WHAT?? how does using 2 qbs who make a clean handoff have any different effect on running backs and receivers fumbling downfield. That makes no logical, physical, scientific, or even supernatural sense. NONE
It’s football.
Fumbles can often signify being just a half step out of rhythm.
For much of the game, Iowa's offense had the deer in the headlights look. Meanwhile, Minnesota's D was playing with complete conviction. I will GUARANTEE if the presence of that dynamic were at all quantified into statistical form, it would show a higher rate of fumbles.
It seems Iowa lost some rhythm over the bye week. And Iowa's offense also would have had more rhythm had one qb been able to play all season.
Conviction, trust, leadership, familiarity, identity, roles, timing, rhythm, are all necessities in football. And they are best developed by having one qb. That's why every team tries to settle one one qb before the season starts.
When times get tough, a team falls back onto who they are. They know who they're going to turn to for plays. They know who they're going to turn to for leadership. They know who to trust. They know what they need to do, when they need to do it, and how they need to do it. They end up being familiar with who they are, and how to win.
But Iowa is just now starting to build that on offense. They couldn't fall back on who they were, in the Minnesota game, because they didn't yet know who they were.
They started pressing to try to make the big play themselves, rather than trusting that they could fall back onto who they were as a team. As a ball carrier, fighting for that extra yard can sometimes be lethal, in terms of fumbling.
These little creases can give a defense like Minnesota's a chance to impose their will, which usually happens by the team playing with more conviction. And it's not surprising that Minnesota was the much more veteran team. Of course leadership matters.
When a team is trying to impose its will, at some point you have to try to fight force with force. You think leadership matters in those moments?
I've seen many football teams that have a leader, that will that will take a guy who's fumbled by the collar, and straighten him out.
I've many football teams that have a leader, that will bring everybody together after a fumble for a pep talk. I know I'm not going to sit there and let my teammates fumble all game. Are you?
So yes, Iowa's offense is in the process of developing those roles, and leadership, familiarity, trust, timing, rhythm, identity. And that development will be able to accelerate if Iowa is able to be a one qb team going forward
