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IowaLaw's Mid-Term Report Card: Offense

IowasLaw

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2019
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Everyone knows this team is bad. 3-3 after 6 games. An expected 4 touchdown beatdown coming up in the next game. But just how bad does this team compare with the rest of the Big 10? Back by popular demand, IowaLaw will show you:

WRs: (F). Perhaps the story of the year in the Big 10 is how Iowa's 5th string WR last year, Charlie Jones, leads the entire conference with 50 receptions and 7 tds...for Purdue. How are the mighty receivers performing who Brian Ferentz thought were better than Jones? Ragaini and Bruce rank 48th and 50th in receiving yards. Johnson doesn't want to play for the Hawks and has just 2 receptions on the year. Tracy ranks 22nd in the conference in receptions...for Purdue. Unfortunately, the Iowa WR corp is the laughing stock of college football. Kelton Copeland, the WR coach, gets a lot of good press, but if he didn't have the foresight to see this train wreck coming from a mile away and pull some kids out of the transfer portal, he should at least be questioned on the lack of development by 5th year guys like Ragaini, who had better stats as a freshmen than he does as a senior, and the lack of development by Brecht & Bruce after 2 years in the system.

TEs: (B+). Iowa knew TE would be the strength of the offense. That's why the brain trust running the show made sure to hit the transfer portal hard to bring in just 1 transfer to bolster the 85 man roster...a TE. While LaPorta has had an up and down year (he leads the team in both drops and catches...and gets double the targets of anyone else), he currently stands as the Big 10 tight end leader in receptions and yards at 30 for 270. His yards per reception, however, are abysmal, as he catches a lot of balls at the line of scrimmage short of the sticks and doesn't seem to have a high football IQ. Lachey has looked great at times and seems to catch everything that comes his way, but he doesn't see many targets. He has 9 catches for 157 yards, which is double LaPorta's yards per catch. Say what you will about Iowa's abundant use of tight ends, but there have been zero catches by any other tight end, including the grad transfer...at TEU.

QB: (F). After playing 100% of Iowa's snaps, 3 year starter Petras ranks dead last in Big 10 passer rating. He's 13th of 14 in completion percentage (54%) and yards per game (157th). With a "body of work" like that, "what's the upside" of naming a new starter at Iowa for the first time since 2019? I'll let the QBs coach answer that question.

RBs: D+. Iowa is a run first, grind em out offense, right? Well, the Hawks don't have a single back who ranks in the top 20 in the Big 10 in yards per carry. That means most teams have 2 backs better than anyone on Iowa's roster this year. There are 8 backs in the conference averaging 6 yards per carry or more...all but 1 are freshmen and sophomores and will be back next year. Iowa's top back, Kaleb Johnson, averages just 4.6 yards per carry. As Iowa's "big play" back, he ranks 28th in the conference in "long rushing plays." Then there's Iowa's #1 back at the start of the season, Gavin Williams...the heir apparent to Goodson, ranks 34th in the conference in yards per game and 33rd in yards per carry. Ouch.

OL: (F). Ya know how Kirk is an "OLine Guru" and Brian is somehow one too based on osmosis? Well, despite having quite a few 4 star recruits in the 2 deeps, the Hawks rank 13th in sacks given up at 18 (the top 1/2 of the conference give up 10 or less). Iowa is dead last in the conference in rushing yards per attempt and dead last in rushing yards per game with just 82. By comparison, Minnesota averages 3x more rushing yards, at 245 per game! If the OL coach can't develop the 4 star recruits he was gifted when he took over, how is he going to develop lower rated guys? George Barnett needs to go, and it's not even a close call.

Kicker: C-. Rather than go to the portal to replace their all-world kicker last year, anointed super star special teams coach Woods elected to rest Iowa's fate on a couple under classmen walk-ons to go into hostile stadiums and make game winning kicks. Well, the Hawks have lost two games by a field goal where a field goal was missed, and the squad ranks 8th in the conference in field goal percentage at 70%. Not terrible, by any means, but had Iowa not hit 87% of their field goals last year, that team would have probably lost 2 additional games and been 8-6 rather than 10-4. What a difference a good kicker makes when the margin of victory at Iowa is so slim. As for kickoffs, the Hawks are in the middle of the pack, with a decent number of touchbacks but nowhere near what they were in years past.
 
