The delay of game

[WWDMHawkeye]

I know this has been mentioned among the many head-scratching coaching decisions, but this odd call was potentially decisive to the outcome.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coach take delay of game before a punt except when it would back the ball up to allow more room for a pooch punt. This one actually hurt our field position, as Dakin wasn’t kicking it far all day and only got it to the ISU 22. So we gave up 5 critical yards of field position for 1 second. Yeah, not a wise calculus, especially for a 26-year B10 coach.

So all things being equal, ISU gets the ball at the 17 without the delay of game, making their FG from 59 yards. I think that would have been a stadium record (Marshall Koehn hit from 58 to beat Pitt, which I believe is the record). Maybe he still makes it, but those extra 5 yards put more pressure on the kicker to keep a lower trajectory, increases the chance of a block, and certainly reduces the likelihood of a miss.

We had 3 timeouts. There was zero reason not to take the timeout with 0:01 left on the play clock. And most of all, those 5 yards proved to be huge at the end of the ISU drive. The decision between saving 5 yards of field position and keeping 1 second on the clock in that situation was a no-brainer. Granted, not the only reason the Hawks lost, but just an unjustifiable decision.

 

[drew_hawk]

I know this has been mentioned among the many head-scratching coaching decisions, but this odd call was potentially decisive to the outcome.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coach take delay of game before a punt except when it would back the ball up to allow more room for a pooch punt. This one actually hurt our field position, as Dakin wasn’t kicking it far all day and only got it to the ISU 22. So we gave up 5 critical yards of field position for 1 second. Yeah, not a wise calculus, especially for a 26-year B10 coach.

So all things being equal, ISU gets the ball at the 17 without the delay of game, making their FG from 59 yards. I think that would have been a stadium record (Marshall Koehn hit from 58 to beat Pitt, which I believe is the record). Maybe he still makes it, but those extra 5 yards put more pressure on the kicker to keep a lower trajectory, increases the chance of a block, and certainly reduces the likelihood of a miss.

We had 3 timeouts. There was zero reason not to take the timeout with 0:01 left on the play clock. And most of all, those 5 yards proved to be huge at the end of the ISU drive. The decision between saving 5 yards of field position and keeping 1 second on the clock in that situation was a no-brainer. Granted, not the only reason the Hawks lost, but just an unjustifiable decision.

Maybe Kirk forgot that he doesn't have Tory Taylor back there anymore?

 

[HawkBall23]

Just another blatant display of mental deficiency during a football game that this screw up should have never even been possible because the Hawks should have been putting the finishing touches on a 45-10 type of game.


KF loves keeping his opponents in games they have no business being so. Game after game after game after game, to infinity.

 

[OutbackBowl2017]

KF needs that time out for later this weekend.

 

[BubsFinn]

Kirk has never used timeouts well. Like at the end of the first half, why are we calling timeout with over a minute left on the clock and first and goal inside the 5? It’s obvious we are going to run out of downs before we run out of time. All he accomplished was giving ISU a chance to score.

 

[Roncuba55]

I sometimes wonder if our coach is on the spectrum or has aspergers.

 

[Randall Stanhope]

KF figured he'd keep his timeouts, and let ISU take the Cy-Hawk trophy.

Opposite of how he did it at Minnesota a few years back.

See, he's evolving as a coach.

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

Kirk has never used timeouts well. Like at the end of the first half, why are we calling timeout with over a minute left on the clock and first and goal inside the 5? It’s obvious we are going to run out of downs before we run out of time. All he accomplished was giving ISU a chance to score.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

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Wow — that’s even dumber than taking the delay of game before the last punt. I didn’t even notice during the game. I think we assumed ISU was taking those timeouts! Unbelievable.

 

[Hawkfan_08]

Wow — that’s even dumber than taking the delay of game before the last punt. I didn’t even notice during the game. I think we assumed ISU was taking those timeouts! Unbelievable.

Both were dumb but I kind of forgot how angry I was after the delay of game on the punt (angry).

I did NOT forget how angry I was after the timeout usage. That was something no junior high coach would do.

 

[uiowa08]

You'd think in year 25 our coach would have learned simple things like this already. I just don't understand why he never improves with clock management and time out issues. Is it just laziness or pure stupidity?

 

[Roncuba55]

You'd think in year 25 our coach would have learned simple things like this already. I just don't understand why he never improves with clock management and time out issues. Is it just laziness or pure stupidity?

I would say a mixture of both. In his mind he is never wrong, so the reason we lose is just dumb luck. He needed to retire after the 2019 season when we beat USC.

 

[TRHawkeye145]

Both were dumb but I kind of forgot how angry I was after the delay of game on the punt (angry).

