After giving up only three long runs in the first three games of Big Ten play, Iowa has allowed nine over the past two weeks.

By Danny Payne
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In this week’s edition of the Box Score, we take a look at Iowa’s rushing defense.

After Iowa’s game with Northwestern, the ninth-ranked Hawks were giving up only 74 yards-per-game. Over the last two games, however, the Hawkeyes have allowed 167 and 227 yards to Maryland and Indiana, respectively.

Why are the Hawkeyes giving up yards on the ground? Will this continue against Minnesota on Saturday, especially after the Gophers gashed the Hawks on the ground last season? Let’s find out.

Minnesota rushing yards against Iowa last season, 291 (4.9 per carry)

To preface this: 2014 Minnesota was a lot better than 2015 Minnesota, and 2015 Iowa is a lot better than 2014 Iowa. The Gophers are the Big Ten’s penultimate team on the ground, averaging only 141.6 yards per game.

With Iowa’s season average at 101.4 in the conference play, you may feel totally safe about Saturday’s contest. However, anything can happen on a weekly basis, and with quarterback Mitch Leidner’s (77 yards against the Hawks last year, but only 16.1 yards-per-game this year) and slot receiver KJ Maye’s (66 yards, 1 touchdown against Iowa last season, 4.33 yards per carry this year) ability to run, Iowa has to be careful.

It’s worth noting Leidner and Maye were part of a three-headed attack that included current Tennessee Titan David Cobb. All three of those players hurt Iowa, and most of those yards came on the edge rather than up the gut.

Maryland and Indiana rushes of 14-plus yards, nine

Part of the uptick in rushing yards against the Hawkeyes has been due to explosive plays. After allowing only three runs of 14-plus yards in the first three games of Big Ten play, Iowa has been more susceptible to the long run recently.

However, after making second-half adjustments against the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Iowa did better in that department and only allowed two longer rushes — a Devine Redding 16-yarder at the end of the third quarter and a Jordan Howard 15-yarder on the same drive.

So, save for one series in the second half, Iowa’s most recent sample should be promising.

Opponent rushing yards leading by 15-plus points, 4.76 per rush

If you’re still worried about the defense, this should be your saving grace. Sure, not everything has been ideal recently. But as this statistic illustrates, it could be as simple as Iowa letting off the gas.

This happened against Maryland, when all but one of the Terrapins’ 14-plus yard rushing plays came with a score separated by a margin more than 15 points. Take those plays out, and there are only five long runs in the last two contests that occurred when the game was close.

Even more, coordinator Phil Parker’s unit is allowing just 1.73 yards when leading by 8-14 points, which is, of course, a very crucial time to hold onto leads and put opponents away, which leads to wins, the most important statistic in football.

So, if the Hawks are up big on the Gophers this weekend, don’t be surprised if Leidner and Company pad the stat sheet, much like quarterback Perry Hills and Maryland did.