After back to back losses and Petras starting off the same way he always does (3 and out after 3 and out) a miracle happened. Halfway through the 1st quarter, Petras threw yet another two bouncer on 3rd down to end a drive. Kirk must have realized he was at a crossroads. What was once a 6-0 team was looking like it could reasonably finish the season 6-6. Kirk went against tendency (for once,) benched the union card starter, and gave the Hawks a much needed spark. The Hawks won 17-12 despite some of the worst play calling in the Ferentz era.
1. More clock management blunders. Kirk and crew have had more clock management blunders than any staff in college football. That's not even debatable. This time, it happened both at the end of the first and second halves. First, the Hawks were riding the hot hand of their new QB, who had completed 12 of 16. With 1 minute to go and 2 timeouts left, the Hawks had the ball on their own 40. What happens next? Brian calls a run up the middle. 1 yard gain. This caused Matt Millan to gasp and ask what the hell staff could be thinking. Clock continues to run. Instead of calling timeout, the Hawks lollygag up to the line all discombobulated, run 25 seconds off the clock, then inexplicably call timeout right before the play clock expires?! What? Despite having all the momentum in the world, Iowa ended the half with first down at Northwestern's 35 yard line as the clock expires. The $4M man and his million dollar meat head son undoubtedly cost the team points with their clock management issues.
2. Padilla Vindicates the Bench Petras Crowd. Fans clamoring for the staff to bench the NCAA's 116th rated QB in favor of a guy who had a Georgia offer are just ignorant fools, right? "The coaches see them play in practice and they never make the wrong call at QB," right? Well, it took a phantom "injury" for Padilla to finally see his first meaningful action in 2 years and he already appeared light years ahead of the guy with 15 starts under his belt. Padilla finished 18/28 for 172 and 4 drops. More importantly, Petras proved he can actually run Iowa's bread and butter play action offense. Never before has a QB been too immobile to run play action, but Petras is. Aside from his mobility, Padilla's passes seemed more crisp, he was better able to hit players in stride, and he actually threw the ball down the field instead of relying on 2 yard passes to the tight end. If he's not starting next week, there's going to be a mutiny on the roster and in the stands.
3. More play calling blunders. We all saw the inexplicable back to back QB sneaks for no gain on 3rd and 4th down against Purdue that cost the game. We then saw the back to back fullback dives that couldn't pick up 1 yard against Wisconsin. This week, it was the repeated mindless runs up the middle on 3rd and 8, knowing there was no chance of picking up the first down. The Hawks finished just 2 for 14 on 3rd down against possibly the worst defense they've faced all year. The feather in Brian's play calling cap came at the end of the game. The Hawks were nursing a 5 point lead with 2 minutes to play. Brian dials up 3 straight runs up the middle for no gain, running a grand total of just 10 seconds off the clock. The Hawks gave Northwestern every possibility to win that game, but thankfully they shot themselves in the foot and Iowa escaped with a W.
4. Who Is the Real Goodson. After entering the game Big 10's 28th best RB (based on yards per carry), Goodson may have had his best game as a Hawk. 21 rushes for 141 yards and a td. Sure, Northwestern has the Big 10's worst rushing defense, but Goodson showed the flashes of speed and vision we've been hoping for all season. If Goodson can go over 100 yards in each of the next 3 games, the Hawks should win out.
5. Tackling Woes Continue. Ever heard of Evan Hull? Me neither. The Hawkeye defense uncharacteristically made the sophomore running back look like a pinball the way he consistently bounced off tacklers. He finished the game with 6 catches out of the backfield for 89 yards (21 yards more than Iowa's leading receiver), and another 41 yards rushing. Iowa's defense remains top notch, but if they don't go back to the fundamentals of tackling, all 3 remaining games are losable.
1. More clock management blunders. Kirk and crew have had more clock management blunders than any staff in college football. That's not even debatable. This time, it happened both at the end of the first and second halves. First, the Hawks were riding the hot hand of their new QB, who had completed 12 of 16. With 1 minute to go and 2 timeouts left, the Hawks had the ball on their own 40. What happens next? Brian calls a run up the middle. 1 yard gain. This caused Matt Millan to gasp and ask what the hell staff could be thinking. Clock continues to run. Instead of calling timeout, the Hawks lollygag up to the line all discombobulated, run 25 seconds off the clock, then inexplicably call timeout right before the play clock expires?! What? Despite having all the momentum in the world, Iowa ended the half with first down at Northwestern's 35 yard line as the clock expires. The $4M man and his million dollar meat head son undoubtedly cost the team points with their clock management issues.
2. Padilla Vindicates the Bench Petras Crowd. Fans clamoring for the staff to bench the NCAA's 116th rated QB in favor of a guy who had a Georgia offer are just ignorant fools, right? "The coaches see them play in practice and they never make the wrong call at QB," right? Well, it took a phantom "injury" for Padilla to finally see his first meaningful action in 2 years and he already appeared light years ahead of the guy with 15 starts under his belt. Padilla finished 18/28 for 172 and 4 drops. More importantly, Petras proved he can actually run Iowa's bread and butter play action offense. Never before has a QB been too immobile to run play action, but Petras is. Aside from his mobility, Padilla's passes seemed more crisp, he was better able to hit players in stride, and he actually threw the ball down the field instead of relying on 2 yard passes to the tight end. If he's not starting next week, there's going to be a mutiny on the roster and in the stands.
3. More play calling blunders. We all saw the inexplicable back to back QB sneaks for no gain on 3rd and 4th down against Purdue that cost the game. We then saw the back to back fullback dives that couldn't pick up 1 yard against Wisconsin. This week, it was the repeated mindless runs up the middle on 3rd and 8, knowing there was no chance of picking up the first down. The Hawks finished just 2 for 14 on 3rd down against possibly the worst defense they've faced all year. The feather in Brian's play calling cap came at the end of the game. The Hawks were nursing a 5 point lead with 2 minutes to play. Brian dials up 3 straight runs up the middle for no gain, running a grand total of just 10 seconds off the clock. The Hawks gave Northwestern every possibility to win that game, but thankfully they shot themselves in the foot and Iowa escaped with a W.
4. Who Is the Real Goodson. After entering the game Big 10's 28th best RB (based on yards per carry), Goodson may have had his best game as a Hawk. 21 rushes for 141 yards and a td. Sure, Northwestern has the Big 10's worst rushing defense, but Goodson showed the flashes of speed and vision we've been hoping for all season. If Goodson can go over 100 yards in each of the next 3 games, the Hawks should win out.
5. Tackling Woes Continue. Ever heard of Evan Hull? Me neither. The Hawkeye defense uncharacteristically made the sophomore running back look like a pinball the way he consistently bounced off tacklers. He finished the game with 6 catches out of the backfield for 89 yards (21 yards more than Iowa's leading receiver), and another 41 yards rushing. Iowa's defense remains top notch, but if they don't go back to the fundamentals of tackling, all 3 remaining games are losable.