Everyone knows this team is bad. 3-3 after 6 games. An expected 4 touchdown beatdown coming up in the next game. But just how bad does this team compare with the rest of the Big 10? Back by popular demand, IowaLaw will show you:

WRs: (F). Perhaps the story of the year in the Big 10 is how Iowa's 5th string WR last year, Charlie Jones, leads the entire conference with 50 receptions and 7 tds...for Purdue. How are the mighty receivers performing who Brian Ferentz thought were better than Jones? Ragaini and Bruce rank 48th and 50th in receiving yards. Johnson doesn't want to play for the Hawks and has just 2 receptions on the year. Tracy ranks 22nd in the conference in receptions...for Purdue. Unfortunately, the Iowa WR corp is the laughing stock of college football. Kelton Copeland, the WR coach, gets a lot of good press, but if he didn't have the foresight to see this train wreck coming from a mile away and pull some kids out of the transfer portal, he should at least be questioned on the lack of development by 5th year guys like Ragaini, who had better stats as a freshmen than he does as a senior, and the lack of development by Brecht & Bruce after 2 years in the system.

TEs: (B+). Iowa knew TE would be the strength of the offense. That's why the brain trust running the show made sure to hit the transfer portal hard to bring in just 1 transfer to bolster the 85 man roster...a TE. While LaPorta has had an up and down year (he leads the team in both drops and catches...and gets double the targets of anyone else), he currently stands as the Big 10 tight end leader in receptions and yards at 30 for 270. His yards per reception, however, are abysmal, as he catches a lot of balls at the line of scrimmage short of the sticks and doesn't seem to have a high football IQ. Lachey has looked great at times and seems to catch everything that comes his way, but he doesn't see many targets. He has 9 catches for 157 yards, which is double LaPorta's yards per catch. Say what you will about Iowa's abundant use of tight ends, but there have been zero catches by any other tight end, including the grad transfer...at TEU.

QB: (F). After playing 100% of Iowa's snaps, 3 year starter Petras ranks dead last in Big 10 passer rating. He's 13th of 14 in completion percentage (54%) and yards per game (157th). With a "body of work" like that, "what's the upside" of naming a new starter at Iowa for the first time since 2019? I'll let the QBs coach answer that question.

RBs: D+. Iowa is a run first, grind em out offense, right? Well, the Hawks don't have a single back who ranks in the top 20 in the Big 10 in yards per carry. That means most teams have 2 backs better than anyone on Iowa's roster this year. There are 8 backs in the conference averaging 6 yards per carry or more...all but 1 are freshmen and sophomores and will be back next year. Iowa's top back, Kaleb Johnson, averages just 4.6 yards per carry. As Iowa's "big play" back, he ranks 28th in the conference in "long rushing plays." Then there's Iowa's #1 back at the start of the season, Gavin Williams...the heir apparent to Goodson, ranks 34th in the conference in yards per game and 33rd in yards per carry. Ouch.

OL: (F). Ya know how Kirk is an "OLine Guru" and Brian is somehow one too based on osmosis? Well, despite having quite a few 4 star recruits in the 2 deeps, the Hawks rank 13th in sacks given up at 18 (the top 1/2 of the conference give up 10 or less). Iowa is dead last in the conference in rushing yards per attempt and dead last in rushing yards per game with just 82. By comparison, Minnesota averages 3x more rushing yards, at 245 per game! If the OL coach can't develop the 4 star recruits he was gifted when he took over, how is he going to develop lower rated guys? George Barnett needs to go, and it's not even a close call.

Kicker: C-. Rather than go to the portal to replace their all-world kicker last year, anointed super star special teams coach Woods elected to rest Iowa's fate on a couple under classmen walk-ons to go into hostile stadiums and make game winning kicks. Well, the Hawks have lost two games by a field goal where a field goal was missed, and the squad ranks 8th in the conference in field goal percentage at 70%. Not terrible, by any means, but had Iowa not hit 87% of their field goals last year, that team would have probably lost 2 additional games and been 8-6 rather than 10-4. What a difference a good kicker makes when the margin of victory at Iowa is so slim. As for kickoffs, the Hawks are in the middle of the pack, with a decent number of touchbacks but nowhere near what they were in years past.
I for one love your posts. Probably because I always agree
 
