What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.
1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.
2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.
3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.
4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.
5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.
6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.
2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.
3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.
4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.
5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.
6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.