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IowaLaw's Post Game Analysis: Iowa State

IowasLaw

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2019
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How 'bout them Hawks! After being featured on College Football Gameday as underdogs to nearly everyone but Hawk fans, the Hawks were clearly the better team out there today and put a stamp on their early season Top 10 ranking. Whether Phil Parker's stellar defense is enough to continue propping up Brian Ferentz's historically bad offense is still unknown. What is known is that the Hawks are 2-0, going into the soft part of their schedule.

Charlie Jones. Sure, Tyrone Tracey and the true freshmen received 100% of the pre-season hype at WR, but walk on ones has been the MVP of the receiving corp thus far. 53 yards in punt returns (13.3 yards per return), 44 yards in kick returns were top notch special teams play, but then throw in his perfect 26 yard TD grab to his team leading 36 yards receiving, and it's clear how fortunate this kid decided to transfer to Iowa on his own dime while lesser skill position players received full rides. Jones is the most underrated Hawk and it's not even close.

Tory Taylor. BOOM. It's not often that a punter is one of a Top 10 team's top players, but Taylor is worth his weight in gold. 8 punts for 409 yards is good for an average of 51.1 yards per punt! Forget that Reggie Roby's school record is 45 yards per punt, Taylor's leg single handedly won the field position game tonight against the Cyclones, as 5 of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line. It blows my mind what a difference having a top notch punter has on Iowa's success (think back to 2017 and the the Rastatter era when he averaged just 37 yards per punt).

Is Goodson Legit or Not. I'm not going to lie: Goodson looked tentative out there. He's quick, no doubt about it. But boy does he shy away from contact whenever it's clear he's about to get hit. The reigning all-Big 10 RB had 21 rushes for 55 yards (2.6 yards per carry). Goodson and his family made it clear that he came back to Iowa for one reason this year, to audition for the NFL. Well, the NFL's watching and they're not loving all the randying around they're seeing. Could it be that the OL isn't opening up holes? Maybe, but when a hole is there, Goodson's still not blasting through it the way he (and Sargent) did last year. Kelly Martin averaged 1 yard per carry more than Goodson today and more yards per carry last week as well. I'd like to see him given more of a chance next week to compete for the starter role.

Hankins Shows Up. I was pretty shocked last off season when a few Hawks decided to forego their 2021 eligibility and give the NFL a shot. But I was even more shocked when Hankins announced he was returning to Iowa's secondary. He's the first Iowa DB to start a game in 5 different seasons, and he's playing like a 5th year senior. 2 interceptions to go along with 4 solo tackles and a pass deflection. I love what Moss has been doing (8 more tackles today) and having Hankins back there as well makes the Iowa defense as good as any in the country.

Sigh Petras. Uggg. This was start #10 of the Petras era. Was he better this week than his lackluster performance last week? Maybe. But 11 of 21 for 106 yards is only good enough to win the game when your defense forces 4 turnovers (by comparison, Ohio State's QB threw for nearly 500 yards and 3 TDs and still lost). But is this REALLY the best the Ferentz brain trust could find to play QB the past 2 years? They've been gifted what's otherwise a winning lottery ticket with that salty defense. It's insane. Iowa is a 2-0, Top 10 ranked team, despite having a QB who has only thrown for 250 yards and a 50% completion percentage? Spare me the "Petras has a great win loss record." A slightly above average QB who completes 60% of his passes would make Iowa a legit playoff contender. It's still early and there's a lot of football left to be played. However, Petras is a 2nd year starter and still taking absolutely unforgivable sacks in key situations. On 2 separate occasions, the Hawks were in prime field goal range when Petras stood back in the pocket far too long, got happy feet, then took unforgivable panic sacks, single handedly knocking the Hawks out of field goal range. The lack of composure knocked points off the board. Period. In a close game, that's the difference between a win and loss. The D bailed him out, but they won't always be there to take 4 turnovers or run 2 INTS back for touchdowns.
 