Everyone knows this team is bad. 3-3 after 6 games. An expected 4 touchdown beatdown coming up in the next game. But just how bad does this team compare with the rest of the Big 10? Back by popular demand, IowaLaw will show you:

WRs: (F). Perhaps the story of the year in the Big 10 is how Iowa's 5th string WR last year, Charlie Jones, leads the entire conference with 50 receptions and 7 tds...for Purdue. How are the mighty receivers performing who Brian Ferentz thought were better than Jones? Ragaini and Bruce rank 48th and 50th in receiving yards. Johnson doesn't want to play for the Hawks and has just 2 receptions on the year. Tracy ranks 22nd in the conference in receptions...for Purdue. Unfortunately, the Iowa WR corp is the laughing stock of college football. Kelton Copeland, the WR coach, gets a lot of good press, but if he didn't have the foresight to see this train wreck coming from a mile away and pull some kids out of the transfer portal, he should at least be questioned on the lack of development by 5th year guys like Ragaini, who had better stats as a freshmen than he does as a senior, and the lack of development by Brecht & Bruce after 2 years in the system.

TEs: (B+). Iowa knew TE would be the strength of the offense. That's why the brain trust running the show made sure to hit the transfer portal hard to bring in just 1 transfer to bolster the 85 man roster...a TE. While LaPorta has had an up and down year (he leads the team in both drops and catches...and gets double the targets of anyone else), he currently stands as the Big 10 tight end leader in receptions and yards at 30 for 270. His yards per reception, however, are abysmal, as he catches a lot of balls at the line of scrimmage short of the sticks and doesn't seem to have a high football IQ. Lachey has looked great at times and seems to catch everything that comes his way, but he doesn't see many targets. He has 9 catches for 157 yards, which is double LaPorta's yards per catch. Say what you will about Iowa's abundant use of tight ends, but there have been zero catches by any other tight end, including the grad transfer...at TEU.

QB: (F). After playing 100% of Iowa's snaps, 3 year starter Petras ranks dead last in Big 10 passer rating. He's 13th of 14 in completion percentage (54%) and yards per game (157th). With a "body of work" like that, "what's the upside" of naming a new starter at Iowa for the first time since 2019? I'll let the QBs coach answer that question.

RBs: D+. Iowa is a run first, grind em out offense, right? Well, the Hawks don't have a single back who ranks in the top 20 in the Big 10 in yards per carry. That means most teams have 2 backs better than anyone on Iowa's roster this year. There are 8 backs in the conference averaging 6 yards per carry or more...all but 1 are freshmen and sophomores and will be back next year. Iowa's top back, Kaleb Johnson, averages just 4.6 yards per carry. As Iowa's "big play" back, he ranks 28th in the conference in "long rushing plays." Then there's Iowa's #1 back at the start of the season, Gavin Williams...the heir apparent to Goodson, ranks 34th in the conference in yards per game and 33rd in yards per carry. Ouch.

OL: (F). Ya know how Kirk is an "OLine Guru" and Brian is somehow one too based on osmosis? Well, despite having quite a few 4 star recruits in the 2 deeps, the Hawks rank 13th in sacks given up at 18 (the top 1/2 of the conference give up 10 or less). Iowa is dead last in the conference in rushing yards per attempt and dead last in rushing yards per game with just 82. By comparison, Minnesota averages 3x more rushing yards, at 245 per game! If the OL coach can't develop the 4 star recruits he was gifted when he took over, how is he going to develop lower rated guys? George Barnett needs to go, and it's not even a close call.

Kicker: C-. Rather than go to the portal to replace their all-world kicker last year, anointed super star special teams coach Woods elected to rest Iowa's fate on a couple under classmen walk-ons to go into hostile stadiums and make game winning kicks. Well, the Hawks have lost two games by a field goal where a field goal was missed, and the squad ranks 8th in the conference in field goal percentage at 70%. Not terrible, by any means, but had Iowa not hit 87% of their field goals last year, that team would have probably lost 2 additional games and been 8-6 rather than 10-4. What a difference a good kicker makes when the margin of victory at Iowa is so slim. As for kickoffs, the Hawks are in the middle of the pack, with a decent number of touchbacks but nowhere near what they were in years past.
our fg kicker has only missed one kick a 45yd. get real man! our kickers also have 10x the pressure of most kickers lol....:(

it's not his fault KF started the season with the wrong kicker!

