Iowa’s Record: 1-0
Iowa’s Rankings
AP: 29 votes
USA Today: 44 votes
BCS:
2011
Iowa Football Schedule (times eastern)
9/03/11
Tennessee Tech WIN 34-7
9/10/11 @ Iowa State 12:00 pm,
FSN*
9/17/11
Pittsburgh 12:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2
9/24/11
Louisiana-Monroe TBD
10/01/11 Bye
Week
10/08/11 @ Penn
State TBD
10/15/11
Northwestern 7:00 pm, BTN
10/22/11
Indiana 12:00 pm, TBD
10/29/11 @
Minnesota TBD
11/05/11
Michigan TBD
11/12/11
Michigan State TBD
11/19/11 @
Purdue TBD
11/25/11 @
Nebraska 12:00 pm, ABC
*MSG+ in the NY Metro Area
Scouting Next Opponent:
Maine at Pittsburgh, 1:00 PM,
ESPN3
September 10th, 2011: Iowa Hawkeyes at Iowa State
Cyclones, 1-0, 0-0 Big 12
Prior Games: 58, Iowa leads 39-19
Last Game: 2010, ISU 7, Iowa 35
Hawkeye
Stat Pack:
Turnover Margin:
+1
Big Ten #4, NCAA #28
Interception Battle:
Linebackers: 1
Secondary: 1
Current Line: Iowa -7
2011 Key Stats
Scoring
Defense 7.0, Pass Def 156.0, Rush Def 140.0, Interceptions 2, Total Defense
296.0
Ranks
Big Ten
#3 tie
#5
#10
#1 tie
#7
NCAA
#13 tie
#34
#66
#12 tie
#42
Scoring
Offense 34.0, Pass Offense 256.0, Rush Offense 148.0, Total Offense 394.0
Rank
Big Ten
#5 tie
#5 #10
#7
NCAA
#51
#46
#61
#55
Depth Chart for this week:
http://www.hawkeyesports.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/depth-chart
Hello again Hawkeye
friends! Week 1 is in the book,
and the Hawks are 1 and 0 and looking to continue the hot start this Saturday
in Ames.
Well, it was warm
outside, but the start was not actually hot. It was raining, and before it was all over, we had seen
something that even we older Hawkeyes have never witnessed before – an Iowa
football game delayed by weather.
It’s football; it doesn’t take a back seat to Mother Nature!
But it does, when
there is lightening around. At
least, these days it does, back in the day I don’t recall them calling things
off when thunderstorms were nearby.
Guess it’s just part of the uber-cautious era we live in.
But that was all
late in the 3rd quarter.
At the start, the stands were full, albeit soaked, and Tech kicked the
ball down to the 9 yard line, where Jordan Bernstine grabbed it, and danced his
way up the middle all the way to the 45 before going down. Great seeing him in action right from
the start, and the 2011 Hawkeye Football season was under way.
Raining, which
tradition says is bad for passing.
New starting quarterback, you want to work him into the offense. Power running game, great O line –
pound the ball to start.
And so it looks, the
Hawks are in the I formation, Davis on the near side motioning in, and then
back out, and at the snap, James fakes the ball to Marcus, and drops back to
survey the field. Quickly, he
comes back underneath to flip it to Marcus, who snags the pass and gains a few
strides for 13 yards. Script
flipped from the very start.
1st down,
a run? Nope, James drops back again, hits Marvin on the far side, he breaks one
tackle for 15 more yards. 1st
down at the Tech 27.
Running game? Two more passes, both fail, Hawks face
3rd and 10. Now Coker
gets the ball the usual way, and as he gains about 5 yards, a linebacker dives
at his legs, and Marcus falls forward over him, losing the ball. Tech recovers at the 23, and the
Hawkeye defense takes the field.
Seems the defense is
still watching the fumble replay, as Tech opens with an option run that nets 18
yards. From there a false start
dooms them to a 3rd and 9, and the snap is low and bounces to QB
Lamb - he is able to get a quick screen off to his right, but Nielsen blows
through the line and drops the tailback for a 3 yard loss. The punt comes down to Micah Hyde,
where he fair catches it at our 22.
All right, first
game jitters out of the way, let’s play some football!
Coker, up the middle
for 6, and he pops the linebacker making the tackle. He gets it again and starts right, but then cuts it back to
the left, for 3 yards. 3rd
and 1, one more time to Marcus, who goes left and gets the 1st, but
he loses the ball as he tries to switch it to the outside hand. Lucky for us, it rolls forward and
Reiff falls on it, saving the Iowa possession.
James now drops back
and fires a quick strike to McNutt, who just barely misses getting the corner
turned as the cornerback makes a shoestring tackle. That was good for 7 yards.