I did NOT forget how angry I was after the timeout usage. That was something no junior high coach would do.

Yep - not calling TO before the punt pissed me off more than anything else in the last couple min...even more than just running 3 straight times in a loaded box

It made no sense especially when we weren't kicking long punts all day

 

[bansheexyz]

You'd think in year 25 our coach would have learned simple things like this already. I just don't understand why he never improves with clock management and time out issues. Is it just laziness or pure stupidity?

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

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Thanks for this, Don is a football treasure and I didn’t know until this moment that Iowa had called those timeouts. Indefensible indeed. I’ve always thought Iowa has needed a game clock manager because year after year, it’s a problem.

 

[Roncuba55]

I’ve always thought Iowa has needed a game clock manager because year after year, it’s a problem.

Even the Tate to Holloway play was a complete F up of time management on Kirk's end. Dude is simply not as good as coach as he gets credit for. And now his one specialty the O line has been one of our most glaring weaknesses the past several years. Time for KF to hang it up.

 

[BubsFinn]

Kirk needs to hire an 8 year old kid who plays NCAA25 on his PS5 to tell him when to call timeout.

 

[HawksRule73]

Saturday was one of those games where no individual bad decision changed the outcome of the game, but the culmination of a shit-ton of bad decisions definitely did. I can't recall a game where so many wrong decisions were made:

1. Going for 2 in the middle of the 3rd quarter. There was no reason to chase points that early.
2. Taking the delay of game before the punt instead of taking a timeout that you were never going to have the chance to use.
3. Taking the timeout on the goal line when there was no need to take it.
4. Not going play action on our last drive before the punt to get a first down that would have iced the game.
5. And maybe I'm not remembering the coin flip rules properly, but since ISU won the toss, they deferred to the 2nd half, which means they chose to receive in the 2nd half and we get to choose which end of the field, correct? So why did we pick to go into the north wind in the 4th quarter?
6. Going to man-to-man on defense. Led directly to our cash getting matched up with their best receiver and getting completely torched.

There's probably more I'm missing, but the culmination of those glaring bad decisions definitely cost us the game.

 

[MitchLL]

KF still gets paid.

Winning or losing is secondary.

Decision making ain't his strong suit.

 

[stanzithemanzi12]

I don't really have problems with it. I think they know our punter better than we do, and I think the were expecting him to kick the ball a bit further. I'm sure they have his exact numbers, etc. I think it was more the punter's fault not doing what he normally can do.

 

[acuhawk]

Wow — that’s even dumber than taking the delay of game before the last punt. I didn’t even notice during the game. I think we assumed ISU was taking those timeouts! Unbelievable.

I was on the boat watching and assumed the same. That's a whole new level if we were the ones calling TO in that situation. I'm speechless and that's saying something since I fully expect clock management to be poor every game.

 

[ShonnDeereGreene]

Time management could quite literally that be what keeps him out of the college coaching hall of fame - as it should because of how ridiculous it is! Current rules dictate you must have a 60% winning percentage and KF is just under it. A couple of these dumb losses will likely be the difference.

For someone that preaches about the mental part of the game, it’s just baffling. And frankly hypocritical.

 

[HawksRule73]

I don't really have problems with it. I think they know our punter better than we do, and I think the were expecting him to kick the ball a bit further. I'm sure they have his exact numbers, etc. I think it was more the punter's fault not doing what he normally can do.

That wind was blowing 10-15 mph into his face (which is what helped the ISU kicker since he had the wind). Again, I have no idea why you'd take the lost yardage for the delay instead of take the timeout.

 

[pistachio1999]

Maybe he thought Tory was still our punter and with him it would be no big deal, but we got a rookie.

 

[83Hawk]

That wind was blowing 10-15 mph into his face (which is what helped the ISU kicker since he had the wind). Again, I have no idea why you'd take the lost yardage for the delay instead of take the timeout.

That was another coaching mistake that has been largely overlooked….letting ISU have the wind in the 4th quarter. Not the first time Kirk has done that, either.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

Even the Tate to Holloway play was a complete F up of time management on Kirk's end. Dude is simply not as good as coach as he gets credit for. And now his one specialty the O line has been one of our most glaring weaknesses the past several years. Time for KF to hang it up.

Yeah, but Dolph’s call of that play was priceless….❤️ i honestly bust a gut every time I hear it….👍

 

[BrotherHawkeye]

Kirk has never used timeouts well. Like at the end of the first half, why are we calling timeout with over a minute left on the clock and first and goal inside the 5? It’s obvious we are going to run out of downs before we run out of time. All he accomplished was giving ISU a chance to score.