Rb is at least a c

why no f-?
 
Too low on the RB's as their production lies in the hands of the OL. W/ an average OL, the RB's would be much better......Too high on the TE's - They're typically A to B type grades, but they get far more targets than anyone else so their production is naturally higher.......All other positions' grades are reasonable at this point........
 
Everyone knows this team is bad. 3-3 after 6 games. An expected 4 touchdown beatdown coming up in the next game. But just how bad does this team compare with the rest of the Big 10? Back by popular demand, IowaLaw will show you:

WRs: (F). Perhaps the story of the year in the Big 10 is how Iowa's 5th string WR last year, Charlie Jones, leads the entire conference with 50 receptions and 7 tds...for Purdue. How are the mighty receivers performing who Brian Ferentz thought were better than Jones? Ragaini and Bruce rank 48th and 50th in receiving yards. Johnson doesn't want to play for the Hawks and has just 2 receptions on the year. Tracy ranks 22nd in the conference in receptions...for Purdue. Unfortunately, the Iowa WR corp is the laughing stock of college football. Kelton Copeland, the WR coach, gets a lot of good press, but if he didn't have the foresight to see this train wreck coming from a mile away and pull some kids out of the transfer portal, he should at least be questioned on the lack of development by 5th year guys like Ragaini, who had better stats as a freshmen than he does as a senior, and the lack of development by Brecht & Bruce after 2 years in the system.

TEs: (B+). Iowa knew TE would be the strength of the offense. That's why the brain trust running the show made sure to hit the transfer portal hard to bring in just 1 transfer to bolster the 85 man roster...a TE. While LaPorta has had an up and down year (he leads the team in both drops and catches...and gets double the targets of anyone else), he currently stands as the Big 10 tight end leader in receptions and yards at 30 for 270. His yards per reception, however, are abysmal, as he catches a lot of balls at the line of scrimmage short of the sticks and doesn't seem to have a high football IQ. Lachey has looked great at times and seems to catch everything that comes his way, but he doesn't see many targets. He has 9 catches for 157 yards, which is double LaPorta's yards per catch. Say what you will about Iowa's abundant use of tight ends, but there have been zero catches by any other tight end, including the grad transfer...at TEU.

QB: (F). After playing 100% of Iowa's snaps, 3 year starter Petras ranks dead last in Big 10 passer rating. He's 13th of 14 in completion percentage (54%) and yards per game (157th). With a "body of work" like that, "what's the upside" of naming a new starter at Iowa for the first time since 2019? I'll let the QBs coach answer that question.

RBs: D+. Iowa is a run first, grind em out offense, right? Well, the Hawks don't have a single back who ranks in the top 20 in the Big 10 in yards per carry. That means most teams have 2 backs better than anyone on Iowa's roster this year. There are 8 backs in the conference averaging 6 yards per carry or more...all but 1 are freshmen and sophomores and will be back next year. Iowa's top back, Kaleb Johnson, averages just 4.6 yards per carry. As Iowa's "big play" back, he ranks 28th in the conference in "long rushing plays." Then there's Iowa's #1 back at the start of the season, Gavin Williams...the heir apparent to Goodson, ranks 34th in the conference in yards per game and 33rd in yards per carry. Ouch.

OL: (F). Ya know how Kirk is an "OLine Guru" and Brian is somehow one too based on osmosis? Well, despite having quite a few 4 star recruits in the 2 deeps, the Hawks rank 13th in sacks given up at 18 (the top 1/2 of the conference give up 10 or less). Iowa is dead last in the conference in rushing yards per attempt and dead last in rushing yards per game with just 82. By comparison, Minnesota averages 3x more rushing yards, at 245 per game! If the OL coach can't develop the 4 star recruits he was gifted when he took over, how is he going to develop lower rated guys? George Barnett needs to go, and it's not even a close call.

