How 'bout those Hawks! Iowa escapes with a 25-24 win in a thriller that honestly could have gone either way. There were some typical head scratching coaching decisions, kicking game struggles, and abysmal passing, but the Hawks were clearly the better team on both sides of the ball against a bunch of 4 and 5 star elite recruits.
1. X Finally Played Like a 5 Star. If I told you Nwankpa would have Iowa's longest reception of the day (28 yard int return), who would have believed it? No doubt the kid's career hasn't worked out the way he hoped, and it's been a lonnnnng time since he had an interception (I believe it was 2022 or 2023), but in this game, X was the safety we all expected him to be. Not only did he have 10 tackles, a career best, but several of his hits were bone crushing (and not late hits, for a change). If the Hawks can have this version of X every week, the defense goes from being good to elite. Let's hope this game marks a new chapter in the Nwankpa saga.
2. Too Much Credit to Gronowski? All the headlines from the local media were what a great game Gronowski had. The message boards are lighting up with "this is what we brought Gronk to Iowa to do." Really? I get that he had some nifty runs that we are not accustomed to out of a QB, which were huge, but Gronk was brought to Iowa to play quarterback and throw the ball. The guy's throwing stat line was as horrific as a college qb could possibly do. 10/16 for 68 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception. That's an 84 pass rating. In 7 games this season, he's thrown for just 811 yards, 3 tds, and 4 ints. [vomit noise]. That ranks him the #132 best QB in the nation. By comparison, Cade McNamera currently has 1,200 yards and 7 touchdowns this year, and he's the worst starting QB I've ever seen at Iowa. Hawk fans have pined for another dual threat QB like Brad Banks...and while Gronk is not Kirk's usual 1 dimensional statue back there with a cannon for an arm but no running ability, he is the opposite...a great running QB with zero arm or accuracy who cannot throw at all. He is a Big 10 QB with a longest completion of the day being just 12 yards to Wetjen, who caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and made the rest of the yards with his legs. The center could have completed that pass.
3. Inconsistent Special Teams. Iowa's punting game has faded to background this season after being a featured strength in years past, but this week Dakin shined! Two punts for an avg of 58 yards is a huge difference maker games that come down to 1 possession. Drew Stevens, on the other hand, has all the talent in the world, but is one of the least clutch kickers I can remember. In tight games against big opponents, you can almost always count on him to have a bad miss. In blow outs against the Albanys of the world, he's going to be lights out and hit 55 yarders right down the middle when we're already up by 30. With Stevens, it's all mental, because he's got an NFL leg. Wetjen continues to be something special in the return game as he looks to solidify his first team all-American status after a nifty 25 yard punt return in heavy traffic.
4. Linebacker Play is Improving. IowaLaw has been hard on the linebackers this year, even at one point accusing them of "randying around" out there. But this week, undersized Montgomery played like a D1 caliber LB for the first time. Sharar played like a Big 10 caliber LB for the first time, with 9 tackles, including 3 for a loss! Penn State's rushing attack struggled mightily (averaging just 3.8 yards per run) because the LBs stayed in their lanes and made plays. Even Rexroth played well, with 6 tackles and a sack. Huge improvement.
5. Head Scratching Clock Management/Play Calling. Same ol' questionable moves by coach Kirk. Punting on 4th and inches has become a frustrating staple of the program...but taking your time and making ultra conservative play calls at the end of the first half (not worrying at all about getting into field goal range), only to send your struggling kicker out there to kick a national record breaking 68 yard field goal after he had already missed a gimmie? I mean, I like the sudden change of heart and aggressive move, but this one didn't make sense. Settling for a ridiculous 68 yard kick rather than passing the ball down the field on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down? Sure enough, it backfired in the worst possible way with a 10 point swing going into halftime.
6. OLine Becoming Elite. At this point, it doesn't matter which RB is in the game, they are going to have holes to run through. Gone are the days when the backs were getting hit in the backfield the moment they touched the ball (remember poor Tyler Goodson or Leshon Williams?). The OLine unit is more experienced than any other in college football. Impressively, the staff didn't even go with a quick fix by diving into the transfer portal to do it. By my count, the line didn't give up a single sack against a pretty formidable DL front, as Gronk had all day to throw his screen passes and dinks and dunks. Joe Moore award in their future?
