A win is a win, BUT…

[FireBrianFerentz]

While it was a frustrating game to watch (drove from Indy to be there in person), I am actually very happy with this win.

Went down 10 early and didnt panic
QB completed 70% of his passes in a close game
Multiple of the incomplete passes were also solid throws
Run game FINALLY showed up in the 4th quarter

The D Line play and the absence of the running game are cause for concern, and it would have been great to thump them and dominate. But if we improve each week we are going to be fine.

 

[rchawk]

While it was a frustrating game to watch (drove from Indy to be there in person), I am actually very happy with this win.

Went down 10 early and didnt panic
QB completed 70% of his passes in a close game
Multiple of the incomplete passes were also solid throws
Run game FINALLY showed up in the 4th quarter

The D Line play and the absence of the running game are cause for concern, and it would have been great to thump them and dominate. But if we improve each week we are going to be fine.

Yeah, a day later you just admit that Iowa played down to the level of their competition but came out with the win. 2-0, ten more to go.

 

[Iron Doc]

Not sure what to say.
As posted earlier, a win is a win.

 

[UIAlumFireFighter]

Pros:
Hank Brown is a decent ground threat.
Diaz and Moulton are healthy enough to play next game.
The kicker should proceed with confidence.

Cons:
Run Blocking.
WRs not named VanderZee or Diaz are non-existent. Like, no other receivers are seeing the field?
Evan James’ pathetic attempt to tight-rope the sideline.
Punt Return game.

What was Lester thinking trying that QB sneak from almost two yards away, especially after the other attempt failed miserably? Bone-headed play-call.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

While it was a frustrating game to watch (drove from Indy to be there in person), I am actually very happy with this win.

Went down 10 early and didnt panic
QB completed 70% of his passes in a close game
Multiple of the incomplete passes were also solid throws
Run game FINALLY showed up in the 4th quarter

The D Line play and the absence of the running game are cause for concern, and it would have been great to thump them and dominate. But if we improve each week we are going to be fine.

Yeah I’m keeping optimistic vibes. Cause usually if we win or lose this game sets barometer for the season. Last year 2 weeks after this game we gave the national champs maybe their toughest game and could’ve won.

I agree on Brown, he didn’t play bad, give him a B for his performance. Running game as we seen teams sell out but I feel with guys like Diaz, DJ and RVZ on fade/jump balls we actually have some skill players to counteract it for once. Last night not Lester’s best night but I have faith in him. We have the line and rb to be much better.

D has a lot of new starters lacking FBS experience, as team does in general. But I’ve been very pleased with back 7 and that’s without an injured brown at FS. Even on 1 deep throw they made 2nd qtr Hawkins coverage was really good just beat by a better catch and throw. DL can tell is inexperienced. Think eppy will be a stud but made decisions on 2 plays that I’m sure drove Parker nuts. 1st qtr end around on first fg got up field lost contain and and their long run early 3rd didn’t hold edge and sucked inside. Positives I think Hawthorne has been a beast first 2 games. Bowled over C for a holding call and think it was him doing same on last play. Run D we had them stuffed just aggrevating kept getting 2-3 more yards on lot of them then should have.

more games and experience this team I feel will get better. Why I wish we played isu last week of year like some rivalries. Think would see a lot different games over the year in iowas favor.

 

[uihawk82]

Good lord did he miss a ton of deep shots

Yes he did and I sure hope part of that was pressure on him, maybe not quite having his mechanics in place which can be fixed, etc.

But look at Mateer of OU yesterday as he was high and wide to the right a number of times due to his mechanics according to Joel Klatt on the tv broadcast.

I just like that RVZ and Diaz got open deep 3-4 more times in the game which is a start.

