Daily Iowan football reporters Danny Payne and Jordan Hansen list four things Iowa must do in order to win Saturday.
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Contain Tre Roberson
Iowa fans remember what happened last time Tre Roberson faced their Hawkeyes. He went a very efficient 16-of-24 for 205 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, Roberson rushed 16 times for 84 yards. With the way the Hawkeyes struggled against dynamic quarterbacks last season, it would behoove them to keep the quarterback in check.
Grade: A+. Roberson went 5-of-12 for 49 yards and was saced four times. He didn’t gain any positive yards on the ground. Really, really well done.
Play with a sense of urgency
There is no excuse for Iowa to come out flat today. With the temperature surrounding this program, a mediocre showing would create nightmares. All told, the Hawkeyes have to show they’re a Big Ten team playing an FCS opponent.
Grade: A. Two scores on the first two offensive drives that ate up the vast majority of the first half. Plus a drive that ended with a field goal at the end of the first half. Bravo.
Get the running game early
A surefire way to beat a mid-major or FCS team is to wear them down by repeatedly ramming the ball down their collective throats. Yes, Illinois State is a good FCS team, but Iowa has no excuse to not beat them.
Iowa’s offensive line outweighs the Illinois State line by an average of 32.4-pounds per player. That’s significant.
LeShun Daniels will be starting the game and Jordan Canzeri will get significant carries. Daniels may have dropped a few pounds over the offseason, but he’s still a wrecking ball and the thunder to Canzeri’s lightning.
Grade: A. Iowa rushed on 8 times on their first quarter 13-play march down the field. By the end of the quarter, the Hawkeyes had 64 yards rushing. Not to shabby.
Don’t give up the big play
Big plays are how little teams upset Power-Five teams. It seems that each time Iowa plays a mid-major or FCS team, a big play keeps the Hawkeyes from pulling away.
That can’t happen today if Iowa wants to put Illinois State away. The Redbirds bring in two talented playmakers in quarterback Tre Roberson and tailback Marshaun Coprich and the will make the Hawkeyes hurt if left unchecked.
This also goes for defense. Iowa doesn’t need to give up a costly interception or lazy fumble, especially if they get a bit of momentum.
Grade: A-. Being nitpicky because the Hawkeyes let Illinois State score several times at the end of the game, but for the most part Iowa was able to avoid shooting themselves in the foot. In fact, the majority of the big plays (especially in the first three quarters) were all made by Iowa.
