For the first time ever the Iowa Hawkeyes will take the field on Saturday 8-0. While Iowa is still lacking the national media respect, if they keep winning the rankings will take care of themselves.
When Iowa has the ball-
Iowa will once again be a patchwork offense, Dace Richardson will be out until the bowl game, Colin Sandeman will probably miss the game after getting his bell run last week, and Adam Robinson will be shut down for the rest of the regular season. Iowa will look to get on track against the 10th overall defense in the Big Ten. In Big Ten play, Indiana is giving up 177 yards per game on the ground and 240 yards through the air. Watch the match up between Jamie Kirlew/Greg Middleton and Bulaga/Calloway. If the Iowa offensive lineman can control the talented Indiana ends, then Stanzi will have time to pick the poor Indiana defensive backfield apart. Reiff, Eubanks, and Vandevelde need to control the middle, including Mayberry, the Hoosiers best linebacker, in order for the Hawks to be successful with the run.
When Indiana has the ball-
Indiana runs what is called the "pistol" offense. The quarterback will line up about 4 yards behind the center, with the tailback right behind him. They are averaging over 25 points per game in league play, so they have the ability to put points on the board. They are a balanced attack the are in the middle of the league in both passing and rushing yards. They protect the ball as well, only giving the ball away 5 times in league play. Their offensive line will have problems with Iowa's defensive line and look for Indiana to have a lot of trouble running between the tackles.
What will happen-
Iowa will be fed by a raucous crowd and get out to a 14 point led after the first quarter. Look for Iowa to have a good mix of both the run and pass. The defense will continue with their boa constrictor like game, they won't dominate from start to finish, but they will squeeze the life out of you and make it tough to do anything late in the game.
Score Prediction:
Iowa 42
Indiana 13
Predictions:
Stanzi will throw for 300+ yards
Keenan Davis and DJK will have 4+ catches
Moeaki will have a TD
The defense will cause 5 turnovers, 3 INT, 2 fumbles
Brandon Wegher goes for 125+ rushing
Iowa finishes with 5 sacks, Clayborn with 2
Iowa scores on its first possession of the game
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Michigan State Aftermath
Well the Hawks did it again. By no means did they dominate any facet of the game, but they played well enough to win the game.
Offense-
Thought that for the most part they looked bad on the offensive side of the ball. The running game seemed to gain some yards when they ran to the offensive left behind Bulaga and Reiff. In the third quarter, Iowa had first and goal at the 1 and were unable to punch it in. My question is, where was Wegher? Has he not proven that he is pretty good at the goalline dive? All it took however was the last drive for Iowa to start playing offense. With 1:37 left the Hawks had the daunting task of going 70 yards with only 1 timeout and having to get a touchdown to win. Stanzi looked like John Elway on "the drive," he was making most of the calls from the line of scrimmage and hitting his recievers when they were open and when nobody was open, instead of taking a sack or throwing one up, he ran and got what he could. With two seconds left O'Keefe dialed up a great play call. When Moeaki went in motion and the linebacker went with him and left McNutt one on one on the outside. Upon seeing this and knowing what the play call was, Stanzi had to be thinking, "Is this really happening?" In watching the play several times, both McNutt and Stross were open on the slant patterns. Stanzi chose to hit McNutt and the cardiac kids did it once again. The win did not come without some losses though, Dace Richardson went down early with an ankle injury, Colin Sandeman went down in the third after being the victim of a head to head hit, and Adam Robinson injured his ankle.
Defense-
While they only allowed 13 points, the defense really missed a lot of oppertunities to make big plays. Hunter dropped a probable pick 6 interception, Clayborn somehow missed a fumble recovery deep in Spartan territory, and they allowed a couple 3 down and more than 10 yard conversions. It was a little bit concerning that MSU went 90+ plus yards to get the lead. For the first game this season Iowa was unable to cause a turnover. Overall it was a pretty good game by the defense including a goal line stand when MSU had a first and goal at the 1.
Offense-
Thought that for the most part they looked bad on the offensive side of the ball. The running game seemed to gain some yards when they ran to the offensive left behind Bulaga and Reiff. In the third quarter, Iowa had first and goal at the 1 and were unable to punch it in. My question is, where was Wegher? Has he not proven that he is pretty good at the goalline dive? All it took however was the last drive for Iowa to start playing offense. With 1:37 left the Hawks had the daunting task of going 70 yards with only 1 timeout and having to get a touchdown to win. Stanzi looked like John Elway on "the drive," he was making most of the calls from the line of scrimmage and hitting his recievers when they were open and when nobody was open, instead of taking a sack or throwing one up, he ran and got what he could. With two seconds left O'Keefe dialed up a great play call. When Moeaki went in motion and the linebacker went with him and left McNutt one on one on the outside. Upon seeing this and knowing what the play call was, Stanzi had to be thinking, "Is this really happening?" In watching the play several times, both McNutt and Stross were open on the slant patterns. Stanzi chose to hit McNutt and the cardiac kids did it once again. The win did not come without some losses though, Dace Richardson went down early with an ankle injury, Colin Sandeman went down in the third after being the victim of a head to head hit, and Adam Robinson injured his ankle.
Defense-
While they only allowed 13 points, the defense really missed a lot of oppertunities to make big plays. Hunter dropped a probable pick 6 interception, Clayborn somehow missed a fumble recovery deep in Spartan territory, and they allowed a couple 3 down and more than 10 yard conversions. It was a little bit concerning that MSU went 90+ plus yards to get the lead. For the first game this season Iowa was unable to cause a turnover. Overall it was a pretty good game by the defense including a goal line stand when MSU had a first and goal at the 1.