Brown's miss seems to be slightly behind and to the right, is that what you saw on those misses? maybe that is a Tell that can be fixed. Lester and his qb coach need to fix it

 

[uihawk82]

Clowns even brought their hand picked crappy refs and still couldnt win, some of those missed calls where so obvious and horrible and yes typical Kirk coached game but get rid of that horrible tush push

The coaches can run an option off that tush push by faking it. ISU was so bunched up in the middle A and B gaps that the QB can take that handoff and slide down the line a predetermined direction and look for a gap to go through. or the tush pusher can become a fullback and lead the running back to the C gap

 

[uihawk82]

How many upperclassmen on the lines for ISU? From what they said on the broadcast it looked like the majority

The ANF youtube guys said the ISU front seven were experienced and very good, they run a funky blitz with their outside Lbkrs so many times a 5 man rush with 8 in the box. That is alwaysa hard to run against unless you have great speed wide

 

[OnlyTheObscure]

Iowa was flat or Iowa State hit a home run with their coach.

ISU lost everybody, has no money, and hung with a very well funded big ten team.

 

[uihawk82]

From a confidence reason alone it was a big win but still a lot to figure out. Why they could run the ball better than us when I thought that would be our biggest advantage. DJ only getting 2 catches and Diaz with 3 yards in the 2nd half...too many punts not getting caught and leaving us with crappy field position. Goal line offense still a major struggle also.

Remember we are very young in experience in the DLine, Hubert played well and Hawthorne is really good but ISU had many heavy OLine packages in there with what looked like was just straight ahead power blocking. That is why they ran it pretty well.

I am somewhat more worried about the hawk run game, we use so much pulling and trapping along with our zone blocking that defenses that like to sell out and penetrate can really disrupt our blocking and run game. ISU did that with Campbell and his 3-3- 5 defense.

In the end, ISU looked like we beat them down and we were more well conditioned in the 2nd and 4th quarters and we outscored them 16-3 which is very good

 

[UIAlumFireFighter]

Iowa was flat or Iowa State hit a home run with their coach.

ISU lost everybody, has no money, and hung with a very well funded big ten team.

Yeah, it’s pretty baffling.

I believe we’ll see that our OL is a huge weak spot on this team come conference play.

 

[Beaverdalehawk]

I have never felt worse after a win
Pathetic effort all around.

Dumb post. I mean really ignorant. Effort was there all night.

 

[Beaverdalehawk]

Good lord did he miss a ton of deep shots

No he didn’t. He connected on 70% of his passes
He hit on 1 of 3 deep passes and on the first one an ISU player was blitzing towards him and he had to hurry his throw..

 

[Beaverdalehawk]

I expected our team to come out bully them based upon the last two years and the decided advantage we had on talent and continuity. I’m glad we won but that was a dogshit coaching job in terms of preparation and game plan.

“Fans” who post this kind of nonsense really don’t know football at all.

 

[LetsGoHawks83]

There were signs of life on offense. Just terribly inconsistent. Play calling left a lot to be desired. QB sneak should only be used for 1/2 yard or less. Otherwise, spread them out and give to Moulton (hopefully nothing serious with him).

Good news.

Diaz is going to win us games. The run finally opened up after he stretched the field.

Found our FG kicker and he just got a HUGE boost of confidence. That game winner was good from 60.

Team was tested and put together just enough offense to comeback from behind TWICE. And late. You can't simulate that.

We all wanted a 40-0 beat down, but the team probably grows/improves more with this type of test and victory.

How's that for a positive spin!

2-0

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Not the "worst" win in the KF era. Not by a long shot. But it is telling and kinda sad that the emotion likely the vast majority of fans are feeling today isn't elation at a last-second victory over an arch rival, but rather relief at not having to suffer another humiliating loss to a program that, rightly or wrongly, we view as wholly inferior.

And for the record, this isn't a case of casting aspersions towards others, as Doodle is firmly in the "relieved" camp also.

 

[WeBeHerkin]

Gonna be a lot of learning from the film from this one. Lots of mistakes. Thankfully no turnovers.

 

[WeBeHerkin]

I think Hank solidified his spot as starting QB tonight.

21 / 30 and no picks ain’t gonna get you benched.

 

[WeBeHerkin]

Amazed our D got 0 turnovers.

 

[WeBeHerkin]

Our DL was a lot more average in this game.

 

[AFM22]

While it was a frustrating game to watch (drove from Indy to be there in person), I am actually very happy with this win.

Went down 10 early and didnt panic
QB completed 70% of his passes in a close game
Multiple of the incomplete passes were also solid throws
Run game FINALLY showed up in the 4th quarter

The D Line play and the absence of the running game are cause for concern, and it would have been great to thump them and dominate. But if we improve each week we are going to be fine.

