing a perfect regular season with Nebraska as the opponent might provide the perfect cherry on top.
“Their stadium is an unbelievable environment — one of the best in the country,” he said. “Just to get an opportunity to go out there and play ... it’s a heck of a team and a heck of an environment for these stakes. You can’t ask for anything more.”
Nebraska’s best hope to play spoiler might be to put stress on an Iowa defensive front seven that’s looking a bit tired and lacks depth.
A key batch of statistics hints at some late-season wear and tear. Let’s look at the Hawkeyes’ first eight games in a group and the last three:
» Yards per game allowed: First eight: 286.3. Last three: 415.3.
» Points per game allowed: First eight: 15.3. Last three: 27.3.
» Rushing touchdowns allowed: First eight: one. Last three: six.
The last three Iowa games have been against Indiana (407 yards, 27 points), Minnesota (434 and 35) and Purdue (405 and 20). The Hoosiers have moved the ball well all season, but the other two hardly are offensive juggernauts.
Why Iowa’s defense may be tiring comes down to playing time. Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette looked at snap counts for players from @Hawkeyegamefilm.
Starting linebackers Josey Jewell, Ben Niemann and Fisher have played 99 percent, 99 percent and 94 percent of snaps. That’s not factoring in their work on special teams. The starting defensive tackles — Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata of Howells, Nebraska — are at 83 percent and 81 percent.
Those are high percentages. I’ve seen Iowa in person five times this season. Lately, the surge up front and the explosive defensive bursts haven’t been as frequent, like what was seen against Wisconsin and Northwestern in October.
Iowa is last in the Big Ten and 111th nationally in tackles for loss. The Hawkeyes miss defensive end Drew Ott dearly. The senior disruptor from Trumbull, Nebraska, was on track to earn All-America honors before tearing knee ligaments.
Middle linebacker Jewell is Iowa’s leading tackler with 102.
“You feel the wear and tear every day,” said the sophomore from Decorah, Iowa. “But you’ve got to understand what you’re going for here. Every regular season is exhausting. We just have to finish.”
The Hawkeyes are well aware the 415.3 yards and 27.3 points allowed the past three games are higher than normal.
“We have some small detail things to fix,” Jewell said. “They are becoming bigger as the weeks go on. So we’ll focus on fixing one detail a day this week.”
Iowa comes to Lincoln with a short week of preparation after playing Saturday. Nebraska comes off a bye week. But the Hawkeyes shouldn’t look to coach Kirk Ferentz for any sympathy.
“Suck it up,” Ferentz said. “We’ll rest later.”
Barfknecht: Hawkeye defense looking fatigued
Column by Lee Barfknecht / World-Herald staff writer | Updated 9 hours ago
IOWA CITY — I know it’s a busy time, dear readers, but today’s menu is loaded. We’ve got Mark Mangino’s bitterness and Paul Rhoads’ classiness and Urban Meyer’s ugly offense and Tim Beck’s hide-and-seek act to discuss.
But we must start with the undefeated, third-ranked and national championship-contending Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0, 7-0). Roll that sentence around in your head for a while.
Iowa linebacker Cole Fisher can hardly believe it himself, after seeing the previous five Hawkeye teams go 29-30 against FBS opponents.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” said the senior out of Millard North. “Our philosophy the whole time has been to do the little things right. Once you do little things, it turns into big success.
“So far, this season is a pretty cool example of that.”
Standing in Iowa’s way of completing a perfect regular season is Nebraska, a supposed newly minted rival when the Huskers joined the Big Ten five years ago.
Do the Hawkeyes hate Nebraska?
“I don’t know about hate, but we know we need to get after these guys in order to win,” said senior tight end Henry Krieger Coble from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. “They are a rival for us.
“Even though we haven’t been playing each other forever like all these Big Ten teams, we know that they are a heck of a program and pose a huge challenge for us, regardless of record.”
Krieger Coble said finishing a perfect regular season with Nebraska as the opponent might provide the perfect cherry on top.
“Their stadium is an unbelievable environment — one of the best in the country,” he said. “Just to get an opportunity to go out there and play ... it’s a heck of a team and a heck of an environment for these stakes. You can’t ask for anything more.”
Nebraska’s best hope to play spoiler might be to put stress on an Iowa defensive front seven that’s looking a bit tired and lacks depth.
A key batch of statistics hints at some late-season wear and tear. Let’s look at the Hawkeyes’ first eight games in a group and the last three:
» Yards per game allowed: First eight: 286.3. Last three: 415.3.
» Points per game allowed: First eight: 15.3. Last three: 27.3.
» Rushing touchdowns allowed: First eight: one. Last three: six.
The last three Iowa games have been against Indiana (407 yards, 27 points), Minnesota (434 and 35) and Purdue (405 and 20). The Hoosiers have moved the ball well all season, but the other two hardly are offensive juggernauts.
Why Iowa’s defense may be tiring comes down to playing time. Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette looked at snap counts for players from @Hawkeyegamefilm.
Starting linebackers Josey Jewell, Ben Niemann and Fisher have played 99 percent, 99 percent and 94 percent of snaps. That’s not factoring in their work on special teams. The starting defensive tackles — Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata of Howells, Nebraska — are at 83 percent and 81 percent.
Those are high percentages. I’ve seen Iowa in person five times this season. Lately, the surge up front and the explosive defensive bursts haven’t been as frequent, like what was seen against Wisconsin and Northwestern in October.
Iowa is last in the Big Ten and 111th nationally in tackles for loss. The Hawkeyes miss defensive end Drew Ott dearly. The senior disruptor from Trumbull, Nebraska, was on track to earn All-America honors before tearing knee ligaments.
Middle linebacker Jewell is Iowa’s leading tackler with 102.
“You feel the wear and tear every day,” said the sophomore from Decorah, Iowa. “But you’ve got to understand what you’re going for here. Every regular season is exhausting. We just have to finish.”
The Hawkeyes are well aware the 415.3 yards and 27.3 points allowed the past three games are higher than normal.
“We have some small detail things to fix,” Jewell said. “They are becoming bigger as the weeks go on. So we’ll focus on fixing one detail a day this week.”
Iowa comes to Lincoln with a short week of preparation after playing Saturday. Nebraska comes off a bye week. But the Hawkeyes shouldn’t look to coach Kirk Ferentz for any sympathy.
“Suck it up,” Ferentz said. “We’ll rest later.”