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How 'bout them Hawks! After being featured on College Football Gameday as underdogs to nearly everyone but Hawk fans, the Hawks led Iowa State from start to finish and put a stamp on their early season Top 10 ranking. Whether Phil Parker's stellar defense is enough to continue propping up Brian Ferentz's historically bad offense is still unknown. What is known is that the Hawks are 2-0, going into the soft part of their schedule.

Charlie Jones. Sure, Tyrone Tracey and the true freshmen received 100% of the pre-season hype at WR, but walk on ones has been the MVP of the receiving corp thus far. 53 yards in punt returns (13.3 yards per return), 44 yards in kick returns were top notch special teams play, but then throw in his perfect 26 yard TD grab to his team leading 36 yards receiving, and it's clear how fortunate this kid decided to transfer to Iowa on his own dime while lesser skill position players received full rides. Jones is the most underrated Hawk and it's not even close.

Tory Taylor. BOOM. It's not often that a punter is one of a Top 10 team's top players, but Taylor is worth his weight in gold. 8 punts for 409 yards is good for an average of 51.1 yards per punt! Forget that Reggie Roby's school record is 45 yards per punt, Taylor's leg single handedly won the field position game tonight against the Cyclones, as 5 of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line. It blows my mind what a difference having a top notch punter has on Iowa's success (think back to 2017 and the the Rastatter era when he averaged just 37 yards per punt).

Is Goodson Legit or Not. I'm not going to lie: Goodson looked tentative out there. He's quick, no doubt about it. But boy does he shy away from contact whenever it's clear he's about to get hit. The reigning all-Big 10 RB had 21 rushes for 55 yards (2.6 yards per carry). Goodson and his family made it clear that he came back to Iowa for one reason this year, to audition for the NFL. Well, the NFL's watching and they're not loving what they're seeing. Could it be that the OL isn't opening up holes? Maybe, but when a hole is there, Goodson's still not blasting through it the way he (and Sargent) did last year. Kelly Martin averaged 1 yard per carry more than Goodson today and more yards per carry last week as well. I'd like to see him given more of a chance next week to compete for the starter role.

Hankins Shows Up. I was pretty shocked last off season when a few Hawks decided to forego their 2021 eligibility and give the NFL a shot. But I was even more shocked when Hankins announced he was returning to Iowa's secondary. He's the first Iowa DB to start a game in 5 different seasons, and he's playing like a 5th year senior. 2 interceptions to go along with 4 solo tackles and a pass deflection. I love what Moss has been doing (8 more tackles today) and having Hankins back there as well makes the Iowa defense as good as any in the country.

Sigh Petras. Uggg. Was Petras better this week than last week? Maybe. 11 of 21 for 106 yards was good enough to win the game when your defense forces 4 turnovers. But is this really the best the Ferentz brain trust could find for the past 2 years to lead what is otherwise a winning lottery ticket due to the defense? It's insane. Iowa is a 2-0 Top 10 team despite the fact that its QB has only thrown for 250 yards and a 50% completion percentage? Spare me the "Petras has a great win loss record." A slightly above average QB who completes 60% of his passes would make Iowa a legit playoff contender. It's still early and there's a lot of football left to be played, but those sacks Petras, a 2nd year starter, takes are just unforgivable. On 2 separate occasions, the Hawks were in prime field goal range when Petras stands back in the pocket far too long, gets happy feet, then takes a sack to knock the Hawks out of field goal range. That's points off the board due to basic decision making mistakes.
This is accurate in about all accounts .
I’m just not convinced SP will ever have that”it” factor. He doesn’t see the field well at all to go along with everything you said. Hawks are winning in spite of him at this point . Not convinced he will ever show up when we actually need him to go win a game.
 
SP has been the QB for eight straight wins so I give him some credit because if he played like the Heisman candidate Purdy we wouldn't have all those wins. He did miss seeing Goodson on the goal line, who was open, and instead overthrew LaPorta.
 