Coker is now on the
sideline. In retrospect, you have
to remember that the guy has not been tackled since the Insight Bowl, and
holding sopping wet footballs is not exactly an easy thing to do. At any rate, the Iowa coaches go down
one below the 2 deep and insert freshman Mika’ll McCall, #25. He gets the next snap and heads right,
8 yards, 1st down. Two
more carries get 5 then 4 yards, and the Hawks face a 3rd and
1. James brings them quickly to
the line and runs the QB sneak which goes for 2, 1st down Iowa, at
the Tech 38.
Back to the kid, he
goes left for 3 yards, and then comes right, breaking at least two tackles, for
12 more, 1st down Iowa.
But the drive stalls here, and Meyer comes in to boot the 39 yard field
goal. Rain no problem, it’s good,
and the Hawks lead 3-0. No fight
song for field goals, unless they are of the game winning variety.
Tech gains one first
down on their possession, but then a near turnover (fumble) dooms the drive,
and Hyde catches the punt and is tackled at the Iowa 26.
Back to McCall. He heads up the middle, now breaks
right, one, two, three weak arm tackles left in the dust! 22 yards! Power running attack, indeed! Next snap, the new QB and true freshman get mixed up, and
James has to stretch to get the ball to him, and the delay results in a loss of
3 yards. One more time, McCall head
right and finds daylight for 9, but then as he is going down, he gets drilled
from the side, and immediately we know he is hurt. It doesn’t take long for the news to come, it’s a broken
ankle, and out for the season.
Terrible news for
the kid, but we do have tailbacks.
He will get the medical redshirt, and have 4 years remaining to
play. Look forward to seeing him
in 2012.
Back to the game,
now 3rd and 5, James finds Herman for what looks like 15 yards, but
the d-back clearly plows through Brad’s back before the ball arrives, but the
zebras swallow the whistle. Punt,
fair catch by Tech at the 15.
The 1st
quarter ends with the Tech QB rolling right, right into a sack by Daniels to
lose 4 yards. 3-0 Hawkeyes, not
the hot start we were looking for, but things were about to change in a hurry.
This drive dies 2
plays later, as the 3rd down pass up the middle bounces of Morris’s
back – what you call blanket coverage.
A good kick by Tech, the punt forces Hyde back and the ball bounces out
of bounds at the Iowa 41.
Let’s try this
again! Wait, no, flags fly, that’s
a false start on the center. One
of only 3 accepted flags on the Hawks last week, all of the 5 yard variety.
1st and
15, James bootlegs it to the left, and fires a bullet to the underneath man
(Herman), who latches onto it and falls for 16 yards and a Hawkeye 1st
down. James drops back again, but
doesn’t like what he sees, so he pulls it down and heads toward the near
sideline. At 5 yards, he meets a
Tech linebacker, but he does not slide – he turns his shoulder and plows into
the guy, causing both their helmets to fly off. A great, team building play, but we prefer to see our 230
pound running back plowing into linebackers, thank you.
Everyone gets their
hats back on, and James comes to the near side the conventional way, with a
strike to Marvin, 6 yards, 1st down. Coker is back in, and he takes the ball up the middle for 4
yards. Back to the air, a strike
near side to tight end Derby (the Elder) gains 5 yards, 3rd and
1. Iowa, right up to the line, QB
sneak again, and it goes for 4 yards before James is dropped. 1st down Iowa at the Tech 24.
James hides the ball
in the play action exchange, and then rises up and fires a strike down toward
the near pylon, where Davis is well covered. As the ball arrives, Keenan jumps and flips the ball up, and
then as he falls to the ground, he cradles it into his arms, and then into the end zone. Touchdown Iowa! Fans go wild, but as the team lines up
for the extra point, the whistle blows, and the review shows that his knee was
down at the half yard line. Well,
that was his knee, it seemed the ball had already broken the plane. Nope, the Hawks go into the Power I,
and Tech jumps, so the ball is moved to about 7 inches from the goal.
You would think Tech
was expecting this. The BTN guys
have been showing the catch replay so much we don’t even see the live play, but
there it is, another QB sneak, and the 2011 Hawkeyes have their first
touchdown. Yes, the team with the
power rushing attack, the deadly wideouts, and devastating tight ends, scores
its first touchdown with their pro-style QB running the ball. That, our only rushing TD of the
day. 10- zip Iowa, clock at 10:38.
Tech, 3 and out, the highlight of the
drive is Daniels crushing the QB as he releases the ball – a play for which he
gets flagged (helmet to helmet), but it doesn’t go in the books as Tech also
tripped an Iowa lineman, penalties offset. The punt comes to Hyde at the 15, and he is hit and dropped
at the 17.
