I’ve been savoring this tasty victory for some hours now. And now that I’ve calmed down and let it digest, it’s time to give the recording a rewind and see how it unfolded. In short, this game was like the Sunday buffet at the old Iowa River Power restaurant. So many good options, and all of them were delicious. I left feeling satisfied … and wanting more this coming weekend.
This Saturday the Hawks will get to feast on ISU. We’ll be checking the menu in advance, and The Pants will be making our predictions on what will be served in a few days. But until then, let’s kickoff your Monday morning with some good, old-fashioned post-game analysis.
Iowa Has What an Inexperienced QB Needs
Question = What are the top three things an inexperienced quarterback needs until they find their footing? Answer = A solid O Line, a stable of RBs, with TEs and a true slot receiver for checkdowns. Indeed, the O Line did not allow a single sack. Eleven different players rushed the ball for Iowa for 289 yards. Three different tight ends had a combined 8 receptions for 68 yards. And Diaz (slot receiver) had 7 receptions for 84 yards. Neither QB looked stellar in this game, but they looked solid, and the offense hummed. The offensive unit was the supporting cast for the QB in this one, averaging 7.6 yards per carry and topping 500 yards for the first time in a game since September 2019. And regardless of which QB ends up getting the nod to start, they both looked competent enough to help this team win a good number of games this season.
QB Controversy
Following Saturday’s game, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz deferred naming a starter for next weekend, instead saying, “Tonight, we’re just going to enjoy the game and talk about it tomorrow.” Welp, tomorrow never comes, so let’s talk about it on Monday! Tim Lester has been crystal clear that the top three criteria he and the coaching staff are using to evaluate the quarterbacks are: 1) Turnovers, 2) Explosive Plays, and 3) Time to Throw. Hecklinski threw an interception in the third quarter with 5:17 remaining on the clock. Worse yet, it came on a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Heck struggled at times when the pocket collapsed, although you could fairly argue he had more playing time later in the game when some of the starting O Line and Kamari Moulton were done for the day. I expect both QBs to get material playing vs ISU but also expect Brown to be the starter.
Red Zone Offense
Iowa had multiple times they were inside the 2-yard line and had difficulty getting the ball across the goal line until fourth down, if at all. One series included a first and goal at the 2-yard line, that was followed by two stuffed running plays, a botched QB sneak, and finally a TD pass to Diaz on fourth down. The second time was three ineffective plays followed by Hecklinski’s interception I mentioned above. A top priority to fix next week.
A Defense More Suffocating Than the Heat
Buffington (MLB) and is a physical player who was quick off the snap. Jayden Montgomery showed his leadership that has been part of the buzz during fall camp and paired up well with Buffington. Jacob Wallace (Cash) got his first start and looked solid. Landyn Van Kekerix (Leo) was all over the field. Kahmari Brown, a portal transfer from Elon, had a more specialized role as the right end on passing downs and was a good pass rusher. Deshaun Lee had a beautiful interception. It’s hard to do much better than pitch a shutout and limit Northern Illinois to 120 yards, tied for the sixth fewest allowed in the 342-game Kirk Ferentz era. NIU only had seven 1st downs, and when NIU finally did get their first 1st down it was on a penalty in the third quarter.
Special Teams Weren’t So Special to Start
Place Kicking was questionable to start, with a missed PAT and a missed field goal attempt. But that missed kick was 52 yards out, and it had the distance to have made it from 60+ yards out. Credit Caden Buhr for not folding, as he came back to overcome his first game jitters to make his next two attempts. The coverage on punts and kickoffs was rock solid with no drama. Landyn Van Kekerix, who typically plays Leo on defense, had an absolute bone crushing tackle during kickoff coverage. Evan James had a 77-yard punt return for a TD and will likely become the fan favorite to handle punt returns so that Iowa can save Reece Vander Zee and Zach Lutmer the wear and tear.
Injury Updates
LJ Phillips left the game limping in the final minute of the first quarter. He was later seen wearing a boot on his left foot. In watching the replay where he was injured, one tackler was holding onto his left ankle while several others brought him down just over the line of scrimmage. We likely won’t know the actual injury and severity until Kirk Speaks on Tuesday afternoon.
Both Kade Pieper and Cael Winter left the game in the first half and did not return. In his post-game press conference Kirk Ferentz said it was purely heat related and that they’d be back on Saturday. There aren’t any other reports of other players being injured. The limited or no snaps by the two deep players in the second half was due to the heat, and heavy player rotation due to the lopsided score.
Closing Tidbits
Tony Diaz drew a couple defensive interference calls during the game, a sign of a great receiver who can only be contained by grabbing their jersey to slow them down. Stay tuned for an article on route combos on Diaz from one of our fellow BHGP writers, tnels20, towards the end of this week.
The screen pass (misdirection pass) for a touchdown from Hecklinski to Xavier Williams towards the end of the second quarter was the same play that Brown failed to execute last year versus Indiana. Ah yes, if only …