He also missed Lachey once when he just locked in on LaPorta but, a big but, his throws were accurate and he has the arm. That touchdown throw to Jones was beautiful. I see plenty of room for improvement but he is showing a big upside. I thought he looked really accurate today. Still scratching my head at those sacks he took.
 
th
 
“Tory Taylor. BOOM. It's not often that a punter is one of a Top 10 team's top players, but Taylor is worth his weight in gold. 8 punts for 409 yards is good for an average of 51.1 yards per punt! Forget that Reggie Roby's school record is 45 yards per punt, Taylor's leg single handedly won the field position game tonight against the Cyclones, as 5 of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line.”

KF called his DR as it’s been 6 hours
 
I'm willing to tolerate Petras as long as he doesn't turn the ball over, can make a few great plays a game, and the defense remains elite. I can guarantee you that the Ferentz's aren't keeping a Heisman Trophy winning QB riding the bench because they like Petras better. He needs to get better. The entire offense needs to get better, but he's who we've got.

Oh, and it's called a screen play. I'm no expert but I've seen them be pretty effective when the defense is crashing the line to stop the run.
 
SP has 0 turnovers against 2 really solid defenses. He has room to get better, but he is playing far better than this board gives him credit for.
You must be watching other games of him and Iowa than I am..He only can see one receiver and after that he throws it away or gets sacked. Two or three times he had other receivers wide open over the middle but never was able to pick them up. Really, we need to try another QB. See Kurt Warner ect. JMO
 
I wish we could wait until Monday for all the arm chair quarterbacking. We won the game, defense played great.

Purdy made one damn good throw just over the outstretched arms of Campbell that really took the wind out of our sales and allowed ISU to stay in the game.

I loved watching Jacobs fly around and lay people out. When he hit guys, it just felt like it shook them up a little more, I liked that! Not to mention the strip leading to the scoop and score was amazing.

DLine deserved a share of the game ball imo for constantly getting their hands up and into the throwing lanes.

Monty P. At FB with the sad stat of the afternoon will likely be asking his mom cut out the box score showing his team lead in yards per rushing attempt. *Gulp*

We have got to get the ball to our WR more. I can't believe Tracy is not getting open. Say what you want but getting big time recruits to come to Iowa is hard enough knowing they will have to wait their turn. Watching them actually have an opportunity to showcase their talents on Saturdays has got to start being a priority if we want to keep that kind of talent here with the ease players now have to transfer out for greener pastures.

Looking forward to seeing some offensive success stories over the next couple of weeks. This Defense can't go the whole season being our best threat to put points on the board.
 
Spencer would benefit a lot from better OL play and a strong running game.

Running game isn't going to succeed until defenses know they can get beaten consistently by the pass. O line is a work in progress. Colby has played a lot the first two games. It seems they are trying to find the best mix on the right side. Richman is growing into his position. He has been solid so far but will be much better with another year of S&C.
And to the troll OP-The Goodsons said Tyler came back to audition for the NFL? Where was he going? Last year was his second year out of HS. He wasn't eligible for the NFL. Try harder, Paula. Do some actual research.
 
There’s been a lot of debate about Petras on this board, and honestly, it seems to me that everyone is right. He has moments of brilliance and moments of head-scratching stupidity. It’s just a matter of which you choose to focus on.
He’s got a strong arm and you can see when he gets in a groove, he can make plays and some really nice throws. His biggest issue is when the pocket is collapsing or not ideal, he just struggles making plays, having that 6th sense to move up or around and is taking way too many plays.

The reality, with this defense, we don’t need an A+ Petras, we just need a B Petras and we’re gonna have a really good season. I’m just hoping he can start improving like he did last year as the season went on.
 
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Petras needs to show something the next couple of weeks. There’s going to be a games or games this year that he needs to make multiple plays to win the game. They need to turn him loose and see what he can do the next two saturdays. I’d like to see him throw it 35 times this Saturday.
 
Iowa has beaten two top twenty teams by double digit points and yet we have fans complaining. Some people just have to have something to gripe about I guess. I have read about all of the yards and touchdown’s OSU’s quarterback threw for yesterday, but you know what? They lost, which is the most important thing. I bet you can go to the OSU board and there will be fans that want a new quarterback, but they at least have more reason after losing at home yesterday.

