The Hawks were brought back down to earth after getting throttled by listless Purdue and watching Penn State lose to Illinois. However, all is not lost. If Iowa wins out, they remain a lock for the college football playoffs. Heck, even with one more loss on a relatively weak remaining schedule, the Big 10 west is Iowa's to lose.
The AP just released their mid-season all-American honors. Center Tyler Linderbaum and DB Matt Hankins have had an outstanding season and rightfully made the list. So where do the other key Hawkeye players stack up compared to the rest of college football?
RB Goodson: C-. The Big 10's reigning 1st team all conference RB came into the season with high expectations. He currently ranks 38th in college football in rushing yards (84 yrds per game). While that sounds decent, it ranks 8th among Big 10 backs, which would not be worthy of honorable mention all-Big 10 honors. More concerning, in terms of yards per carry, dancin' Goodson doesn't even crack the top 200 at just 4.3 ypc. By comparison, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio State all have freshmen/soph running backs averaging more than 7 yards per carry. Most other Big 10 teams have RBs who average over 6 yards per carry, including Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, etc. An extra couple of yards per carry may not sound like much, but it often makes the difference between a punt on 4th and 2 and a first down leading to points on the board.
LB Campbell: A. The next Greenway/Jewell at LB has been a beast. Campbell ranks 15th in the nation in tackles per game (9.6). Only Northwestern, which always seems to have freaks at the position, has a more productive Big 10 LB with 11.3 per game. If Campbell returns for his senior year next year, he'll be in the conversation for all-American honors.
WR Tracy: F. Tracy entered the season as the Hawks' most hyped player. After 7 games, his 83 yards receiving makes Tracy the biggest flop/underperformer in the Ferentz era. There are already WRs out there not named David Bell who have surpassed 1,000 yards receiving this year, and even the 100th ranked WR currently has 359 receiving yards. Tracy's not injured, yet has been outplayed by multiple true freshmen, a walk-on, and an overlooked after thought in Ragaini. Having a premiere WR stretch the field is something the Hawks are missing.
P Taylor: A. Iowa's punter very well may be the team's MVP. Taylor checks in at 19th in the country in punting average with 46 yards per punt. By comparison, our opponent Colorado State's punter is currently averaging 50 yards per punt. Unfortunately, Taylor ranks 6th in the nation in most punts, thanks to the team's anemic offense and ultra conservative coach, but he's the nation's top punter in kicks inside the 10 yard line, which makes him every bit as valuable as most of the skill position players on the team.
QB Petras: D+. Let's face it: there's little up side or down side with Petras. He's a below average game manager who can only take Iowa to the level that the defense/special teams/RBs take them. Petras' 55% completion percentage ranks 78th in college football & last among returning starters. By comparison, Brock Purdy is completing 75% of his passes at Iowa State, which is an enormous difference. Petras ranks 89th in yards per attempt (just 6.7 yards per attempt) while Iowan Max Duggan left the state and ranks 10th in the country at 9.3 yards per attempt and can actually scramble for first downs. Finally, Petras ranks 74th in passing yards per game at just 190. Quite a few QBs out there average over 300 yards per game, including several freshmen.
DB Moss: A+. Moss may be the MVP of the defense. His injury single handedly cost Iowa the game against Purdue, as the rest of the defense couldn't figure out how to stop the passing attack. Moss ranks 2nd in the nation in interceptions, despite playing 2 less games than the leader, ranks 2nd in the nation in interception return yards, and is the only player in football with two pick 6s this year.
DE VanValkenburg: C-. Zack entered the season as Iowa's top pass rusher and one of the only veterans on the defensive line. While his 6 tackles for loss lead the team, his total does not even crack the top 100 in the nation. There are 25 guys out there with over 10, with Alabama touting a future 1st round draft pick in Nick Anderson who's already got 16.5 tackles for a loss. Because the Hawks are struggling mightily to put pressure on QBs, teams like Purdue have been able to exploit the bend but don't break defense.
PR Jones: A. How fortunate is special teams coach LeVar Woods that Jones walked on at Iowa? The guy is fearless back there, refusing to call for a fair catch even knowing he'll be smoked a split second after catching the ball. Despite rarely fair catching, which lowers his average, Jones still ranks 12th in the country in yards per return at 11.5 yards. He's 2nd in the nation in punt returns, which reiterates that he'll return anything and doesn't kill the Hawks in field position by letting balls roll or fair catching.
