The Hawkeye offense finally showed a pulse! Granted, the score was just 3-0 with 1:00 min to go before halftime, but fans will take what they can get. The final score was 40-0 thanks to a huge turnover margin advantage. The Hawks are going into next week's rivalry game with ISU feeling pretty good.
1. Cade. It was a mixed bag with Iowa's million dollar QB transfer. He laid an egg in the first half, leading an offense almost identical to a Brian Ferentz offense with the patented two runs up the middle followed by short passes on third and long. But by the end of the game, Cade put up some respectable stats. 21 of 31 for 251 yards and 3 tds is a solid top half of the Big 10 QB stat line. Better yet, Cade actually kept a couple of plays alive with his feet, something Hawk fans haven't seen in 4 or 5 years. BUT...an objective fan like IowaLaw had to note that Cade's mechanics were simply awful. I've never seen a 5th year senior quarterback with as much experience as Cade throw nearly all of his passes off his back foot. Against an FCS opponent, throwing ducks won't get you into trouble. But if he doesn't fix his mechanics, I foresee a rough road ahead. To that end, it would have been nice to let Sullivan get some throwing reps in a 40-0 blowout...but that's not the Ferentzian way.
2. RBs. The strange secrecy around the Hawkeye program struck this week in terms of running back play. All week long, the Hawkeye media raved about how freshmen Kamari Moulton magically climbed the depth chart ahead of seasoned juniors and seniors. No one dared to ask questions. Well, Moulton played like a 4th stringer out there averaging just 3.4 yards per carry against an outmanned defense. Then the second half begins, the Big 10 announcers note what Kaleb Johnson had been suspended for the first half. Not one Hawk beat reporter picked up on that? Needless to say, Johnson came in and averaged 11 yards per carry and had 2 touchdowns. Going forward, Johnson needs to be the guy. He's got that extra gear that none other backs on the roster have.
3. WRs. The Hawks top WR was suspended for the game, so it was interesting to see what the rest of the group could do. While only 2 WRs got touches (which NEEDS TO CHANGE), both were pleasant surprises and neither had any obvious drops. Vander Zee was a huge pleasant surprise out there and seems to have the size and speed to make some noise this year as a true freshmen. I wasn't real high on Gill as Iowa's lone transfer portal WR recruit (huge fail by the staff), given that he had just 8 receptions in his previous two years at Northwestern, but he jumped in there and caught 3 balls for 46 yards and made some key contributions.
4. Where's Wetjen? Wetjen is the fastest guy on Iowa's roster. He was grossly underused last year and the hope was with a new OC, someone would figure out a way to get Iowa's most talented playmakers on the field. Well, despite turning in an all-American punt returner performance, he saw no touches on offense. No jet sweeps, no counters, no short passes in space. Could Wetjen be another Charlie Jones situation? Possibly, if the staff doesn't stop randying around.
5. Hawkeye DL. Going into the season, it was assumed that the only weak spot on the defense would be the DL. Getting pressure on the QB was a concern last year and it was expected to be a concern this year. But guys like Aaron Graves & Brian Allen flipped the script and tallied a combined 4 sacks. Craig & Pittman also looked good out there clogging the gaps and putting pressure on the QB.
6. New Punter Underwhelms. Sadly, the punter recruit received more acclaim and anticipation than any other recruit in this year's freshmen class. Expectations have been unreasonably high for the guy. Coming in to replace the Ray Guy award winner is a lot of pressure. While Dakin had no shanks and seemed pretty comfortable out there, it's been a long long time since the Hawks had a punter average just 39 yards per punt and not have any spectacular coffin corner game changing punts. The good news is that was game 1 of a 4 year career and the kid has loads of potential.
1. Cade. It was a mixed bag with Iowa's million dollar QB transfer. He laid an egg in the first half, leading an offense almost identical to a Brian Ferentz offense with the patented two runs up the middle followed by short passes on third and long. But by the end of the game, Cade put up some respectable stats. 21 of 31 for 251 yards and 3 tds is a solid top half of the Big 10 QB stat line. Better yet, Cade actually kept a couple of plays alive with his feet, something Hawk fans haven't seen in 4 or 5 years. BUT...an objective fan like IowaLaw had to note that Cade's mechanics were simply awful. I've never seen a 5th year senior quarterback with as much experience as Cade throw nearly all of his passes off his back foot. Against an FCS opponent, throwing ducks won't get you into trouble. But if he doesn't fix his mechanics, I foresee a rough road ahead. To that end, it would have been nice to let Sullivan get some throwing reps in a 40-0 blowout...but that's not the Ferentzian way.
2. RBs. The strange secrecy around the Hawkeye program struck this week in terms of running back play. All week long, the Hawkeye media raved about how freshmen Kamari Moulton magically climbed the depth chart ahead of seasoned juniors and seniors. No one dared to ask questions. Well, Moulton played like a 4th stringer out there averaging just 3.4 yards per carry against an outmanned defense. Then the second half begins, the Big 10 announcers note what Kaleb Johnson had been suspended for the first half. Not one Hawk beat reporter picked up on that? Needless to say, Johnson came in and averaged 11 yards per carry and had 2 touchdowns. Going forward, Johnson needs to be the guy. He's got that extra gear that none other backs on the roster have.
3. WRs. The Hawks top WR was suspended for the game, so it was interesting to see what the rest of the group could do. While only 2 WRs got touches (which NEEDS TO CHANGE), both were pleasant surprises and neither had any obvious drops. Vander Zee was a huge pleasant surprise out there and seems to have the size and speed to make some noise this year as a true freshmen. I wasn't real high on Gill as Iowa's lone transfer portal WR recruit (huge fail by the staff), given that he had just 8 receptions in his previous two years at Northwestern, but he jumped in there and caught 3 balls for 46 yards and made some key contributions.
4. Where's Wetjen? Wetjen is the fastest guy on Iowa's roster. He was grossly underused last year and the hope was with a new OC, someone would figure out a way to get Iowa's most talented playmakers on the field. Well, despite turning in an all-American punt returner performance, he saw no touches on offense. No jet sweeps, no counters, no short passes in space. Could Wetjen be another Charlie Jones situation? Possibly, if the staff doesn't stop randying around.
5. Hawkeye DL. Going into the season, it was assumed that the only weak spot on the defense would be the DL. Getting pressure on the QB was a concern last year and it was expected to be a concern this year. But guys like Aaron Graves & Brian Allen flipped the script and tallied a combined 4 sacks. Craig & Pittman also looked good out there clogging the gaps and putting pressure on the QB.
6. New Punter Underwhelms. Sadly, the punter recruit received more acclaim and anticipation than any other recruit in this year's freshmen class. Expectations have been unreasonably high for the guy. Coming in to replace the Ray Guy award winner is a lot of pressure. While Dakin had no shanks and seemed pretty comfortable out there, it's been a long long time since the Hawks had a punter average just 39 yards per punt and not have any spectacular coffin corner game changing punts. The good news is that was game 1 of a 4 year career and the kid has loads of potential.