Some of our fans do not seem to realize how Iowa plays football. Kirk does not play a game with a wide open style to try and just outscore the opponent. The offense, defense and special teams work together. Yesterday was a perfect example. Iowa State had poor field position for most of the game as Iowa’s offense did not turn the ball over and special teams repeatedly pinned Iowa State inside the ten yard line to win the field position battle. This allowed Iowa’s defense to play aggressively and get some turnovers, which lead to 20 points for Iowa.

Spencer did not have a perfect game, but it is rare to see a player have a perfect game. The sacks on third down were a problem and need to be fixed. We do need to give the two defenses Iowa has faced some credit as well as both teams have multiple All Americans on their defensive units and are both expected to be top 25 defenses in the country. Spencer has outplayed two senior, highly decorated quarterbacks by playing within the offense and not forcing anything.

Spencer and the offense made enough plays in conjunction with the defense and special teams to win the game. This game was over before the fourth quarter even started. When was the last time this happened during a Cy-Hawk game? At some point, I expect Iowa is going to need Spencer and the offense to make more plays to win the game. I hope this happens. In the meantime, I am going to try and enjoy this season as it looks like Iowa has the potential to do something special.
 
SP has 0 turnovers against 2 really solid defenses. He has room to get better, but he is playing far better than this board gives him credit for.
And this is the key point for KF. Against two ranked teams with good defenses the formula worked just as he wanted. Will SP make the play when we need it? To be determined. I'll say this, he seems to make a couple of plays when we need to seize the momentum. That drive culminating in the TD to Jones was strong and timely. GREAT catch by Jones, but a GREAT timely throw by SP. He CAN do it. Will he?
Five straight against the clones with ZERO turnovers in that stretch! Winning KF football.
As for Goodson, I'm just a little concerned as well. I found myself wanting to see the Williams boys get some carries as well. I don't know if TGoods comments last week sparked a little something extra from the clones, but its time for Goodson to step up without question.
 
Iowa has beaten two top twenty teams by double digit points and yet we have fans complaining. Some people just have to have something to gripe about I guess. I have read about all of the yards and touchdown’s OSU’s quarterback threw for yesterday, but you know what? They lost, which is the most important thing. I bet you can go to the OSU board and there will be fans that want a new quarterback, but they at least have more reason after losing at home yesterday.

Some of our fans do not seem to realize how Iowa plays football. Kirk does not play a game with a wide open style to try and just outscore the opponent. The offense, defense and special teams work together. Yesterday was a perfect example. Iowa State had poor field position for most of the game as Iowa’s offense did not turn the ball over and special teams repeatedly pinned Iowa State inside the ten yard line to win the field position battle. This allowed Iowa’s defense to play aggressively and get some turnovers, which lead to 20 points for Iowa.

Spencer did not have a perfect game, but it is rare to see a player have a perfect game. The sacks on third down were a problem and need to be fixed. We do need to give the two defenses Iowa has faced some credit as well as both teams have multiple All Americans on their defensive units and are both expected to be top 25 defenses in the country. Spencer has outplayed two senior, highly decorated quarterbacks by playing within the offense and not forcing anything.

Spencer and the offense made enough plays in conjunction with the defense and special teams to win the game. This game was over before the fourth quarter even started. When was the last time this happened during a Cy-Hawk game? At some point, I expect Iowa is going to need Spencer and the offense to make more plays to win the game. I hope this happens. In the meantime, I am going to try and enjoy this season as it looks like Iowa has the potential to do something special.
I think what you Petras-apologists don’t realize is that we (Petras-critics) obviously understand that we’re 2-0 against top20 teams and are on a winning streak. This is 95% because of our insane defense.
Petras made a few good plays but made countless high school-level errors that you wouldn’t expect a quarterback in his 4th year to make. If he shored up all of the little things, then yeah we’d stop complaining
 
He also missed Lachey once when he just locked in on LaPorta but, a big but, his throws were accurate and he has the arm. That touchdown throw to Jones was beautiful. I see plenty of room for improvement but he is showing a big upside. I thought he looked really accurate today. Still scratching my head at those sacks he took.
I think people are focusing a bit too much on Petras for those sacks.

