Garbage. The only positive I can draw from this matchup is how lucky the Hawks have been to continually dodge the Buckeyes on their schedule in years past. With a slightly different schedule this past decade, exchanging an easy win each year for Ohio State, you lose nearly every "10 win season" that made the Ferentz family & their agent so ungodly rich.
So where to begin after this 54-10 shellacking?
Jack Campbell Shines. Who would have guessed Iowa's best LB in 20 years would play on a team that won't even be bowl eligible. Campbell led both teams in tackles, plus had a tackle for loss and an interception. Playing well on a national stage solidified Campbell as a 1st team all-American/Butkus award front runner.
LaPorta Continues to Pad Stats and Drop Passes. Don't let the stat line fool ya. Sure, LaPorta caught 6 passes for 55 yards, but he was once again the only receiver targeted all day. Unfortunately, LaPorta leads the nation in 3rd down catches short of the the sticks (zero football IQ), and had a 1 yard pass from Padilla bounce right off his hands and get picked off inside OSU territory. Despite the productivity, LaPorta will be an after thought when discussing the top 10 TEs in the Ferentz era.
Which QB is the Worst in College Football? One thing's for sure, he plays for Iowa. Sure, Petras ranks last in D1 passer rating. But is his backup worse than him? Notwithstanding the absolute boneheaded coaching move to give the backup his 1st snaps in 11 months in the most hostile environment Iowa will face all year, down big, against an aggressive defense, Padilla play showed that he wouldn't start on any other team. That 4th and short where he panicked and airmailed a 3 yard pass 10 feet over the guy's hands was like something straight from the Petras book of quarterbacking. On the flip side, other teams seem to have a wealth of riches at the QB position. Behind Ohio State's Heisman Trophy contender QB, their backup McCord, was the #4 QB in his recruiting class. Their 3rd stringer was the #1 rated QB in his class. How Hawks couldn't even pull in a single QB off another team's bench looking for playing time from the transfer portal is an indictment on the lazy coaching staff? There's little doubt OSU's 3rd or 4th stringer would run laps around Petras. Surely a talented backup would have jumped at the chance to come in and start at Iowa rather than wait their turn at their school.
Drew Stevens Has Promise. How about that, a true freshmen walk-on steps into a hostile environment and nails a 49 yard field goal in his only attempt of the day? I think the kid earned some respect in the locker room today, which is more than I can say about quite a few seniors on the roster.
Bruce Returning Punts Isn't Working. Perhaps the biggest turning point in the game occured when the Hawks were down just 16-10 and forced Ohio State into a punt. Rather than doing his job and catching it, Bruce ran away and watched it roll and roll inside the 3 yard line. Absolute disastrous move. This was something Charlie Jones was so good at last year...never letting a punt bounce, even if you've just gotta fair catch it.
Moss & DeJean Exposed. The two brightest spots on Iowa's premiere defense all year got absolutely torched against some future NFL WRs. OSU completed 22 of 32 passes for 294 yards with ease, many on critical 3rd or 4th downs. 4 different receivers had catches of 20+ yards, with DeJean getting torched on a 79 yarder. These guys are still studs, but hopefully this game helps keep a chip on their shoulder for the rest of the year.
Evans & Waggoner Don't Show Up on the DL. Here's a telling stat for you...LaPorta & Ragaini had the same number of tackles against OSU as Evans and Waggoner, who played nearly every down on the DL. What's worse, they allowed a Heisman Trophy candidate QB all day long to pick apart the defense. The Hawks totaled just 1 sack for the day, while OSU had 5.
So where to begin after this 54-10 shellacking?
Jack Campbell Shines. Who would have guessed Iowa's best LB in 20 years would play on a team that won't even be bowl eligible. Campbell led both teams in tackles, plus had a tackle for loss and an interception. Playing well on a national stage solidified Campbell as a 1st team all-American/Butkus award front runner.
LaPorta Continues to Pad Stats and Drop Passes. Don't let the stat line fool ya. Sure, LaPorta caught 6 passes for 55 yards, but he was once again the only receiver targeted all day. Unfortunately, LaPorta leads the nation in 3rd down catches short of the the sticks (zero football IQ), and had a 1 yard pass from Padilla bounce right off his hands and get picked off inside OSU territory. Despite the productivity, LaPorta will be an after thought when discussing the top 10 TEs in the Ferentz era.
Which QB is the Worst in College Football? One thing's for sure, he plays for Iowa. Sure, Petras ranks last in D1 passer rating. But is his backup worse than him? Notwithstanding the absolute boneheaded coaching move to give the backup his 1st snaps in 11 months in the most hostile environment Iowa will face all year, down big, against an aggressive defense, Padilla play showed that he wouldn't start on any other team. That 4th and short where he panicked and airmailed a 3 yard pass 10 feet over the guy's hands was like something straight from the Petras book of quarterbacking. On the flip side, other teams seem to have a wealth of riches at the QB position. Behind Ohio State's Heisman Trophy contender QB, their backup McCord, was the #4 QB in his recruiting class. Their 3rd stringer was the #1 rated QB in his class. How Hawks couldn't even pull in a single QB off another team's bench looking for playing time from the transfer portal is an indictment on the lazy coaching staff? There's little doubt OSU's 3rd or 4th stringer would run laps around Petras. Surely a talented backup would have jumped at the chance to come in and start at Iowa rather than wait their turn at their school.
Drew Stevens Has Promise. How about that, a true freshmen walk-on steps into a hostile environment and nails a 49 yard field goal in his only attempt of the day? I think the kid earned some respect in the locker room today, which is more than I can say about quite a few seniors on the roster.
Bruce Returning Punts Isn't Working. Perhaps the biggest turning point in the game occured when the Hawks were down just 16-10 and forced Ohio State into a punt. Rather than doing his job and catching it, Bruce ran away and watched it roll and roll inside the 3 yard line. Absolute disastrous move. This was something Charlie Jones was so good at last year...never letting a punt bounce, even if you've just gotta fair catch it.
Moss & DeJean Exposed. The two brightest spots on Iowa's premiere defense all year got absolutely torched against some future NFL WRs. OSU completed 22 of 32 passes for 294 yards with ease, many on critical 3rd or 4th downs. 4 different receivers had catches of 20+ yards, with DeJean getting torched on a 79 yarder. These guys are still studs, but hopefully this game helps keep a chip on their shoulder for the rest of the year.
Evans & Waggoner Don't Show Up on the DL. Here's a telling stat for you...LaPorta & Ragaini had the same number of tackles against OSU as Evans and Waggoner, who played nearly every down on the DL. What's worse, they allowed a Heisman Trophy candidate QB all day long to pick apart the defense. The Hawks totaled just 1 sack for the day, while OSU had 5.
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