Iowa topped Illinois State 31-14 over the weekend, but what do the stats say?

By Jordan Hansen
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Finally, real, live statistics to talk about.

The Hawkeyes took down Illinois State, 31-14, on Sept. 5, and for the first time since January, there’s something other than predictions and assumptions to

look at.

Overall, Iowa looked like a clean, cohesive unit on both the offense and defensive sides of the ball. Obviously, the degree of competition has something to do with this, but it looks as if Kirk Ferentz’s crew has it figured out, at least for now.

Anyways, here’s a rundown of some of the stats that jump off the page from the game.

Receptions by wide receivers: 11 (out of 16 team receptions)

Matt VandeBerg led the Iowa receiving corps with 6 receptions for 59 yards. Tevaun Smith also had 3 for 24 yards, and Jacob Hillyer had 2 for 38.

Four of the other 5 receptions were by Jordan Canzeri, while the last was by reserve tight end Jameer Outsey.

Although it’s just one game, this represents a slight shift from a year ago. In 2014, Iowa’s receptions were broken down approximately like this: 56 percent by wide receivers, 22 percent by running backs/fullbacks, and 22 percent by tight ends.

Against Illinois State, the wide-receiver receptions jumped to 69 percent, the tight-end receptions dropped to 6 percent,and the running-back receptions held fairly steady at 25 percent.

Tight end Jake Duzey being sidelined until sometime in late September or early October certainly doesn’t help things, but it’s certainly worth noting that Henry Krieger Coble and George Kittle — the tight ends with the most snaps on Sept. 5 — were not targeted once.

Punt return yards: 26

Iowa seems to have found a punt returner in Desmond King. His 26 punt-return yards were more than any single player had in game last year, with the exception of Matt VandeBerg’s three returns for 32 yards against Nebraska.

As a team, the Hawkeyes managed just 123 yards on punt returns last year and averaged 5.1 yards per return. Any sort of punt-return help is a major boon for a team that hasn’t had a real punt returner since Kevonte Martin-Manley in 2013.

With the long grind that is the Big Ten slate, King might not see every return.  However, he does give Iowa a nice option and looked confident during both returns.

Second quarter Iowa sacks: 5

The Hawkeyes had 5 sacks in the game and got all of them in the second quarter of play. Drew Ott had 2 of those, while Ben Niemann, Nate Meier, and Parker Hesse all had 1 each.

Illinois State only posted minus-11 rushing yards during the quarter while also going 1-4 in third-down situations. It was an impressive bit of defense from Iowa and allowed it to go into halftime with a comfortable 17-0 lead.

Second quarters were a hot mess for the Hawkeyes a year ago, as they allowed 126 points during the season. For reference, they gave up 132 points in the third and fourth quarters combined.

Follow @JordyHansen for news, updates, and analysis of the Iowa football team.