About the only thing he could've done was step "into" the pocket and air mail a ball in the hopes that it was close enough to a receiver, but also not in any danger of getting tipped and/or picked.

Otherwise, he did not have the time on those 3rd and long plays to wait for the routes to develop.

That is partly (or mostly) on the play calling/scheme. And the other part would be the protection.

I'd have to go back and watch both plays to be certain, but here's what I remember from both plays:

- Only one receiver was even looking back at Spencer based on the replay view we were given, which is basically what Spencer is seeing while getting pressured in the pocket, on both occasions....and on both occasions that receiver was blanketed and not an option.

- None of the other receivers were either open or looking back for the ball because they were still running their route past the line to gain on those 3rd and longs

- You can credit ISU getting pressure and forcing Petras both out of the pocket on the first play and into the pocket on the second play, but again, he was not given time to settle in to make a good throw to whoever the play was designed to go to

- Worse yet, Iowa started in max protect on the second sack and they still allowed Petras to get pressured up into the pocket and eventually sacked and we're talking less than 4 seconds.

When you don't have a quick option, even if it's short of the first down line, you're gonna need to provide the QB time to let the slow-developing routes develop............and they didn't.


So yeah you can criticize Petras for being slow and not doing more to get himself into a position to throw the ball away, but he's not the sole source of blame......and maybe not even the main source..........Brian.
 
I've defended Petras and BF - but I'm seriously having doubts.

We can pick apart the good and bad of Petras all we want, but the bottom line is he made ONE big play - a perfect past to a well covered Jones for a very important TD. Besides that, he threw for, what 75 yards? No rushing yards, took sacks at bad times.

Now, we come to find out that ISU and IU have Top 10 defenses, IDK.

I'm sure I read somewhere that offense is an important part of football. For this team to be special, it needs an offense.

p.s. Why can't Iowa recruit an excellent QB?
 
I've defended Petras and BF - but I'm seriously having doubts.

We can pick apart the good and bad of Petras all we want, but the bottom line is he made ONE big play - a perfect past to a well covered Jones for a very important TD. Besides that, he threw for, what 75 yards? No rushing yards, took sacks at bad times.

Now, we come to find out that ISU and IU have Top 10 defenses, IDK.

I'm sure I read somewhere that offense is an important part of football. For this team to be special, it needs an offense.

p.s. Why can't Iowa recruit an excellent QB?
Because they don't recruit the dynamic multi-threat QBs. My guess is there just aren't very many of the difference maker QB's like that available every year and they will almost always go to one of the big 3 programs of Clemson, Alabama, or Ohio State. In the past when they have gone after them, they have never landed them. At least the ones that can actually do well in a pro-style offense and not the spread. The others will go to a spread school which gives them a greater chance to show off and develop their skills.

So, they have settled on the QB that can do well in a pro-style offense, not make mistakes, and make a few plays when it counts. It has resulted in 4 QB's in the last 15 years that have found places on NFL teams. It just takes time to develop them and unfortunately, we have to live with the growing pains as well. QB is hard, especially if you have to think your way through the game and not just rely on pure athletic skill. And, it's too early to tell, but Petras looks a lot like what Stanley looked like at the beginning of his second season as well.
 
Because they don't recruit the dynamic multi-threat QBs. My guess is there just aren't very many of the difference maker QB's like that available every year and they will almost always go to one of the big 3 programs of Clemson, Alabama, or Ohio State. In the past when they have gone after them, they have never landed them. At least the ones that can actually do well in a pro-style offense and not the spread. The others will go to a spread school which gives them a greater chance to show off and develop their skills.

So, they have settled on the QB that can do well in a pro-style offense, not make mistakes, and make a few plays when it counts. It has resulted in 4 QB's in the last 15 years that have found places on NFL teams. It just takes time to develop them and unfortunately, we have to live with the growing pains as well. QB is hard, especially if you have to think your way through the game and not just rely on pure athletic skill. And, it's too early to tell, but Petras looks a lot like what Stanley looked like at the beginning of his second season as well.
Yeah, I know. It's discouraging to have a QB that can't do more than what Petras is managing to do.