1. X Finally Played Like a 5 Star. If I told you Nwankpa would have Iowa's longest reception of the day (28 yard int return), who would have believed it? No doubt the kid's career hasn't worked out the way he hoped, and it's been a lonnnnng time since he had an interception (I believe it was 2022 or 2023), but in this game, X was the safety we all expected him to be. Not only did he have 10 tackles, a career best, but several of his hits were bone crushing (and not late hits, for a change). If the Hawks can have this version of X every week, the defense goes from being good to elite. Let's hope this game marks a new chapter in the Nwankpa saga.
2. Too Much Credit to Gronowski? All the headlines from the local media were what a great game Gronowski had. The message boards are lighting up with "this is what we brought Gronk to Iowa to do." Really? I get that he had some nifty runs that we are not accustomed to out of a QB, which were huge, but Gronk was brought to Iowa to play quarterback and throw the ball. The guy's throwing stat line was as horrific as a college qb could possibly do. 10/16 for 68 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception. That's an 84 pass rating. In 7 games this season, he's thrown for just 811 yards, 3 tds, and 4 ints. [vomit noise]. That ranks him the #132 best QB in the nation. By comparison, Cade McNamera currently has 1,200 yards and 7 touchdowns this year, and he's the worst starting QB I've ever seen at Iowa. Hawk fans have pined for another dual threat QB like Brad Banks...and while Gronk is not Kirk's usual 1 dimensional statue back there with a cannon for an arm but no running ability, he is the opposite...a great running QB with zero arm or accuracy who cannot throw at all. He is a Big 10 QB with a longest completion of the day being just 12 yards to Wetjen, who caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and made the rest of the yards with his legs. The center could have completed that pass.
3. Inconsistent Special Teams. Iowa's punting game has faded to background this season after being a featured strength in years past, but this week Dakin shined! Two punts for an avg of 58 yards is a huge difference maker games that come down to 1 possession. Drew Stevens, on the other hand, has all the talent in the world, but is one of the least clutch kickers I can remember. In tight games against big opponents, you can almost always count on him to have a bad miss. In blow outs against the Albanys of the world, he's going to be lights out and hit 55 yarders right down the middle when we're already up by 30. With Stevens, it's all mental, because he's got an NFL leg. Wetjen continues to be something special in the return game as he looks to solidify his first team all-American status after a nifty 25 yard punt return in heavy traffic.
4. Linebacker Play is Improving. IowaLaw has been hard on the linebackers this year, even at one point accusing them of "randying around" out there. But this week, undersized Montgomery played like a D1 caliber LB for the first time. Sharar played like a Big 10 caliber LB for the first time, with 9 tackles, including 3 for a loss! Penn State's rushing attack struggled mightily (averaging just 3.8 yards per run) because the LBs stayed in their lanes and made plays. Even Rexroth played well, with 6 tackles and a sack. Huge improvement.
5. Head Scratching Clock Management/Play Calling. Same ol' questionable moves by coach Kirk. Punting on 4th and inches has become a frustrating staple of the program...but taking your time and making ultra conservative play calls at the end of the first half (not worrying at all about getting into field goal range), only to send your struggling kicker out there to kick a national record breaking 68 yard field goal after he had already missed a gimmie? I mean, I like the sudden change of heart and aggressive move, but this one didn't make sense. Settling for a ridiculous 68 yard kick rather than passing the ball down the field on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down? Sure enough, it backfired in the worst possible way with a 10 point swing going into halftime.
6. OLine Becoming Elite. At this point, it doesn't matter which RB is in the game, they are going to have holes to run through. Gone are the days when the backs were getting hit in the backfield the moment they touched the ball (remember poor Tyler Goodson or Leshon Williams?). The OLine unit is more experienced than any other in college football. Impressively, the staff didn't even go with a quick fix by diving into the transfer portal to do it. By my count, the line didn't give up a single sack against a pretty formidable DL front, as Gronk had all day to throw his screen passes and dinks and dunks. Joe Moore award in their future?
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