The AP just released their mid-season all-American honors. Center Tyler Linderbaum and DB Matt Hankins have had an outstanding season and rightfully made the list. So where do the other key Hawkeye players stack up compared to the rest of college football?
RB Goodson: C-. The Big 10's reigning 1st team all conference RB came into the season with high expectations. He currently ranks 38th in college football in rushing yards (84 yrds per game). While that sounds decent, it ranks 8th among Big 10 backs, which would not be worthy of honorable mention all-Big 10 honors. More concerning, in terms of yards per carry, dancin' Goodson doesn't even crack the top 200 at just 4.3 ypc. By comparison, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio State all have freshmen/soph running backs averaging more than 7 yards per carry. Most other Big 10 teams have RBs who average over 6 yards per carry, including Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, etc. An extra couple of yards per carry may not sound like much, but it often makes the difference between a punt on 4th and 2 and a first down leading to points on the board.
LB Campbell: A. The next Greenway/Jewell at LB has been a beast. Campbell ranks 15th in the nation in tackles per game (9.6). Only Northwestern, which always seems to have freaks at the position, has a more productive Big 10 LB with 11.3 per game. If Campbell returns for his senior year next year, he'll be in the conversation for all-American honors.
WR Tracy: F. Tracy entered the season as the Hawks' most hyped player. After 7 games, his 83 yards receiving makes Tracy the biggest flop/underperformer in the Ferentz era. There are already WRs out there not named David Bell who have surpassed 1,000 yards receiving this year, and even the 100th ranked WR currently has 359 receiving yards. Tracy's not injured, yet has been outplayed by multiple true freshmen, a walk-on, and an overlooked after thought in Ragaini. Having a premiere WR stretch the field is something the Hawks are missing.
P Taylor: A. Iowa's punter very well may be the team's MVP. Taylor checks in at 19th in the country in punting average with 46 yards per punt. By comparison, our opponent Colorado State's punter is currently averaging 50 yards per punt. Unfortunately, Taylor ranks 6th in the nation in most punts, thanks to the team's anemic offense and ultra conservative coach, but he's the nation's top punter in kicks inside the 10 yard line, which makes him every bit as valuable as most of the skill position players on the team.
QB Petras: D+. Let's face it: there's little up side or down side with Petras. He's a below average game manager who can only take Iowa to the level that the defense/special teams/RBs take them. Petras' 55% completion percentage ranks 78th in college football & last among returning starters. By comparison, Brock Purdy is completing 75% of his passes at Iowa State, which is an enormous difference. Petras ranks 89th in yards per attempt (just 6.7 yards per attempt) while Iowan Max Duggan left the state and ranks 10th in the country at 9.3 yards per attempt and can actually scramble for first downs. Finally, Petras ranks 74th in passing yards per game at just 190. Quite a few QBs out there average over 300 yards per game, including several freshmen.
DB Moss: A+. Moss may be the MVP of the defense. His injury single handedly cost Iowa the game against Purdue, as the rest of the defense couldn't figure out how to stop the passing attack. Moss ranks 2nd in the nation in interceptions, despite playing 2 less games than the leader, ranks 2nd in the nation in interception return yards, and is the only player in football with two pick 6s this year.
DE VanValkenburg: C-. Zack entered the season as Iowa's top pass rusher and one of the only veterans on the defensive line. While his 6 tackles for loss lead the team, his total does not even crack the top 100 in the nation. There are 25 guys out there with over 10, with Alabama touting a future 1st round draft pick in Nick Anderson who's already got 16.5 tackles for a loss. Because the Hawks are struggling mightily to put pressure on QBs, teams like Purdue have been able to exploit the bend but don't break defense.
PR Jones: A. How fortunate is special teams coach LeVar Woods that Jones walked on at Iowa? The guy is fearless back there, refusing to call for a fair catch even knowing he'll be smoked a split second after catching the ball. Despite rarely fair catching, which lowers his average, Jones still ranks 12th in the country in yards per return at 11.5 yards. He's 2nd in the nation in punt returns, which reiterates that he'll return anything and doesn't kill the Hawks in field position by letting balls roll or fair catching.