That one was actually more befuddling than the one at the end of the game. The ONLY rationale for the end of the game one was to take off every second they could before giving the ball back to ISU, but even that is weak sauce. The one before the end of the first half made no sense; unless they had a disagreement between Lester and Ferentz on what type of play to run. IF that is the case, and I have no idea if it is, they chose poorly. Otherwise, take all the time off the clock and score right before the half.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

SIAP - but did any of the media pundits have the balls to ask Kirk why the hell he took that delay of game penalty?!?!🤪

 

[BubsFinn]

That one was actually more befuddling than the one at the end of the game. The ONLY rationale for the end of the game one was to take off every second they could before giving the ball back to ISU, but even that is weak sauce. The one before the end of the first half made no sense; unless they had a disagreement between Lester and Ferentz on what type of play to run. IF that is the case, and I have no idea if it is, they chose poorly. Otherwise, take all the time off the clock and score right before the half.

Even if Lester and Ferentz were arguing about the play call, you still let more than two seconds roll off the clock before you call timeout. Two second isn’t even enough time to discover you disagree about the play.
No, they thought 1:33 wasn’t enough time to run 3 plays and kick. So unless they were anticipating a pass interference call on one of our runs up the middle, it’s just another example of Kirk’s gross mishandling of the clock.

 

[Lone Clone]

I know this has been mentioned among the many head-scratching coaching decisions, but this odd call was potentially decisive to the outcome.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coach take delay of game before a punt except when it would back the ball up to allow more room for a pooch punt. This one actually hurt our field position, as Dakin wasn’t kicking it far all day and only got it to the ISU 22. So we gave up 5 critical yards of field position for 1 second. Yeah, not a wise calculus, especially for a 26-year B10 coach.

So all things being equal, ISU gets the ball at the 17 without the delay of game, making their FG from 59 yards. I think that would have been a stadium record (Marshall Koehn hit from 58 to beat Pitt, which I believe is the record). Maybe he still makes it, but those extra 5 yards put more pressure on the kicker to keep a lower trajectory, increases the chance of a block, and certainly reduces the likelihood of a miss.

We had 3 timeouts. There was zero reason not to take the timeout with 0:01 left on the play clock. And most of all, those 5 yards proved to be huge at the end of the ISU drive. The decision between saving 5 yards of field position and keeping 1 second on the clock in that situation was a no-brainer. Granted, not the only reason the Hawks lost, but just an unjustifiable decision.

I understand your point and agree with it, but for the record, the kick would have been good from 59.

 

[ozzie8]

I know this has been mentioned among the many head-scratching coaching decisions, but this odd call was potentially decisive to the outcome.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coach take delay of game before a punt except when it would back the ball up to allow more room for a pooch punt. This one actually hurt our field position, as Dakin wasn’t kicking it far all day and only got it to the ISU 22. So we gave up 5 critical yards of field position for 1 second. Yeah, not a wise calculus, especially for a 26-year B10 coach.

So all things being equal, ISU gets the ball at the 17 without the delay of game, making their FG from 59 yards. I think that would have been a stadium record (Marshall Koehn hit from 58 to beat Pitt, which I believe is the record). Maybe he still makes it, but those extra 5 yards put more pressure on the kicker to keep a lower trajectory, increases the chance of a block, and certainly reduces the likelihood of a miss.

We had 3 timeouts. There was zero reason not to take the timeout with 0:01 left on the play clock. And most of all, those 5 yards proved to be huge at the end of the ISU drive. The decision between saving 5 yards of field position and keeping 1 second on the clock in that situation was a no-brainer. Granted, not the only reason the Hawks lost, but just an unjustifiable decision.

It was indefensible. Zero reason to not burn a TO and save that yardage

 

[RushProbst]

Saturday was one of those games where no individual bad decision changed the outcome of the game, but the culmination of a shit-ton of bad decisions definitely did. I can't recall a game where so many wrong decisions were made:

1. Going for 2 in the middle of the 3rd quarter. There was no reason to chase points that early.
2. Taking the delay of game before the punt instead of taking a timeout that you were never going to have the chance to use.
3. Taking the timeout on the goal line when there was no need to take it.
4. Not going play action on our last drive before the punt to get a first down that would have iced the game.
5. And maybe I'm not remembering the coin flip rules properly, but since ISU won the toss, they deferred to the 2nd half, which means they chose to receive in the 2nd half and we get to choose which end of the field, correct? So why did we pick to go into the north wind in the 4th quarter?
6. Going to man-to-man on defense. Led directly to our cash getting matched up with their best receiver and getting completely torched.

There's probably more I'm missing, but the culmination of those glaring bad decisions definitely cost us the game.