Kicker: C-. Rather than go to the portal to replace their all-world kicker last year, anointed super star special teams coach Woods elected to rest Iowa's fate on a couple under classmen walk-ons to go into hostile stadiums and make game winning kicks. Well, the Hawks have lost two games by a field goal where a field goal was missed, and the squad ranks 8th in the conference in field goal percentage at 70%. Not terrible, by any means, but had Iowa not hit 87% of their field goals last year, that team would have probably lost 2 additional games and been 8-6 rather than 10-4. What a difference a good kicker makes when the margin of victory at Iowa is so slim. As for kickoffs, the Hawks are in the middle of the pack, with a decent number of touchbacks but nowhere near what they were in years past.
Just spitballin' here, but just maybe the F oline has something to do with the D+ running backs not getting a lot of yards? 🤔

Oh, and how good must our remaining receivers be if our 4th stringer leads the conference??!!!
 
Agree on the WR, QB, and OL grades. Think the RB grade might be a little harsh, especially regarding Kaleb Johnson. 4.6 ypc is pretty good behind this O line and considering opposing teams don’t respect our pass offense. Gavin Williams has been a disappointment though.
 
Tough grade for the WR’s. With the o-line issues and Petras’s troubles I wonder if any WR could help at this point.
 
TE's too high. LaPorta can't block and is part of the running game problem. C+

Running backs grade is incomplete or too low. C

WR's are not an F, they are probably a C- and playing better.

Kicker is a freshman and almost all Kickers are walkons so that point doesn't really stand. I'm really liking Stevens but he happened to miss one kick. It's always magnified when the offense can't score touchdowns. B-

So I'd go:
QB- F
RB- C
WR- C-
TE- C+
OL- F
K- B-

OVERALL- F
 
Nice analysis (as usual) by op. To sum it all up very succinctly, the offense is a shit show. The Offensive Coordinator is a shit show. The QB coach is a shit show. The O line coach is a shit show as well. And the Head Coach is running toward the outhouse.
 
Being 131st out of 131 in FBS and 13th/14th level in B1G in most offensive stats.....I would say WR, OL, QB are all D's or F's. TE looks to be C or better. Rbs...Kaleb looks
promising....the other two kind of meh...so that is probably a C also.
 
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Who is this 'IowaLaw' you speak of? ;)

As others have pointed out, the RBs should be @ C based on our crappy OL. Not a huge fan of our WRs (especially when we have to resort to those walk-ons), but having the league's WORST QB throw passes at their feet and/or 8 feet over their heads will not help their cause for catches/rankings. When healthy, Johnson, Bruce, and Rags would be @ C IMHO. I'd give our TEs an A-, but that is splitting hairs. Kicking s/b @ B because you need in corporate punting. An finally, please adjust QB to F-. :)
 
Iowa's tradition at oline is mediocre unless you're talking the 2000's
I know it feels like that's the case, but it's well above mediocre. The last two years have been abysmal.

YPC
2022 2.6
2021 3.4
2020 4.6
2019 3.9
2018 4.0
2017 3.8
2016 4.5
2015 4.5
2014 4.1
2013 4.2
2012 3.7
2011 3.9
2010 4.3
2009 3.3
2008 4.8
2007 3.5
2006 4.3
2005 4.8
2004 2.0 Brownlee
2003 4.2
2002 5.0
2001 4.3
2000 2.7
 
The consensus seems to be that the RBs are rated too low with a D+. In grading, a C equates to an average RB corp. Are Iowa's RBs "average" in the Big 10? Anyone who watched all the studs out there play this past weekend during Iowa's bye weekend would find a hard time putting anyone from Iowa's backfield in the top 7 RBs in the league.

1. Michigan - has an emerging Heisman candidates who averages 130 yards per game despite rarely needing to play in the 4th quarter.

2. Illinois - has the conferences leading rusher with nearly 1100 yards at the halfway point in the season (Goodson had 1150 yards all last year).

3. Minnesota - their back is perhaps the best player in the league, and averages 6.7 yards per carry with 9 touchdowns, but can't stay healthy.

4. Wisconsin - has an 18 year old sophomore superstar who averages 110 yards per game and will be the next pro RB out of Wisconsin.

5 & 6. Ohio State - has not 1 but 2 star RBs that Iowa will get to meet this week. One leads the Big 10 in yards per carry at nearly 8 yards, and the other was the #2 overall RB recruit in the country.