Note - Stanley threw for 333 yards 5 TD's against ISU in his second game as a starter.
 
Yeah, I know. It's discouraging to have a QB that can't do more than what Petras is managing to do.

Note - Stanley threw for 333 yards 5 TD's against ISU in his second game as a starter.
And what was ISU's record that year? You can't make that comparison.
 
For a little perspective.... ISU may have the best defense we face all year and the IU DB's were a strong group.
 
There has to be a guy on the bench or that was in the portal that could have completed 55% and over 5.5 yards and with that guy this team is a playoff contender.
 
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How 'bout them Hawks! After being featured on College Football Gameday as underdogs to nearly everyone but Hawk fans, the Hawks were clearly the better team out there today and put a stamp on their early season Top 10 ranking. Whether Phil Parker's stellar defense is enough to continue propping up Brian Ferentz's historically bad offense is still unknown. What is known is that the Hawks are 2-0, going into the soft part of their schedule.

Charlie Jones. Sure, Tyrone Tracey and the true freshmen received 100% of the pre-season hype at WR, but walk on ones has been the MVP of the receiving corp thus far. 53 yards in punt returns (13.3 yards per return), 44 yards in kick returns were top notch special teams play, but then throw in his perfect 26 yard TD grab to his team leading 36 yards receiving, and it's clear how fortunate this kid decided to transfer to Iowa on his own dime while lesser skill position players received full rides. Jones is the most underrated Hawk and it's not even close.

Tory Taylor. BOOM. It's not often that a punter is one of a Top 10 team's top players, but Taylor is worth his weight in gold. 8 punts for 409 yards is good for an average of 51.1 yards per punt! Forget that Reggie Roby's school record is 45 yards per punt, Taylor's leg single handedly won the field position game tonight against the Cyclones, as 5 of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line. It blows my mind what a difference having a top notch punter has on Iowa's success (think back to 2017 and the the Rastatter era when he averaged just 37 yards per punt).

Is Goodson Legit or Not. I'm not going to lie: Goodson looked tentative out there. He's quick, no doubt about it. But boy does he shy away from contact whenever it's clear he's about to get hit. The reigning all-Big 10 RB had 21 rushes for 55 yards (2.6 yards per carry). Goodson and his family made it clear that he came back to Iowa for one reason this year, to audition for the NFL. Well, the NFL's watching and they're not loving all the randying around they're seeing. Could it be that the OL isn't opening up holes? Maybe, but when a hole is there, Goodson's still not blasting through it the way he (and Sargent) did last year. Kelly Martin averaged 1 yard per carry more than Goodson today and more yards per carry last week as well. I'd like to see him given more of a chance next week to compete for the starter role.

Hankins Shows Up. I was pretty shocked last off season when a few Hawks decided to forego their 2021 eligibility and give the NFL a shot. But I was even more shocked when Hankins announced he was returning to Iowa's secondary. He's the first Iowa DB to start a game in 5 different seasons, and he's playing like a 5th year senior. 2 interceptions to go along with 4 solo tackles and a pass deflection. I love what Moss has been doing (8 more tackles today) and having Hankins back there as well makes the Iowa defense as good as any in the country.

Sigh Petras. Uggg. This was start #10 of the Petras era. Was he better this week than his lackluster performance last week? Maybe. But 11 of 21 for 106 yards is only good enough to win the game when your defense forces 4 turnovers (by comparison, Ohio State's QB threw for nearly 500 yards and 3 TDs and still lost). But is this REALLY the best the Ferentz brain trust could find to play QB the past 2 years? They've been gifted what's otherwise a winning lottery ticket with that salty defense. It's insane. Iowa is a 2-0, Top 10 ranked team, despite having a QB who has only thrown for 250 yards and a 50% completion percentage? Spare me the "Petras has a great win loss record." A slightly above average QB who completes 60% of his passes would make Iowa a legit playoff contender. It's still early and there's a lot of football left to be played. However, Petras is a 2nd year starter and still taking absolutely unforgivable sacks in key situations. On 2 separate occasions, the Hawks were in prime field goal range when Petras stood back in the pocket far too long, got happy feet, then took unforgivable panic sacks, single handedly knocking the Hawks out of field goal range. The lack of composure knocked points off the board. Period. In a close game, that's the difference between a win and loss. The D bailed him out, but they won't always be there to take 4 turnovers or run 2 INTS back for touchdowns.
Agree on all. I especially am concerned about Goodson. I understand there's a fine line between charging willy-nilly into the hole and being patient enough to see what develops, but he does seem to melt when things aren't looking good. He's taken more 3 and 4 yard losses than any other back I can remember; IKM is the type that turns that type of play into a 0 yard run.
 
