By Jordan Hansen
After a loss to Penn State, the Hawkeyes sit just one game above .500 at 5-4.
No. 2 Michigan looms this week, fresh off a 59-3 thrashing of Maryland. With the Big Ten West title pretty much out of the picture, the goal for the team becomes impressing potential bowl scouts and hoping for somewhere warm.
With the Nittany Lions in the rearview mirror, Iowa now has nine games played, which provides a pretty good amount of statistical data on the team. Let’s take a look.
Sacks allowed: 24 (tied-13th Big Ten)
This isn’t something new, as Iowa was not particularly good in this category last year, either.
The team finished with 30 sacks allowed, which ranked 13th in the conference. So, no change from a season ago. There are a bunch of things going into this, and it’s not just the offensive line or quarterback C.J. Beathard’s decision-making.
Injuries have certainly played a part as well. The Hawkeyes have played with seven different offensive lines this year, which is not a recipe for success. It has tested Iowa’s depth and versatility to the very maximum.
Tight end George Kittle (perhaps the Hawkeyes’ best pure run blocker) is limited and won’t likely be 100 percent for the rest of the season, which has been another punch in the gut. Add in two new fullbacks still learning the system, and the combined effect is an offensive group still trying to learn the system.
Ferentz mentions it, the players mention it and while there is improvement, more work has to be done.
Opponent’s 3rd-down percentage: 35.88 (5th in Big Ten)
Yes, the Iowa defense has certainly had issues this season, but it’s actually been able to get teams off the field, especially against equal or weaker competition.
When the Hawkeyes played Minnesota and Purdue (the two games before Wisconsin and Penn State), they allowed 12-of-31 on third down (38.7 percent). The Badgers and the Nittany Lions? A more puzzling 15-of-31 — nearly 50 percent.
Iowa’s offense has been bad with three-and-outs this season and had a number of drives cut short. This puts the defense back on the field sooner, denying them rest.
Now, the defense would of course never admit to this, but later on in the game, fatigue can set in. It’s exactly what happened against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship, and it is the effect of a defense that spends a lot of time on the field, exerting a lot of energy doing so.
Offenses that score more allows the defense a little more breathing room, but the Hawkeyes don’t possess that type of offense. There’s no quick-strike option for C.J. Beathard this year, and he hasn’t been (seemingly) allowed to use the full amount of his running talents.
The offense doesn’t pick up a large amount of chunk plays and often has to grind things out. It’s only scoring 21.5-points a game over its last four and shows no sign of waking up any time soon.
Desmond King kickoff average: 29.22 per return (leads Big Ten)
Something positive?
The Hawkeyes have had relatively good field position in most of their games so far, which is in no small part to King’s contributions. He’s one of the best returners (punt and kick) in a conference that also includes a dude named Jabrill Peppers.
If anything, it’s continuing to show to scouts how versatile a player King can be. He has just one pick this season (which he returned for a touchdown) and has still shown all the excellent traits that have many scouts placing him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
This season hasn’t been what he expected when he decided to come back, but he’s still played very well.
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