7. Penn State - has a freshmen RB who averages 7 yards per carry and is a super star in the making.

8 & 9. Maryland - has not 1 but 2 freshmen backs who average 6.2 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns between them.

10. Purdue - Even this pass happy offense has a back that averages 5.7 yards per carry, plus has more receptions than nearly every receiver on Iowa's roster.

With the facts in hand, can one still make a serious argument that Iowa's RB play deserves more than a D+ compared with their peers? Not when they're not even in the top 10 in the conference at the position. They are a below average group playing behind a horrible line.
 
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The consensus seems to be that the RBs are rated too low with a D+. In grading, a C equates to an average RB corp. Are Iowa's RBs "average" in the Big 10? Anyone who watched all the studs out there play this past weekend during Iowa's bye weekend would find a hard time putting anyone from Iowa's backfield in the top 7 RBs in the league.

1. Michigan - has an emerging Heisman candidates who averages 130 yards per game despite rarely playing in the 4th quarter due to so many blowouts.

2. IL - has the conferences leading rusher with nearly 1100 yards at the halfway point in the season (Goodson had 1150 yards all last year).

3. Minnesota - their back is perhaps the best player in the league, and averages 6.7 yards per carry with 9 touchdowns, but can't stay healthy.

4. Wisconsin - has an 18 year old sophomore superstar who averages 110 yards per game and will be the next pro RB out of Wisconsin.

5 & 6. - Ohio State has not 1 but 2 star RBs that Iowa will get to meet this week. One leads the Big 10 in yards per carry at nearly 8 yards, and the other was the #2 overall RB recruit in the country.

7. Penn State - has a freshmen RB who averages 7 yards per carry and is a super star in the making.

8 & 9. - Maryland has not 1 but 2 freshmen backs who average 6.2 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns between them.

10. Even pass happy Purdue has a back that averages 5.7 yards per carry and has more receptions than nearly every receiver on Iowa's roster.

With that information, can one still make a serious argument that Iowa's RB play deserves more than a D+ compared with their peers? Not when they're not even in the top 10 in the conference at the position.
I thought the grading was based on all of college football, not just the BT. IMHO so that means most of the BT teams grade out an 'A' or 'B'.....but yes I agree, we are definitely on the lower rung when it comes to just the BT.
For most all of the Offensive categories for that matter! ;)
 
The consensus seems to be that the RBs are rated too low with a D+. In grading, a C equates to an average RB corp. Are Iowa's RBs "average" in the Big 10? Anyone who watched all the studs out there play this past weekend during Iowa's bye weekend would find a hard time putting anyone from Iowa's backfield in the top 7 RBs in the league.

1. Michigan - has an emerging Heisman candidates who averages 130 yards per game despite rarely needing to play in the 4th quarter.

2. Illinois - has the conferences leading rusher with nearly 1100 yards at the halfway point in the season (Goodson had 1150 yards all last year).

3. Minnesota - their back is perhaps the best player in the league, and averages 6.7 yards per carry with 9 touchdowns, but can't stay healthy.

4. Wisconsin - has an 18 year old sophomore superstar who averages 110 yards per game and will be the next pro RB out of Wisconsin.

5 & 6. Ohio State - has not 1 but 2 star RBs that Iowa will get to meet this week. One leads the Big 10 in yards per carry at nearly 8 yards, and the other was the #2 overall RB recruit in the country.

7. Penn State - has a freshmen RB who averages 7 yards per carry and is a super star in the making.

8 & 9. Maryland - has not 1 but 2 freshmen backs who average 6.2 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns between them.

10. Purdue - Even this pass happy offense has a back that averages 5.7 yards per carry, plus has more receptions than nearly every receiver on Iowa's roster.

With the facts in hand, can one still make a serious argument that Iowa's RB play deserves more than a D+ compared with their peers? Not when they're not even in the top 10 in the conference at the position. They are a below average group playing behind a horrible line.
You have the running backs playing with an "f" OL, QB and WR. And then you think they're suppose to put up solid numbers? You think that psu rb will come play with the team and oc and avg 7ypc??? LMFAO Derpity derp derp....

cmon now!
 
