I don't know about you, but this loss ruined my weekend. With about 3 mins to play, the odds of Iowa winning had to be in the 80% range. Tie game, 1st down in field goal range...but just like the end of the first half, they squandered the opportunities away and ended the night with a 20-15 home loss in front of a raucous crowd against the nation's #11 team.
1. Gronk's Performance Depends on Interpretation/Rock Bottom Expectations. The Iowa media's rose colored narrative will likely tout what a "great game" Gronk played. Statistically, he did have his best game as a Hawk (a low bar), going 19/25 for 144 yards, plus a devastating interception, plus a fumble...and zero touchdown passes yet again. Somehow, Indiana's QB managed to complete 6 fewer passes than Gronk, yet threw for 100 more yards. Looking across the rest of the Big 10, 144 passing yards is less than any other QB. I watched the illinois v USC game where both QBs throw for 330 yrds+. But perhaps more disappointing than Gonk's check down safe throws and his inability to make clutch decisions when plays break down was his lack of leadership. Hawk fans have been desperate for a QB LEADER since CJ Beathard. For Gronk to choose to sit out the 4th quarter with the game on the line at home vs. a Top 11 opponent shows he lacks the necessary killer instinct. Drew Tate would have played. CJ would have insisted on playing. Chuck Long would have been out there without a second thought.
2. Bizarre Personnel Decisions Continue. IowaLaw has noted each week that the underqualified new RBs coach doesn't seem to understand how depth charts work. This week, he chose to start Iowa's 5th best RB again in Terrell Washington. Washington, who has started more games than any other RB, averages just 3 yards per carry, less than any Hawk starter in recent memory. Not surprisingly, he took the first carry of the game for a 1 yard gain. Why, pray tell, is Washington starting over Moulton or even McNeil (5 yrd per carry)? It makes no sense. While the Hawks missed Jaz Patterson & Williams, who are good for 6 and 7 yards per carry respectively, Moulton's 18 carries for 75 yards (4.2 yrds per carry) showed some hard, tough nosed running. Unfortunately, McNeil wasn't given much running room when he got carries.
3. Soooo Many Drops. How many drops did Budmyer's illustrious receiving corp have this week? Too many to count. It was a disaster out there. While it's hard to blame guys like Vonnahame (a 2 star from Carroll who picked Iowa over South Dakota) or Large (a 0 star who transferred from the NAIA) for drops. They have no business playing Big 10 football in the first place. Iowa's receivers and tight ends don't compare favorably to any opponent on this year's schedule. It's an embarrassment.
4. Entringer's Career Day While Ngwampa's Career Can't End Soon Enough. Entringer has stepped up bigly. He finished the day with 10 tackles (the team's first double digit tackle day of the year), 2 tackles for loss, and was single handedly responsible for BOTH huge stops on 4th down. Meanwhile, Iowa's highly touted 4 year starter at safety was nowhere to be found again. Indiana's huge run at the end of the 1st half that led to 3 cheap points came from X being totally out of position and whiffing like a freshmen walk-on. The huge pass play that ended the game...also a result of X being totally out of position and whiffing. In fact, the only time X was seen on the entire telecast (because he has a knack of never being around the ball on runs or passes) was when he nearly had a costly personal foul penalty by clocking the QB a split second before he stepped out of bounds in a tie game. The Hawks have been blessed with so many walk-ons who became stud safeties. It's sad to see their one 5 star safety in my lifetime turn out to be such a bust.
5. Lutmer's Play of the Game. The pride of tiny Rock Rapids had the biggest play of his career late in the 4th quarter. A play that most of the time would have resulted in a huge win. Lutmer's interception and his subsequent 38 yard return provided more offensive spark than Hank Brown's 13 passes (4 yrds per pass) and every WR on the team other than Philips, who finished with 64 yards receiving.
1. Gronk's Performance Depends on Interpretation/Rock Bottom Expectations. The Iowa media's rose colored narrative will likely tout what a "great game" Gronk played. Statistically, he did have his best game as a Hawk (a low bar), going 19/25 for 144 yards, plus a devastating interception, plus a fumble...and zero touchdown passes yet again. Somehow, Indiana's QB managed to complete 6 fewer passes than Gronk, yet threw for 100 more yards. Looking across the rest of the Big 10, 144 passing yards is less than any other QB. I watched the illinois v USC game where both QBs throw for 330 yrds+. But perhaps more disappointing than Gonk's check down safe throws and his inability to make clutch decisions when plays break down was his lack of leadership. Hawk fans have been desperate for a QB LEADER since CJ Beathard. For Gronk to choose to sit out the 4th quarter with the game on the line at home vs. a Top 11 opponent shows he lacks the necessary killer instinct. Drew Tate would have played. CJ would have insisted on playing. Chuck Long would have been out there without a second thought.
2. Bizarre Personnel Decisions Continue. IowaLaw has noted each week that the underqualified new RBs coach doesn't seem to understand how depth charts work. This week, he chose to start Iowa's 5th best RB again in Terrell Washington. Washington, who has started more games than any other RB, averages just 3 yards per carry, less than any Hawk starter in recent memory. Not surprisingly, he took the first carry of the game for a 1 yard gain. Why, pray tell, is Washington starting over Moulton or even McNeil (5 yrd per carry)? It makes no sense. While the Hawks missed Jaz Patterson & Williams, who are good for 6 and 7 yards per carry respectively, Moulton's 18 carries for 75 yards (4.2 yrds per carry) showed some hard, tough nosed running. Unfortunately, McNeil wasn't given much running room when he got carries.
3. Soooo Many Drops. How many drops did Budmyer's illustrious receiving corp have this week? Too many to count. It was a disaster out there. While it's hard to blame guys like Vonnahame (a 2 star from Carroll who picked Iowa over South Dakota) or Large (a 0 star who transferred from the NAIA) for drops. They have no business playing Big 10 football in the first place. Iowa's receivers and tight ends don't compare favorably to any opponent on this year's schedule. It's an embarrassment.
4. Entringer's Career Day While Ngwampa's Career Can't End Soon Enough. Entringer has stepped up bigly. He finished the day with 10 tackles (the team's first double digit tackle day of the year), 2 tackles for loss, and was single handedly responsible for BOTH huge stops on 4th down. Meanwhile, Iowa's highly touted 4 year starter at safety was nowhere to be found again. Indiana's huge run at the end of the 1st half that led to 3 cheap points came from X being totally out of position and whiffing like a freshmen walk-on. The huge pass play that ended the game...also a result of X being totally out of position and whiffing. In fact, the only time X was seen on the entire telecast (because he has a knack of never being around the ball on runs or passes) was when he nearly had a costly personal foul penalty by clocking the QB a split second before he stepped out of bounds in a tie game. The Hawks have been blessed with so many walk-ons who became stud safeties. It's sad to see their one 5 star safety in my lifetime turn out to be such a bust.
5. Lutmer's Play of the Game. The pride of tiny Rock Rapids had the biggest play of his career late in the 4th quarter. A play that most of the time would have resulted in a huge win. Lutmer's interception and his subsequent 38 yard return provided more offensive spark than Hank Brown's 13 passes (4 yrds per pass) and every WR on the team other than Philips, who finished with 64 yards receiving.
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Is there anything at all the coaches could possibly do that would warrant questioning their judgment to sheep like this? If they start a true freshmen over Logan Jones, he would say "but of course, the coaches are just trying to give the freshmen a little much needed experience."