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Evil monkey, I agree. He didn't have much time at all and thought his zero turnovers were key to the win
 
How 'bout them Hawks! After being featured on College Football Gameday as underdogs to nearly everyone but Hawk fans, the Hawks were clearly the better team out there today and put a stamp on their early season Top 10 ranking. Whether Phil Parker's stellar defense is enough to continue propping up Brian Ferentz's historically bad offense is still unknown. What is known is that the Hawks are 2-0, going into the soft part of their schedule.

Charlie Jones. Sure, Tyrone Tracey and the true freshmen received 100% of the pre-season hype at WR, but walk on ones has been the MVP of the receiving corp thus far. 53 yards in punt returns (13.3 yards per return), 44 yards in kick returns were top notch special teams play, but then throw in his perfect 26 yard TD grab to his team leading 36 yards receiving, and it's clear how fortunate this kid decided to transfer to Iowa on his own dime while lesser skill position players received full rides. Jones is the most underrated Hawk and it's not even close.

Tory Taylor. BOOM. It's not often that a punter is one of a Top 10 team's top players, but Taylor is worth his weight in gold. 8 punts for 409 yards is good for an average of 51.1 yards per punt! Forget that Reggie Roby's school record is 45 yards per punt, Taylor's leg single handedly won the field position game tonight against the Cyclones, as 5 of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line. It blows my mind what a difference having a top notch punter has on Iowa's success (think back to 2017 and the the Rastatter era when he averaged just 37 yards per punt).

Is Goodson Legit or Not. I'm not going to lie: Goodson looked tentative out there. He's quick, no doubt about it. But boy does he shy away from contact whenever it's clear he's about to get hit. The reigning all-Big 10 RB had 21 rushes for 55 yards (2.6 yards per carry). Goodson and his family made it clear that he came back to Iowa for one reason this year, to audition for the NFL. Well, the NFL's watching and they're not loving all the randying around they're seeing. Could it be that the OL isn't opening up holes? Maybe, but when a hole is there, Goodson's still not blasting through it the way he (and Sargent) did last year. Kelly Martin averaged 1 yard per carry more than Goodson today and more yards per carry last week as well. I'd like to see him given more of a chance next week to compete for the starter role.

Hankins Shows Up. I was pretty shocked last off season when a few Hawks decided to forego their 2021 eligibility and give the NFL a shot. But I was even more shocked when Hankins announced he was returning to Iowa's secondary. He's the first Iowa DB to start a game in 5 different seasons, and he's playing like a 5th year senior. 2 interceptions to go along with 4 solo tackles and a pass deflection. I love what Moss has been doing (8 more tackles today) and having Hankins back there as well makes the Iowa defense as good as any in the country.

Sigh Petras. Uggg. This was start #10 of the Petras era. Was he better this week than his lackluster performance last week? Maybe. But 11 of 21 for 106 yards is only good enough to win the game when your defense forces 4 turnovers (by comparison, Ohio State's QB threw for nearly 500 yards and 3 TDs and still lost). But is this REALLY the best the Ferentz brain trust could find to play QB the past 2 years? They've been gifted what's otherwise a winning lottery ticket with that salty defense. It's insane. Iowa is a 2-0, Top 10 ranked team, despite having a QB who has only thrown for 250 yards and a 50% completion percentage? Spare me the "Petras has a great win loss record." A slightly above average QB who completes 60% of his passes would make Iowa a legit playoff contender. It's still early and there's a lot of football left to be played. However, Petras is a 2nd year starter and still taking absolutely unforgivable sacks in key situations. On 2 separate occasions, the Hawks were in prime field goal range when Petras stood back in the pocket far too long, got happy feet, then took unforgivable panic sacks, single handedly knocking the Hawks out of field goal range. The lack of composure knocked points off the board. Period. In a close game, that's the difference between a win and loss. The D bailed him out, but they won't always be there to take 4 turnovers or run 2 INTS back for touchdowns.
Excellent! Well done!
 
