This one was painful. Iowa lost to a 1 win Northwestern team who didn't have a pulse. How did it happen?
1. McCarran. He's undersized, has stubby arms, and isn't the fastest guy on the field, but he played his heart out today. He stepped up as our #1 WR with eight catches for 78 yards, and looked as good or better than King in the return game.
2. OL Play. Wow. Northwestern had just 6 sacks all year. They got 7 against the OL guru's crew. Cole Croston wouldn't start for most MAC teams, but he's our starting left tackle? In the last 5 recruiting classes, we don't have anyone better to protect CJ's blind side? Zero holes for our running backs, despite their best efforts. We just gave Brian Ferentz a $100,000 raise 2 weeks ago. Did he earn it? Time for another raise, or should he just be handed offensive coordinator duties now?
3. King. King is a man among boys. Northwestern was the first team that actually threw at him, and he made them pay. He batted away 3 passes, and was on guys like white on rice, giving up zero yards after catch. Great special teams play as well. Ferentz will go down in history as wasting King's talents, mark my words. Why isn't King guarding teams' best players yet? Why can't he run a few routes on offense?
4. DL. What happened to our pass rush? We came into this game as a top team in QB sacks. In this game, we barely laid a finger on the QB and failed to contain the edge at all. The Nelsons were no shows. Last year we routinely stopped the run. What changed?
5. Clock Mismanagement. Some say it's "old kirk," but I think the guy with the phys ed degree is just not bright. Before halftime, Northwestern had 4th and long from the Iowa 28 yard line with 2:15 left. Rather than calling timeout and putting the team in a position to score, Kirk chews his gum, let's them run the clock, and by the time CJ takes the field, we have just 1:16 left. A full minute lost! Then, our first play call, with good field position, is a run up the freaking middle to run another 30 seconds. I mean SERIOUSLY!?!?
6. QB Play. CJ's just not right. He's tentative, super scared to make a mistake, and lacks the kind of swagger a 5th yr senior who has already been all Big 10. His lack of awareness of pressure is going to prevent him from sniffing a down in the NFL. He's underthrowing his receivers, throwing balls behind guys, and just not sharp. Perhaps this is a bigger issue with QB's getting worse rather than better at Iowa. It happened with Christensen, Tate, Vandenberg, Stanzi, Rudock, and now CJ. Sad but true.
6. Fat Cats. De ja vu. What happened the last time Ferenz won games and signed an insane lifetime contract with huge buyouts? The fat cats entered Iowa City for a span of 4 years. Well, after the ISU game, Ferentz upped the ante, took a HUGE pay raise (even though he wasn't going anywhere anyway), and what has happened since then could have been seen from a mile away. Our teams are unprepared, and show virtually no emotion out there. They are taking on the persona of their coach.
7. Officiating. It's been years since I thought reffing was severely one sided, and I don't think the refs alone cost us this game, but the officiating in this game was so one sided in favor of Northwestern that I'm shocked our big DT was the only guy who talked back to the officials. CJ gets facemasked and doesnt say a word? Our WR gets mauled and Ferentz just keeps chewing his gum? Do these guys even want to win?
1. McCarran. He's undersized, has stubby arms, and isn't the fastest guy on the field, but he played his heart out today. He stepped up as our #1 WR with eight catches for 78 yards, and looked as good or better than King in the return game.
2. OL Play. Wow. Northwestern had just 6 sacks all year. They got 7 against the OL guru's crew. Cole Croston wouldn't start for most MAC teams, but he's our starting left tackle? In the last 5 recruiting classes, we don't have anyone better to protect CJ's blind side? Zero holes for our running backs, despite their best efforts. We just gave Brian Ferentz a $100,000 raise 2 weeks ago. Did he earn it? Time for another raise, or should he just be handed offensive coordinator duties now?
3. King. King is a man among boys. Northwestern was the first team that actually threw at him, and he made them pay. He batted away 3 passes, and was on guys like white on rice, giving up zero yards after catch. Great special teams play as well. Ferentz will go down in history as wasting King's talents, mark my words. Why isn't King guarding teams' best players yet? Why can't he run a few routes on offense?
4. DL. What happened to our pass rush? We came into this game as a top team in QB sacks. In this game, we barely laid a finger on the QB and failed to contain the edge at all. The Nelsons were no shows. Last year we routinely stopped the run. What changed?
5. Clock Mismanagement. Some say it's "old kirk," but I think the guy with the phys ed degree is just not bright. Before halftime, Northwestern had 4th and long from the Iowa 28 yard line with 2:15 left. Rather than calling timeout and putting the team in a position to score, Kirk chews his gum, let's them run the clock, and by the time CJ takes the field, we have just 1:16 left. A full minute lost! Then, our first play call, with good field position, is a run up the freaking middle to run another 30 seconds. I mean SERIOUSLY!?!?
6. QB Play. CJ's just not right. He's tentative, super scared to make a mistake, and lacks the kind of swagger a 5th yr senior who has already been all Big 10. His lack of awareness of pressure is going to prevent him from sniffing a down in the NFL. He's underthrowing his receivers, throwing balls behind guys, and just not sharp. Perhaps this is a bigger issue with QB's getting worse rather than better at Iowa. It happened with Christensen, Tate, Vandenberg, Stanzi, Rudock, and now CJ. Sad but true.
6. Fat Cats. De ja vu. What happened the last time Ferenz won games and signed an insane lifetime contract with huge buyouts? The fat cats entered Iowa City for a span of 4 years. Well, after the ISU game, Ferentz upped the ante, took a HUGE pay raise (even though he wasn't going anywhere anyway), and what has happened since then could have been seen from a mile away. Our teams are unprepared, and show virtually no emotion out there. They are taking on the persona of their coach.
7. Officiating. It's been years since I thought reffing was severely one sided, and I don't think the refs alone cost us this game, but the officiating in this game was so one sided in favor of Northwestern that I'm shocked our big DT was the only guy who talked back to the officials. CJ gets facemasked and doesnt say a word? Our WR gets mauled and Ferentz just keeps chewing his gum? Do these guys even want to win?
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