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The Final Exam: Iowa 44 – Iowa State 41

Hawkeyes Mic

By John Patchett (john@hawkeyesmic.com) – 09/11/17

The Iowa – Iowa State Game is in the books. The Hawkeyes prevailed 44-41 in overtime on Jack Trice Field last Saturday. It’s time to grade that final exam…

Grades

Offense       A

Scoring 44 points will win you most games; still room for improvement and growth, but hard to complain. Hawkeyes are tied for 1st in the FBS in Red Zone Production.

  • Quarterback A-
    • “Minus” because of the over-throws. But that’s almost nit-picking. There’s a reason Nate Stanley was named B1G Co-Offensive POTW.
  • Running Backs A
    • I’m counting Wadley’s 46 YD TD pass as mostly a run (8 YDs air, 38 YDs ground). And finally got 1st rush TD of the season.
  • Receivers (WR & TE) A
    • 333 YDs receiving, 8.1 per attempt, 12.3 per completion, 5 pass TDs – what else do you want folks.
  • Offensive Line A-
    • Only gave up one sack. Much cleaner than opener. James Daniels back at Center made a difference for the OL and the QB.

Defense       C

Key stops but way too leaky; surrendering 41 points will lose you most games.

  • Defensive Line B-
    • Pressure lacking; only one sack; moved from C to B- due to Parker Hesse’s pick and return – boy oh boy was that huge (even if the Offense could only get three points there).
  • Linebackers C+
    • Too many missed tackles; not enough help on pressure nor in pass coverage.
  • Defensive Secondary C+
    • Hard to say this was adequate when you surrender 347 YDs passing, but made some big plays. Those big, fast ISU receivers are going to burn a lot of defenses this season.

Special Teams      B

Kind of a mixed bag – still a work in progress.

  • Place-Kicking A
    • What else do you want from Recinos – and just his second game.
  • Punting C-
    • Not enough distance, especially at critical times; paging Ryan Gersonde.
  • Punt Returns C
    • Nothing special yet.
  • Kickoff Return C
    • See punting return comments above.

Coaching

  • HC Kirk Ferentz Pass (Pass / Fail)
    • He let Brian call the plays. No clock or timeout issues either.
  • OC Brian Ferentz A
    • Hope he enjoyed that post-game cigar – moving away from historical Iowa tendencies – brilliant play-call on winning play in OT.
  • DC Phil Parker C
    • Have to figure out how to make substitutions or other adjustments when facing an up-tempo offense like ISU’s.

Prefense Defensive Player of the Week

Pickings are a bit slim but we’re going with Parker Hesse. His pick and 13 yard return late in the 4th Quarter was critical – Iowa almost certainly doesn’t pull this game out but for that play. He also had a career-high seven tackles.

Prefense Hand Sanitizer and Surface Protectant – Remember, the best defense is Prefense.

T&K Roofing & Sheet Metal Coach of the Week

This choice was easy: OC Brian Ferentz for constructing last week’s Offense. He is growing fast in this position as play-caller, moving away from Iowa’s historical tendencies out of formations (especially compared to Greg Davis), mixed things up, and the game-winning play-call in OT was brilliant. I think it’s safe to say Iowa State never expected that pass with a power-formation and 10 men in the box.

T&K Roofing & Sheet Metal – Building Strong, Building Safe Since 1962.

Please remember, as always, these are subjective observations and open to debate and discussion more often or not. Agree or disagree – that’s part of the fun of college football.

Iowa-Iowa State Week Content is at HawkeyesMic.com/Football.