Check out the five things we learned from No. 5 Iowa’s 40-35 win over Minnesota.
By Ryan Rodriguez
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Iowa is 10-0 for first first time in program history after a thrilling 40-35 win over Minnesota Nov. 14 game at Kinnick Stadium.
With a real chance to go 12-0 in the regualr season for the first time ever as well, Iowa fans are buzzing like never before. What can we learn from the team’s performance against the Gophers?
C.J. Beathard is ‘The Dude”
Tight end George Kittle, who himself had a couple of nice catches on the evening, had a very succinct way of describing how the team feels about quarterback CJ Beathard.
“He’s just the dude,” Kittle said. “He’s a player. He meshes everybody on the offense.”
Indeed, Beathard proved once again that he’s at his best when the game is on the line. And while the Tennessee native didn’t have his most spectacular night through the air, he made the big play when Iowa needed it.
Namely, a 26-yard scamper that traversed the width of the field a few times and moved the chains on what would become an eventual 97-yard touchdown drive.
It’s clear, if it wasn’t abundantly clear already, that Iowa oozes confidence with Beathard under center.
But LeShun Daniels in The Man
At this point in the year, I’m not sure there are enough superlatives to lay at the feet of halfback LeShun Daniels Jr.
The junior went off for 195 yard and three touchdowns, both career marks for the big man. And when considering all of the nagging injuries and aliments Daniels has already dealt with this season, to play like he has the last two weeks is nothing short of remarkable.
And make no mistake, Iowa needs it. A strong running attack is central to the offense, and having a downhill runner like Daniels to complement the shiftier Jordan Canzeri or Akrum Wadley opens it up to way more possibilities.
The Iowa defense looked…kind of shaky
I haven’t written that more than a few times this whole season, but Iowa’s defensive unit almost cost them this one. Whatever quarterback Mitch Leidner at the Gophers wanted to do on offense pretty much happened all game.
The Hawks gave up a season high 27-points to Minnesota, including over 400 yards of total offense.
And had the Iowa offense not had a career day on the other side of the ball, we all might be telling very different story today.
Iowa’s secondary, in particular, simply has to be better, getting exposed twice on a pair of deep-ball touchdown passes where there wasn’t an Iowa defender even in the same zip code.
Kinnick, bravo
Even if you’re not a big believer in the home-field advantage affecting the outcome of a game, it was pretty hard not to notice the effect of the crowd noise in Kinnick.
Minnesota opened multiple drives with offside or delay of game penalties, in no small part due to the insanely electric atmosphere inside Kinnick Stadium.
Playing under the lights in spiffy new blackout jerseys, Iowa played in front of a sell-out crowd that was as loud as Kinnick has ever been.
Between the win over Minnesota and the wrestling team’s win at the Grapple on the Gridiron earlier in the day, Nov. 14, 2015 will go down as one of the most memorable days in Iowa sports history.
Offensive line shows growth
Iowa’s offensive line has been in a near constant state of limbo due to injures this season. At times, that instability has been reflected in some shaky line play during the year.
That said, there’s something to be made of that unit’s ability to consistently get better as the game goes on, and they were pretty darn solid for most of that game.
Center Austin Blythe has been the rock, no doubt, the lone constant in the trenches for the Hawks this season. As the lines goes, so goes Iowa’s offense.
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