Well, then how can you compare anyone to anyone no longer playing?

ISU was 8-5.
You really can't, at least not by comparing how they did against certain teams. That's why I try not to do it very often. I'm not saying that Petras is the bestest quarterback that's ever quarterbacked in the history of Iowa quarterbacks. I'm just saying that if anyone thinks the next guy is going to do anything different than Petras you are in for another rude awakening. Really, since Drew Tate the QB hasn't been the big playmaker on the field for Iowa. We are well beyond the point of thinking that's accidental or a coincidence. The next guy will do the exact same thing Petras does, just with less experience.
 
You really can't, at least not by comparing how they did against certain teams. That's why I try not to do it very often. I'm not saying that Petras is the bestest quarterback that's ever quarterbacked in the history of Iowa quarterbacks. I'm just saying that if anyone thinks the next guy is going to do anything different than Petras you are in for another rude awakening. Really, since Drew Tate the QB hasn't been the big playmaker on the field for Iowa. We are well beyond the point of thinking that's accidental or a coincidence. The next guy will do the exact same thing Petras does, just with less experience.

"Remember me?"

CJ Beathard


I'm not trying to dump on Petras. I was simply comparing him to Stanley, who I think was quite a bit more effective than Petras. I'm not in the camp that thinks he should be benched, but I am frustrated that this Iowa team doesn't have a better QB when it looks like the rest of the team is really good.
 
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"Remember me?"

CJ Beathard


I'm not trying to dump on Petras. I was simply comparing him to Stanley, who I think was quite a bit more effective than Petras. I'm not in the camp that thinks he should be benched, but I am frustrated that this Iowa team doesn't have a better QB when it looks like the rest of the team is really good.
Yeah, but he was the exact mold of QB Iowa wants. He just did it really well and is the best of the "system" QB's Ferentz has brought in. Petras isn't there yet and probably won't get there at this point. But he may not have to. Petras's defense appear to be better than the defenses Beathard had (although those were still some good defenses).
 
I've defended Petras and BF - but I'm seriously having doubts.

We can pick apart the good and bad of Petras all we want, but the bottom line is he made ONE big play - a perfect past to a well covered Jones for a very important TD. Besides that, he threw for, what 75 yards? No rushing yards, took sacks at bad times.

Now, we come to find out that ISU and IU have Top 10 defenses, IDK.

I'm sure I read somewhere that offense is an important part of football. For this team to be special, it needs an offense.

p.s. Why can't Iowa recruit an excellent QB?
Because they choose poorly. Remember they could've gone with Trey Lance or Zach Wilson.......they chose Spencer Petras.......because that's Iowa.
 
Both games now we had the game "put away" early and went into four corners. Our offense is very average and the defense elite. We have some talent on offense and it usually is way behind the defense in most years. Let's see what happens.
 
I agree with OP except for Goodson. I follow his mom on Twitter and don’t recall her ever talking about the NFL at all but maybe I missed a few of her tweets about it.

I’d counter by saying these defenses we’ve played are both very good, and our QB can’t beat them with passing so TGood is running into 8 and 9 man fronts.

Herbstreit pointed out how much better Petras is throwing on 1st down. That’s likely because the defense expects a run.
 
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One question concerning the judgements set forth by the OP that so many folks seem to agree with ...

Why the short memory? We all saw last year what BOTH Goodson and Petras can do when there is good blocking around them! We're not seeing those guys devolve ... what we're seeing is that they're playing tough opponents ... and they're doing so with blocking that still needs to improve.

Of course, that said ALL the guys on the O need to take some accountability and focus upon continued improvement.
 
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