Oddly enough, Iowa's games against Kent State and CSU probably provided some of the fodder that helped PSU to construct quite a good offensive game-plan ... at least, with Clifford at the helm .... and, AT LEAST, before Phil made adjustments (particularly, going into the 2nd half).
Even though Iowa's D knew what to expect ... Kent State's tempo DID affect the Hawkeye D in that game. Clearly, PSU's OC picked up on that. We can expect other future opponents to utilize that in the future ... if they have the O and personnel to pull it off.
Additionally, the mobility of CSU's QB exploited our D ... when we weren't spying him. Penn State was able to exploit their QB's mobility against us as well ... however, the way they used their TEs was arguably a big reason why we weren't really able to spy their QB. Too much pressure on the LBs in coverage.
The DL primarily got pressure at the expense of losing gap-integrity. Consequently, those lanes are where the PSU QBs scurried. That shows a glaring area where the DL can improve ... squeezing the pocket quickly and effectively ... all while maintaining gap-discipline.
Anyhow ... still plenty of things for the D to figure out. And ... mind you, that's with the D being an excellent unit too (not to take anything away from their talent and accomplishments). You can never rest on your laurels ... you must always push forward to improve ... if you don't, the other guy will!
Even though Iowa's D knew what to expect ... Kent State's tempo DID affect the Hawkeye D in that game. Clearly, PSU's OC picked up on that. We can expect other future opponents to utilize that in the future ... if they have the O and personnel to pull it off.
Additionally, the mobility of CSU's QB exploited our D ... when we weren't spying him. Penn State was able to exploit their QB's mobility against us as well ... however, the way they used their TEs was arguably a big reason why we weren't really able to spy their QB. Too much pressure on the LBs in coverage.
The DL primarily got pressure at the expense of losing gap-integrity. Consequently, those lanes are where the PSU QBs scurried. That shows a glaring area where the DL can improve ... squeezing the pocket quickly and effectively ... all while maintaining gap-discipline.
Anyhow ... still plenty of things for the D to figure out. And ... mind you, that's with the D being an excellent unit too (not to take anything away from their talent and accomplishments). You can never rest on your laurels ... you must always push forward to improve ... if you don't, the other guy will!
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