7. After the ISU 3/out to start the 2nd half calling a rollout right with your weak armed QB and having him throw back across the field to a double covered TE for an easy interception. 2010 Aaron Rodgers isn’t completing that pass.

 

[BrotherHawkeye]

I understand your point and agree with it, but for the record, the kick would have been good from 59.

That particular kick would have been. But it was a 54 yarder. But if a kicker is lining up a 59 yard FG it has a different look and feel to it. He has the leg. But it’s a different kick. It just is.

 

[83Hawk]

That particular kick would have been. But it was a 54 yarder. But if a kicker is lining up a 59 yard FG it has a different look and feel to it. He has the leg. But it’s a different kick. It just is.

Not to mention kicking with the wind as opposed to kicking into the wind……which is what should have happened (kicking into the wind) had Kirk not made the basic coaching mistake of giving ISU the wind in the 4th quarter.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

7. After the ISU 3/out to start the 2nd half calling a rollout right with your weak armed QB and having him throw back across the field to a double covered TE for an easy interception. 2010 Aaron Rodgers isn’t completing that pass.

Disagree with this.

That shanked punt was essentially a turnover. You go for a kill shot after that kind of play. Not capitalizing on momentum is something Iowa fans on this board have bitched about for years. Well, this time we tried.

The mistake was Cade even attempting the throw. I highly doubt the play is designed to have the primary receiver double-covered. And when Cade actually trusts his body and steps into a throw, there’s some zip in his arm. Unfortunately, he doesn’t trust his leg most of the time and throws off his back leg.

 

[83Hawk]

Disagree with this.

That shanked punt was essentially a turnover. You go for a kill shot after that kind of play. Not capitalizing on momentum is something Iowa fans on this board have bitched about for years. Well, this time we tried.

The mistake was Cade even attempting the throw. I highly doubt the play is designed to have the primary receiver double-covered. And when Cade actually trusts his body and steps into a throw, there’s some zip in his arm. Unfortunately, he doesn’t trust his leg most of the time and throws off his back leg.

Agree.

I don’t disagree with going for the kill…only the play call and trying to make a difficult throw into coverage.

 

[RushProbst]

Disagree with this.

That shanked punt was essentially a turnover. You go for a kill shot after that kind of play. Not capitalizing on momentum is something Iowa fans on this board have bitched about for years. Well, this time we tried.

The mistake was Cade even attempting the throw. I highly doubt the play is designed to have the primary receiver double-covered. And when Cade actually trusts his body and steps into a throw, there’s some zip in his arm. Unfortunately, he doesn’t trust his leg most of the time and throws off his back leg.

I don’t have a problem taking a shot there.
It kind of speaks to the crap that is the Iowa offense.
Either that play design was expected to be successful and Cade made the correct read. Or a sixth year (I think) QB who has been around 2 of the most “no turnovers ever” coaches didn’t think to throw that ball out of bounds.

 

[BonzoFury]

I understand your point and agree with it, but for the record, the kick would have been good from 59.

false premise. That kick wouldn't have happened. It's a completely new set of random events. Punting from 5 yards closer resets everything. Punt likely falls somewhere different. Play call is different. Iowa's coverage might be different. Even if he does end up that same place, maybe he approaches the ball differently knowing he has to go 59 instead of 54.

Completely new set of random events. That's not to say he still wouldn't have nailed it given the chance, he certainly did.

Bottom line KFz didn't control everything he could.

 

[iahawks10]

Saturday was one of those games where no individual bad decision changed the outcome of the game, but the culmination of a shit-ton of bad decisions definitely did. I can't recall a game where so many wrong decisions were made:

1. Going for 2 in the middle of the 3rd quarter. There was no reason to chase points that early.
2. Taking the delay of game before the punt instead of taking a timeout that you were never going to have the chance to use.
3. Taking the timeout on the goal line when there was no need to take it.
4. Not going play action on our last drive before the punt to get a first down that would have iced the game.
5. And maybe I'm not remembering the coin flip rules properly, but since ISU won the toss, they deferred to the 2nd half, which means they chose to receive in the 2nd half and we get to choose which end of the field, correct? So why did we pick to go into the north wind in the 4th quarter?
6. Going to man-to-man on defense. Led directly to our cash getting matched up with their best receiver and getting completely torched.

There's probably more I'm missing, but the culmination of those glaring bad decisions definitely cost us the game.

7. Not calling a TO to ice a freshman kicker with the game on the line?

I could go either way on that one, but with a young kicker, second overall game, I’d lean towards calling one. Early enough to where he doesn’t get a practice attempt at it.

 

[cidsports]

Maybe Kirk forgot that he doesn't have Tory Taylor back there anymore?

Our freshman has a strong leg. He simply punted poorly for the location and distance.