Yuck. Ol' Kirk honored the 2002 Big Ten champs with an underwhelming dud that made us long for the olden days. 20 years ago Brad Banks and crew played electric, innovative, inspired football. They put up 40+ points in most games (62 points against Northwestern). The offense handed to Brian Ferentz, on the other hand, mustered just 7 points this week (until Michigan allowed a mercy TD with a few seconds left on the clock) in a 27-14 lackluster performance.
Has Kirk FINALLY Seen Enough of Petras? After 25 underwhelming starts, we've seen exactly what Petras can do. Like him or not, he's a national laughing stock. Sure, his inaccuracy, happy feet, and lack of mobility are well known. But what about that lack of toughness? I can't remember a QB in my lifetime crumple down and take a sack every time a defender even brushes a pinky across his shoelace. You don't have to be mobile to break a tackle (i.e. Nate Stanley). If Padilla had played today, how many of the sacks would he have taken? Might he have even run for a few first downs? Most QBs do. Meanwhile, Iowa native Max Duggan went 23-33 for 302 yards, 3 tds, and ran for 120 yards (more yards than any Iowa RB all year) against Oklahoma today. Iowa's top in-state QB prospect of the future has already committed to Penn State after Iowa's expert QB coach opted not to offer. These are program changing misses are killers when you're fortunate enough to have an elite defense.
More Lachey. As IowaLaw has said for weeks, Lachey is the best weapon Iowa has on offense. It's time to game plan around utilizing the guy. He caught all 4 of his targets for 84 yards and a TD after finally getting some targets last week. The guy has all-Big 10 potential if he would just get the reps. There's no reason to play guys like Wick or Brecht when you can line up Lachey & LaPorta at the same time.
Colby Would Make a Fine Matador. Assuming Colby doesn't marry a Ferentz, it's safe to say that he has no career in football ahead of him. One skill set he seems to possess is the ability to gracefully dodge charging bulls. Perhaps a move to Spain is in his future? In the meantime, a trip to the transfer portal is a must for the coaching staff.
Kaleb Johnson Can't Catch a Break. How many times have we seen Johnson make a huge play only to see it called back by an unnecessary penalty? The guy's stat line was garbage against Michigan, 12 rushes for 32 yards (2.7 yards) and a TD. But he must have had another 32 yards taken away by foolish penalties. On the bright side, he's now getting more carries than anyone else, as IowaLaw suggested would happen weeks ago. Let's see how he plays as the feature back the rest of the season. I'd like to see him catch some screen passes in space.
DLine Absolutely Man Handled. Michigan RB Corum is having a great year, but he owes a debt of gratitude to his OL. They were men among boys when matched up to what I previously thought was an elite DLine. Van Ness finished with a grand total of 1 tackle (no sacks). Same with Graves. Lee and Waggoner did nothing, picking up 2 tackles.
Jay Higgins Steps Up. Seldom used Higgins stepped in at LB in a major way, racking up 7 tackles and a tackle for loss. He's a junior this year and has just scratched the surface of his potential. With Jacobs out for the rest of the season, it'll be interesting to see how Higgins progresses over the next year and a half.
Has Kirk FINALLY Seen Enough of Petras? After 25 underwhelming starts, we've seen exactly what Petras can do. Like him or not, he's a national laughing stock. Sure, his inaccuracy, happy feet, and lack of mobility are well known. But what about that lack of toughness? I can't remember a QB in my lifetime crumple down and take a sack every time a defender even brushes a pinky across his shoelace. You don't have to be mobile to break a tackle (i.e. Nate Stanley). If Padilla had played today, how many of the sacks would he have taken? Might he have even run for a few first downs? Most QBs do. Meanwhile, Iowa native Max Duggan went 23-33 for 302 yards, 3 tds, and ran for 120 yards (more yards than any Iowa RB all year) against Oklahoma today. Iowa's top in-state QB prospect of the future has already committed to Penn State after Iowa's expert QB coach opted not to offer. These are program changing misses are killers when you're fortunate enough to have an elite defense.
More Lachey. As IowaLaw has said for weeks, Lachey is the best weapon Iowa has on offense. It's time to game plan around utilizing the guy. He caught all 4 of his targets for 84 yards and a TD after finally getting some targets last week. The guy has all-Big 10 potential if he would just get the reps. There's no reason to play guys like Wick or Brecht when you can line up Lachey & LaPorta at the same time.
Colby Would Make a Fine Matador. Assuming Colby doesn't marry a Ferentz, it's safe to say that he has no career in football ahead of him. One skill set he seems to possess is the ability to gracefully dodge charging bulls. Perhaps a move to Spain is in his future? In the meantime, a trip to the transfer portal is a must for the coaching staff.
Kaleb Johnson Can't Catch a Break. How many times have we seen Johnson make a huge play only to see it called back by an unnecessary penalty? The guy's stat line was garbage against Michigan, 12 rushes for 32 yards (2.7 yards) and a TD. But he must have had another 32 yards taken away by foolish penalties. On the bright side, he's now getting more carries than anyone else, as IowaLaw suggested would happen weeks ago. Let's see how he plays as the feature back the rest of the season. I'd like to see him catch some screen passes in space.
DLine Absolutely Man Handled. Michigan RB Corum is having a great year, but he owes a debt of gratitude to his OL. They were men among boys when matched up to what I previously thought was an elite DLine. Van Ness finished with a grand total of 1 tackle (no sacks). Same with Graves. Lee and Waggoner did nothing, picking up 2 tackles.
Jay Higgins Steps Up. Seldom used Higgins stepped in at LB in a major way, racking up 7 tackles and a tackle for loss. He's a junior this year and has just scratched the surface of his potential. With Jacobs out for the rest of the season, it'll be interesting to see how Higgins progresses over the next year and a half.
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