Score, then 3 and
out. Been watching a lot of tennis
lately, it’s like securing the break.
Hawks line up, and
the flag flies, false start, #60 (LG Matt Tobin). 1st and 15.
Coker now, he heads right, and gets stood up by the pile, so he spins
and comes back left, but is hit for just a yard. 2nd and 14, James comes to the line, and seems to
change the play before he goes under center. It’s a play action pass, and McNutt has run a corner route
on the far side – James floats the ball in that direction, and Marvin reaches
up to snatch it, as a safety dives at his feet. The pass, caught (!) at the 34;
Marvin high steps his way out of that tackle, and then races down the far
sideline – 50, 40, a pursuing linebacker makes a lunge and misses! 30, 20, 10, touchdown Iowa! 88 yards! The 6th longest pass play in Iowa history! 17-zip, a 56 second yard drive, the
first of what will be many long td strikes for Vandenberg in 2011.
Tech now responds by
moving the ball to the Iowa 49, where they face a 4th and 1. The Hawks fall for the hard-count trap,
and Daniels is flagged for offsides, 1st down Tech.
From here, Tech is
probably wishing they had punted the ball. On 1st down, the pressure is heavy right up the
middle, and Lamb has to release the ball before his wideout is looking. The pass also goes up the middle; you
don’t want to just toss balls up the middle on the Iowa Defense. Nope, this time, Morris has turned
around, and he snags it, interception Iowa! But he is not done, he gains some
blockers on the outside, and down the far side they go – breaking tackles, 50,
40, 30, 20, but Tech cuts off the angle, and he is brought down at the
Tennessee 8 yard line. Pick count,
linebackers lead 1-0. But, not for
long.
Coker, heads right
but nets only one. James back now,
pass near side to Marvin, he gets drilled at the 2. 3rd and goal, James and Marcus run into each
other in the backfield, but he still gets the floater off to Derby, but the
defenders flashes his hands in front and he can’t make the catch. The field goal is just 20 yards, and
good, 20-zip Iowa.
Meyer’s kick lands
at the 10, and is carried out to the 25.
So far, so good for the kick coverage team. Tech goes on an 11-play
drive that gets them as far as the 33.
With just half a minute left, Lamb drops back, and then runs toward the
near side of the field – he is feeling the pressure as he throws the ball down
toward the 10 yard line, where the wideout and Prater both leap into the air –
as the receiver falls down, Shaun lands on his feet with the ball – (one all,
linebackers!), and now he is racing up the near sideline! 30 -40, he has a convoy with him, just
one man to beat – and they do! 40,
30, 20, 10, touchdown Iowa! 89
yards! 27-0, clock at 9 seconds. That’s 24 points in the 2nd
quarter, and Sedge’s phone blows up with people wondering when the last time
Iowa scored 24 points in a quarter.
Too busy playing the Fight Song and doing yellow shots to think about
it!
The half would end
with one more play, and we settled in for the 2nd, knowing we had
done enough to get some youngsters into the game, which would pay dividends in
the weeks ahead. Now just need to
finish it out, add some more points, and keep everyone else healthy.
The halftime ends,
and the players return to actual sunshine. Good deal.
Hoping for a 3 and
out to start the second, but that doesn’t happen. Tech goes on a 10-play drive that gets as far as the Iowa 11
– but then they miss a 33-yard field goal, wide left. Iowa gets the ball back at the 20.
James comes out
firing again, Coker for 6
yards. Now he hits Davis for 7 and
a 1st down. Offsides then on Tech,
and James tries again, for Herman, but the pass is dropped. What? Rain starts up again.
Iowa runs 4 more plays and gets to the Tech 35, where they are flagged
for roughing the passer, and there we were right on the red zone door.
Coker, right side, 1
yard. James now, looking over the
line – he snaps it, steps back, and then turns and fires to the near side,
where Marvin has stayed on the line after the snap, it’s a wideout screen (but
looked like a Hawkeye Jail Break at first), regardless, McNutt shakes and bakes
his way right through the entire Tech defense and carries it in for his second
touchdown of the day – now 3 short of the Iowa record. 34-zip Hawkeyes! Clock at 6:19 of the 3rd.
Tech, 3 and
out. Iowa ball at 4:13 on the 41.
Really, really
raining now – BTN shows pics of water pouring down the Kinnick steps like a
raging rapids. Iowa runs two pass
plays that fail, and then the officials blow the whistle and instruct all the
players to leave the field. The
lightening has returned.
This delay would go
on for a full hour, and they then had to wait another 30 minutes to be sure
there were no more light shows in the sky. During the down time, Hawkeye fans found ways to kill the
time – with games of their own.