New practice facility?
I know that there has been a lot of talk about a new indoor practice facility. The bubble was great when it was new 20 years ago, but lots of things have changed and lets be honest, when your team is 8-0 on the season, getting donors to donate money is a lot easier. Above is an image of a possible location and look of a new facility. Currently there is a parking lot where this facility would sit.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Iowa vs Michigan State stats
Iowa is the least penalized team in the Big 10, MSU is the second highest
MSU has only given up 6 sacks all season
MSU has the best passing attack in the Big 10
Iowa has the second best passing defense in the Big 10
Iowa has only given 1 opening drive scores in the last 20 games
Iowa is just the second school to ever win at Penn State and Wisconsin in the same season
Iowa has outscored its opponents 101-41 in the second half this season
Iowa has not allowed a second half point on the road this season
Iowa leads the nation with 15 INT's
MSU is -6 in TO's, Iowa is +11
DJK is now 17th in receptions and 19th in yards in the all-time Iowa receiving rankings
Iowa has not converted a fourth down all season
Iowa's opponents have been unsuccessful on all 4 onside kick attempts this season
MSU has only given up 6 sacks all season
MSU has the best passing attack in the Big 10
Iowa has the second best passing defense in the Big 10
Iowa has only given 1 opening drive scores in the last 20 games
Iowa is just the second school to ever win at Penn State and Wisconsin in the same season
Iowa has outscored its opponents 101-41 in the second half this season
Iowa has not allowed a second half point on the road this season
Iowa leads the nation with 15 INT's
MSU is -6 in TO's, Iowa is +11
DJK is now 17th in receptions and 19th in yards in the all-time Iowa receiving rankings
Iowa has not converted a fourth down all season
Iowa's opponents have been unsuccessful on all 4 onside kick attempts this season
Wisconsin Game Analysis
Well so much for Beilema being 15-0 in 11 AM starts at Madison. The game last week was very much a tale of two halves. In the first half Iowa was all but dominated, but only down 7 points. In the second half Iowa controlled all aspects of the game, offense, defense, and special teams.
Offense-
In the first half, Iowa's offense was less than stellar. Wisconsin was loading the box to stop the run and aside from the first drive and the deep ball to DJK, Iowa mustered very few yards. At halftime, the Iowa coaches must have seen something and really started to gouge the Badgers with the run. One of the things that Iowa did was something that I have been calling for all season, spread the defense out. A couple times Iowa went with no backs and a couple of running plays were single back. With Robinson and Wegher's ability to catch the ball, going empty is an advantage for Iowa as the defense can't go nickle or dime defense against Iowa's personnel. One thing that I noticed on Robinson's TD run was the block by Reisner, he cleared the way for Robinson a couple of times on that drive. His blocking has become so much better this season than it was last year. It also appeared in the game that Stanzi has developed a trust in DJK, he looked for him several times on the day and DJK started, which hopefully means he is out of the doghouse.
Defense-
First half was a tape that you want to throw away if you are Norm Parker. The front seven had awful gap assignments and nobody was getting off blocks. Hunter over-pursued several times opening up the cut back and John Clay looked like a beast in the first half. Once Wisconisin had the run established, it really opened up their play-action passing attack. But just like the offensive coaches, the defensive coaches made half-time adjustments that stymied the Badgers in the second half. Iowa turned the Badgers over three times in the second half and had Tolzein completely confused about where they were coming from. The turning point of the game was in the third quarter when Stanzi fumbled deep in Iowa territory and the defense stiffened and forced Wisconsin into a FG attempt that was missed. Spievey finally got a couple of balls thrown his way and had two interceptions. The first INT was a good play by him coming off the deep man, but an even better play by Edds to get in the throwing land and forcing the wide throw. The second INT was an incredible athletic play by Spievey.
Offense-
In the first half, Iowa's offense was less than stellar. Wisconsin was loading the box to stop the run and aside from the first drive and the deep ball to DJK, Iowa mustered very few yards. At halftime, the Iowa coaches must have seen something and really started to gouge the Badgers with the run. One of the things that Iowa did was something that I have been calling for all season, spread the defense out. A couple times Iowa went with no backs and a couple of running plays were single back. With Robinson and Wegher's ability to catch the ball, going empty is an advantage for Iowa as the defense can't go nickle or dime defense against Iowa's personnel. One thing that I noticed on Robinson's TD run was the block by Reisner, he cleared the way for Robinson a couple of times on that drive. His blocking has become so much better this season than it was last year. It also appeared in the game that Stanzi has developed a trust in DJK, he looked for him several times on the day and DJK started, which hopefully means he is out of the doghouse.
Defense-
First half was a tape that you want to throw away if you are Norm Parker. The front seven had awful gap assignments and nobody was getting off blocks. Hunter over-pursued several times opening up the cut back and John Clay looked like a beast in the first half. Once Wisconisin had the run established, it really opened up their play-action passing attack. But just like the offensive coaches, the defensive coaches made half-time adjustments that stymied the Badgers in the second half. Iowa turned the Badgers over three times in the second half and had Tolzein completely confused about where they were coming from. The turning point of the game was in the third quarter when Stanzi fumbled deep in Iowa territory and the defense stiffened and forced Wisconsin into a FG attempt that was missed. Spievey finally got a couple of balls thrown his way and had two interceptions. The first INT was a good play by him coming off the deep man, but an even better play by Edds to get in the throwing land and forcing the wide throw. The second INT was an incredible athletic play by Spievey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