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You have the running backs playing with an "f" OL, QB and WR. And then you think they're suppose to put up solid numbers? You think that psu rb will come play with the team and oc and avg 7ypc??? LMFAO Derpity derp derp....

cmon now!
This is my problem w/ grading the RB's at D level. All of the backs mentioned (1-10) are running behind far lines that are 2 steps ahead of Iowa's. As long as the fall forward, they will average 5ypc......Iowa's guys are getting hit at (often behind) the LOS.....
 
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This is my problem w/ grading the RB's at D level. All of the backs mentioned (1-10) are running behind far lines that are 2 steps ahead of Iowa's. As long as the fall forward, they will average 5ypc......Iowa's guys are getting hit at (often behind) the LOS.....
Iowa's backs do run behind an awful OL, but how else are you going to grade them then by their production? By the amount of community service they do?

Not all of the league's run behind all-pro lines. Heck, Ladell Betts played on Iowa's garbage 2000 team that went 3-9 and still ran for 1,100 yards. Even with bad lines, great backs at least break a few runs each game when the find a crease or make someone miss.

In terms of backs with the most 10 yard+ gains in the conference, no Iowa back ranks in the top 30. Every other Big 10 team, even Rutgers/Indiana/Mich State/Northwestern, has at least 1 back in the top 30 on big plays. That's as much an indictment on the RBs as it is the OL.
 
Iowa's backs do run behind an awful OL, but how else are you going to grade them then by their production? By the amount of community service they do?

Not all of the league's run behind all-pro lines. Heck, Ladell Betts played on Iowa's garbage 2000 team that went 3-9 and still ran for 1,100 yards. Even with bad lines, great backs at least break a few runs each game when the find a crease or make someone miss.

In terms of backs with the most 10 yard+ gains in the conference, no Iowa back ranks in the top 30. Every other Big 10 team, even Rutgers/Indiana/Mich State/Northwestern, has at least 1 back in the top 30 on big plays. That's as much an indictment on the RBs as it is the OL.
Just looking at the raw data lacks insight. Admittedly, it is difficult to isolate RB performance from the O Line. You would really be grading our rushing attack as a whole, which is fine and in that case, would agree with a below average grade that you suggested.

But the reality is there are other factors that can impact our rushing performance, and our individual running backs that will not show up in the data.

1. The overall threat of our passing game is incredibly weak and gives the defense a clear advantage as they do not have to pay as much attention/respect to the pass, especially deep routes.
2. QB running ability. This can have an impact in two ways, first just sheer running threat can force defenders to have to protect the edge and second via the read option, where the QB forces a DE or LB to commit and can create additional running space. Obviously, we have one of the weakest QB running threats in all of college football. (of course we can look at QB rushing yards, but even that can be misleading as it factors in sacks and does not capture read option or the overall threat of running).
 
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Kicker: C-. Rather than go to the portal to replace their all-world kicker last year, anointed super star special teams coach Woods elected to rest Iowa's fate on a couple under classmen walk-ons to go into hostile stadiums and make game winning kicks. Well, the Hawks have lost two games by a field goal where a field goal was missed, and the squad ranks 8th in the conference in field goal percentage at 70%. Not terrible, by any means, but had Iowa not hit 87% of their field goals last year, that team would have probably lost 2 additional games and been 8-6 rather than 10-4. What a difference a good kicker makes when the margin of victory at Iowa is so slim. As for kickoffs, the Hawks are in the middle of the pack, with a decent number of touchbacks but nowhere near what they were in years past.
Bet you wish you could take this one back.
 
Bet you wish you could take this one back.
Why? At the midway point in the season, had Iowa not lost 2 extremely winnable games by a single missed field goal? The coaches chose to play Aaron Blom over Drew Stevens. The kid made just 33% of his kicks and has been benched for the entire second half of the season.

You do understand the concept of a mid-term report card, yes? I would imagine Drew Stevens having an all-Big 10 second half of the season would be reflected on an evaluation of the second half of the season.
 
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Why? At the midway point in the season, had Iowa not lost 2 extremely winnable games by a single missed field goal? The coaches chose to play Aaron Blom over Drew Stevens. The kid made just 33% of his kicks and has been benched for the entire second half of the season.

You do understand the concept of a mid-term report card, yes? I would imagine Drew Stevens having an all-Big 10 second half of the season would be reflected on an evaluation of the second half of the season.
Iowa > your team

Deal with it.
 
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