Well the team didn’t panic. The game thread sure did.

 

[AFM22]

Iowa was flat or Iowa State hit a home run with their coach.

ISU lost everybody, has no money, and hung with a very well funded big ten team.

They brought in a lot from the portal so they have to have some money.

 

[AFM22]

Amazed our D got 0 turnovers.

Had a couple opportunities. Looking at you Lutmer

 

[Strength1]

But what? Gritty performance after Iowa State threw every look, gimmick plays, and has some veterans playing that defense well. Iowa State isn't playing untested players and really played an in your face almost dirty football game. Lot of late whistles letting plays go way beyond when a whistle should have blown a play dead.
Great composure by this Iowa team and they won an ugly game. Guys with two starts learned how to stay focused and play through tough situations. This win can propel this team forward.
Saying Iowa State had no business being in this game...any team can put a roster together in todays environment with a coaching change. Can they recruit going forward without the money to buy rosters every year.

 

[hawkeyemark18]

I noticed in the game thread another poster commented that the team didn't look very intense coming out on the field in the swarm and I got the same vibe. Body language can tell you alot. I thought the first half played out that way. Iowa State came out aggressive and acted like they wanted it more. We made good adjustments in the second half coming out throwing to open up the running game enough to get the win along with a good performance from the defense.

It will take better to continue to win against a good young coach in Ames trying to make his mark. That very much includes Lester who had me scratching my head last night figuring out our game plan on offense.

 

[SoDakHawk]

Last night was the perfect example of why so many of us hate this game and don't want to play it anymore, or at least play it on a 2 years out of four schedule.

Every year ISU throws everything they have at this game. Iowa plays it like just another game on the schedule. It turns out hard fought and tight, way closer than it should be.

At the end of it Iowa gets zero credit nationally for this game. Yeah, it was on NBC primetime, opposite OSU v Texas. Do you think anybody outside Iowa was actually paying attention to this game? I did not see a single mention of it on any post game shows.

High risk, no reward game. Zero credit given for winning a game that Iowa should. No joy in winning, just relief.

Time to play some different P4 OOC game.

 

[RuggieC]

ISU was locked in from the start. They win the toss and take defense first. Their game plan was working pretty damn well. After that we beat them 16-3 for the balance of the game and I was happy with that. From my seat:

- Defense...back 7 in pretty good shape. (Buffington is an animal) D-line right now is very average. Eppy applied very little pressure and was only involved in a couple of tackles.

- Offense...We are a two WR team right now. Waiting for someone else to step up when they get their chances. Need more of DJV as well. OC needed to go to him more earlier as ISU was just sitting on the run. Hank looked pretty decent with the exception of a couple of deep balls. He is 70% for the first two games but only 320 yds total and 1 TD. While he does have a tendency to stare a guy down, there were a few promising check downs he made in the second half. My opinion is throw MORE and do it earlier in the down progression. Throwing some on 1st and 10 is much better than 3rd and 8. O-line really needs to get their stuff together leading into Michigan. And please...no more tush push.

- Special teams.....FG kicker A+ day for Caden. If he can do this on the road we got a good one. Punter...great day as well. 4 6 punts inside the 20 and still averaged 44 a punt. Zero punt returns against us. Our return team at this point is very average. RVZ had a 11 yard average on two returns. Someone remind the guys that if you are not going to catch the ball, get the hell away from it. Close to a bad turnover.

- Officiating...not very good. B12 needs a new crop of refs.

- Overall.....felt like a somewhat typical KF plan....don't eff up and we win with a FG. At this STAGE we do have a better QB situation than the recent past. I would give Brown more work next weekend. We are going to need to have the pass game if we expect to get better in the running game. While I was expecting more from this game, ISU came is ready and did not flinch. We became stronger as the game wore on though and that's a good sign. I am glad we won, certainly. I am also feeling like we will improve from here...have to believe in the coaches at this point. Lastly I know some did not have a good feeling about last nite.......if so, call a friend that is an Oregon grad and cheer up! 2-0! After the last 2 years we needed this one...one way or another.