Finally, the players, and some of the fans returned, but after the long
layoff, most of the starters were done for the day.
By that point, we
were just hoping the 2nd and 3rd team guys could hold the
shutout, and get a score of their own.
Neither happened, but the fact that Derby (the Younger) got in, along
with a bunch of other guys, was great to see. In the end, 34-7, and the Hawks could feel good about the
win, but the coaches could also find some thing to work on in practice this
week.
Key stats, James
13-21, 219, 2 tds, and no scary throws.
McCall, 9 hauls for 61, Marcus, 11 for 41. Marvin, 6 catches for 140 (23.3 average) and the two
tds. A huge start for him, look
for the record to fall in week 3.
So, what can the
Hawkeyes do a little better this week?
Clearly, getting Coker going out of the gate, which I trust will
happen. With him at something
around 150 yards, the passing game will open up tremendously – the offense
should be clicking from the start.
The defense faces
another running QB Saturday – last week, they had good pressure often, but
failed to make the tackle. They’ll
need to be a step quicker. And
they will want to be, because pressure on the ISU QB is going to make him very
susceptible to mistakes. You only
need to look at last week.
THIS WEEK: Iowa State
ISU almost did lose
to UNI a week ago. They had to
score a td with 40 seconds left to top the Panthers 20-19. This, a game where UNI had 16
penalties, where ISU lost a player to an ejection, and the Clones had 4 turnovers.
Now, as my brother
pointed out, we had our own trouble with UNI just a couple seasons back. What that did was wake up the Iowa
team, and it resulted in a 9-0 start, which would have been a 12-0 start had
our QB not gone down. I don’t see
these Clones being the type of team to run wild through the Big 12 in
2011. They will be getting better
under Paul Rhoads, I am sure of that – he seems a good coach who really wants
to be there. But they are also a
young team, and if last week is any evidence, one that is easy to expose when
things get tough.
Which is say, if
things were testy with UNI, what are the Clones going to do when the Hawkeyes
smack them in the mouth?
Arnaud is gone, and
the winner of the QB battle was Steele Jantz, a junior. Vandenberg, he is not. Jantz ran 20 times for 80 yards in
ISU’s win, but his passing was a bit more suspect. 18 of 40 for 187 with 1 td – and 3 interceptions. Many of those passes he missed were
just errant throws – the kind that speedy defenses can devour. If the Panther defense was able to
rattle him, wait until he meets Mike Daniels.
On the defensive
side, the Clones should, in theory, be good at stopping option offenses, since
they run one. The UNI QB gained
127 yards on 18 carries; part of the 210 on the ground the Clone defense gave
up. That QB, 6’1, 200 pounds. So, when Coker is hitting those
linebackers, are they going to be able to stop him, or just fall away for
another 10 or 15 yards?
There is always that
question about the Hawks not really wanting to play this game, while the Clones
think it’s the biggest game of the season. You don’t get the sense that is the case anymore – Iowa is
tying to send the seniors out without a loss to Iowa State. This a game to build momentum for the
Pitt visit next week. I don’t
think the Hawks will have any trouble being ready.
Some Clones fans
seem to think James will be rattled in Cyclone Stadium. I doubt it. The Horseshoe, it is not.
What do the Hawks
need to do to get the game in hand and keep the crowd silent? Run the ball. Then when the Clones sell out to stop it, play action that
baby right over their heads. We
are not an option running offense.
Let’s see if the option running team knows how to stop a pro-style
offense.
On the flip side, we
are once again going to need the 7 to 8 man rotation for the defensive line –
they must get tackles when they get serious pressure. The linebackers must be ready to lay hard hits on the QB or
anyone else that carries the ball into their midst. But at the same time, keep heads up to get in the way of any
passes that might not be true. If
UNI got 3 of them, perhaps the Hawks are good for 4?
When it comes to
special teams, the Clones did not kick any field goals last week, but their
punter averaged just over 51 yards on his kicks. The question, though, is how many weeks we are going to go
before blocking one. I say – no
more.
I’m sure the Clones
will be spirited and ready to go at the outset. It’s up to the Hawks to play smart and eliminate
mistakes. Long as we can do that,
and keep the offense humming along, it should not be close. ISU might be better later in the year,
but this week the recent near miss will come back to bite them. Hawks 35, Clones 13.
For further football
after the Hawkeye win, check out Alabama at Penn State, 3:30, on ABC. Then of course, the first true night
game in the long history of the Big House, Notre Dame at Michigan, 8:00 pm on
ESPN.
One more day Hawkeye
fans! It is and will forever be,
the Hawkeye State! In the hearts
and on the field!
GO HAWKS!!!
Sedge
Dave Sedgwick
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