What we learned - Iowa State

1.  The Iowa defense is living up to the hype.  Going into the season there were a lot of pundits gushing over the Hawkeye defense.  Through two games, Iowa has lived up to all the expectations.  The front four, while not piling up sack numbers, has been dominating.  They only have 4 total sacks, but if college kept QB hits and QB pressures like the NFL does, Iowa would be filling the stat book.  You saw a different quarterback in Austin Arnaud after the first series, he gets the happy feet and just didn't look comfortable in the pocket at all.  The linebackers have filled in nicely, if Tyler Nielsen wore a number 49 jersey with Edds on the back, you couldn't tell the difference.  Bruce Davis and Jeff Tarpanian have combined to tally 16 tackles in two games, helping to ease the loss of Pat Angerer.  The defensive backs have been lock down, allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete only 51% of their passes for a measly 289 yards.

2.  Iowa will not miss Brandon Wegher at all.  Barring injury Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton will be just fine as the primary ball carriers for the Hawkeyes.  Robinson has taken the starting tailback spot by the horns and looks to be refusing to let it go.  On the season, he is averaging seven yards every time he touches the ball with 4 touchdowns.  Jewel, in his first real action in about 18 months, carried the ball for 84 yards on Saturday and showed an ability to inflict punishment on anyone coming to tackle him.

3.  Ricky Stanzi has put 2009 firmly behind him.  This season, he looks more comfortable in the pocket and his decision making is light years ahead of last year.  He has yet to make one of the passes that makes you wonder what he saw.  He is making is reads, progressing through his receivers and not forcing passes if they aren't there.

4.  The offensive line is just fine with an injury.  The five "hogs" up front have opened holes to the tune of over 5 yards per carry and kept Ricky Stanzi upright.  On Saturday, Ricky Stanzi, could have pitched a tent in the pocket, he wasn't bothered at all and that has a lot to do with his success.  So far, talent wise Iowa has been better than the opposing defense, but this weekend should be a good test of how good they really are.

5.  The receivers have given Stanzi options.  In the past, Iowa quarterbacks have been in love with throwing the ball to the tight end.  This year, 11 different players have caught passes with 6 of them catching multiple passes.  Opposing defenses are realizing that no longer can you just bracket the tight end and be able to cover the wide outs one on one.  You try and do this now and the receivers will burn you.