 

[nu2u]

Pros:
Hank Brown is a decent ground threat.
Diaz and Moulton are healthy enough to play next game.
The kicker should proceed with confidence.

Cons:
Run Blocking.
WRs not named VanderZee or Diaz are non-existent. Like, no other receivers are seeing the field?
Evan James’ pathetic attempt to tight-rope the sideline.
Punt Return game.

What was Lester thinking trying that QB sneak from almost two yards away, especially after the other attempt failed miserably? Bone-headed play-call.

The Evan James punt return fiasco reminded me of the game where Shaun Beyer was shoved into a rolling punt by a Badger player in the red zone. Wisconsin jumped on the ball and then scored two plays later to take the lead in a tight low scoring game.

Probably spoiled by Wetgen but VanderZee hasn’t shown much wiggle or even willingness to return punts. It’s a definite weakness right now

 

[Hawkedup]

JFC dude. It’s Iowa fvcking state. A win is always satisfying against those fvcks. Imagine for one minute we lost to a cyclone team that has zero returning starters from last year.

Your last sentence is precisely why it wasn’t satisfying. stressful as ****. A brand new team, coaching staff players and all, had us on the ropes all game long. Happy to win but a poor performance from Iowa.

 

[Hawkedup]

How's the water in Ames today?

No clue. my guess is pretty salty due to all the cry clown tears.

 

[ketelmeister]

View attachment 1435500

Their biggest miscue was there should have been 39 seconds left in the game, not 1 second. Could well have led to another game winning field goal for Iowa State.

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

Pros:
Hank Brown is a decent ground threat.
Diaz and Moulton are healthy enough to play next game.
The kicker should proceed with confidence.

Cons:
Run Blocking.
WRs not named VanderZee or Diaz are non-existent. Like, no other receivers are seeing the field?
Evan James’ pathetic attempt to tight-rope the sideline.
Punt Return game.

What was Lester thinking trying that QB sneak from almost two yards away, especially after the other attempt failed miserably? Bone-headed play-call.

I'd pump the brakes on calling out run blocking. ISU's coaches went all-in on stopping the run. You can have the best OL in the country but those 5 guys aren't going to be able to effectively block 8-9 guys.

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

If nothing else can we please stop wearing the black pants with the traditional home jerseys? It just looks dumb and like we're trying to keep up with everyone else's alt uniforms. We have the best unis in college football. Just keep it with the gold pants/black stripe. If we're going to wear alt unis make them actual alt unis like tOSU in 2017 or Minnesota in 2015. Those are the only alt unis that have been any good.

 

[85Bears]

I'd pump the brakes on calling out run blocking. ISU's coaches went all-in on stopping the run. You can have the best OL in the country but those 5 guys aren't going to be able to effectively block 8-9 guys.

Exactly. Stacked boxes arent on the O line not getting push, it’s on Hank and Lester for not making them pay with the passing game

 

[squeezebox_1]

No he didn’t. He connected on 70% of his passes

He most certainly did, connecting on 70% of passes doesn’t mean he missed open deep shots

 

[Manfredi]

I'd pump the brakes on calling out run blocking. ISU's coaches went all-in on stopping the run. You can have the best OL in the country but those 5 guys aren't going to be able to effectively block 8-9 guys.

True, but if that's the case shouldn't we have had guys running wide open all game long.

 

[85Bears]

True, but if that's the case shouldn't we have had guys running wide open all game long.

I’d say Lester should have utilized ply action a lot more and Hank needs to look at all of his reads not just lock in on Diaz. DJV down the sideline would have been open. His only looks I saw were short stuff over the middle.

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

True, but if that's the case shouldn't we have had guys running wide open all game long.

Yes. That's the bigger problem than the run blocking IMO. I think in some cases they were running wide open and HB just didn't find them.

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

I’d say Lester should have utilized ply action a lot more and Hank needs to look at all of his reads not just lock in on Diaz. DJV down the sideline would have been open. His only looks I saw were short stuff over the middle.

100%

Would've been nice to see more of the play-action rollouts.

 

[HawkFan10]

I think Hank solidified his spot as starting QB tonight.

Then Iowa is screwed