The 'eye from the South Endzone
The story…could have been better. Iowa DB Shaun Prater intercepted a Ben Chappell pass late in the fourth quarter and returned it all the way to the endzone for what would have been the fifty first point in a Hawkeye blowout victory over the Hoosiers, but the play was negated due to a penalty.
That was about the only negative, if you could even call it that, on a sunny Saturday in Bloomington, IN—the Hawkeyes got back on track.
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Game Summary (Press Citizen): The start of the game, however, pointed to yet another heartbreaking Iowa loss with costly mistakes and missed opportunities.
Rick Stanzi fumbled the snap at the line of scrimmage on the second play of the game, but recovered it. Iowa ended up punting to the Indiana 32-yard line.
Things seemed to turn around when a Hawkeye lineman got a hand on a Kellen Lewis pass on third and five, and the ball popped into the air right into the hands of safety Brett Greenwood. Greenwood returned the ball 31 yards to the Indiana 11.
But Iowa couldn't punch it in. After a Hampton run of three yards, the Hawkeyes ran two consecutive quick slants to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos on the right side and both fell incomplete. The second attempt was nearly intercepted. Iowa settled for a Trent Mossbrucker 26-yard field goal.
A fumbled kickoff by Marcus Thigpen left Indiana to start on its own 11-yard line, and King tackled Lewis for a five-yard loss on second down and Iowa eventually returned an Indiana punt to the Hoosier 34. Three plays later, after an Iowa personal foul penalty, Stanzi hit Brodell for a 35-yard completion at the Indiana four-yard-line and Hampton ran it in two plays later. Mossbrucker added the PAT to put Iowa up 10-0.
Indiana managed a good drive on the next series that culminated with Austin Starr knocking in a 46-yard field goal the bounced in off the right upright.
Iowa had to punt on the next series, but Ryan Donahue boomed a 56-yarder all the way to the Indiana 13.
After getting nowhere again, Indiana punted to Iowa on the Hoosier 44, and Greene filed a 12-yard touchdown run and Iowa was up 17-3.
Indiana's best drive of the game came at the end of the first half. The Hoosiers got the ball at their own 11 with 2:30 left and drove the field in 2 minutes and 11 plays, capping it off with a 17-yard pass from Lewis to Ray Fisher at the pylon to make it 17-9. But Starr missed the extra point, and that would be the last score for the Hoosiers.
Stanzi hit Brodell with a 34-yard touchdown pass on Iowa's first possession in the third quarter, and later hit tight end Brandon Myers for a 20-yard TD to make it 31-9, and the rout was on.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Indiana's rush defense was all but gone. With Greene on the bench, Iowa got the ball with 13:24 to go and went to Hampton on the ground for 9 out of the next 10 plays. Hampton was responsible for all 63 yards gained on the drive and finished it off with a 10-yard touchdown run while burning 4:28 off the clock.
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Game Commentary: No turnovers. Not one. ZERO. Zilch.
The Hawkeyes didn’t beat themselves. The coaching/play calling was sufficient, even efficient at times. The players held on to the football. And that was just the groundwork for what would turn out to be a long day for the men in Crimson.
At the beginning the season, one of the biggest concerns for this football team was at running back. Iowa didn’t have a running back on the roster that recorded a carry for the Hawkeyes in the 2007 season, not one.
Today, October 11, is there a more sure position on the field?
Against Indiana, Iowa had two rushers eclipse the 100 yard mark. Shonn Greene carried the ball 23 times for 115 yards and 1 TD. Freshman and Indiana native Jewel Hampton rushed 22 times for 114 yards and 3, count them, 3 TD’s. And he didn’t just do it in a relief mode.
Hampton carried the ball early and often because Greene injured his ankle on the second play of the game.
“My ankle got caught in the pile,” Greene said. “I’ll be all right. There was pain, but it wasn’t, 'oh, I can’t go’ pain.”
This marked the seventh straight game in which Greene rushed for over 100 yards and he did it on a bum ankle.
"I think I owe them about, what, seven dinners now?" he said of his blockers - for seven consecutive Saturdays. His 937 yards are the most for an Iowa running back through the first seven games of a season since Tavian Banks racked up 1,125 in 1997.
The offensive line was predominantly responsible for a breakout day on offense. Iowa piled up 280 of its 422 yards in the second half when it scored the game’s final 28 points. Time of possession also proved to be a big factor, as Iowa held the football for the second longest time during a game in the Kirk Ferentz era. The line dominated the Indiana defensive front, giving up just one sack on the day.
“We read in one of the newspapers that they were going to get five sacks against us,” said Seth Olsen. “We put that to rest.”
Rick Stanzi, turnover free, settled down after a sketchy start to record his first road win as a starter.
“Zero turnovers for a change,” said Stanzi, who had five in the past two games. “Coming off two weeks of basically handing the ball off (to the opponent) was unacceptable. Having no turnovers definitely helped us.”
Some down field passing plays also helped. Iowa took some shots down field, finally, and good things happened. Who would have thought?
On the first drive of the second half, Stanzi connected with Brodell on a 34 yard touchdown strike and on the next drive, with Brandon Myers for a 20 yard touchdown.
“We’re feeling good about ourselves again,” said Brodell, who finished the day with 4 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Once again this season, on defense, Iowa was simply overpowering. Indiana’s rushing attack was rather irrelevant. They were contained when they passed the ball. And with the exception of a late drive in the second half, Iowa shut down the Indiana offense holding them to just 9 points.
The Hoosiers only had the ball for 8:34 in the second half, thanks in part to Mitch King who ended the day with 6 tackles, 1 for a loss, and 1 sack.
Other notables on defense: Amairi Spivey had 8 tackles, a couple of which were textbook, Bob Sanders-like hits. Brett Greenwood had 3 tackles and 1 interception. Pat Angerer recorded 5 tackles.
It was great to see the Hawks finally get a win, and to do it by a large margin. No nail biting for four quarters. No clinching and bracing for the next turnover. It was thoroughly enjoyable, as a fan, to watch the second half as Iowa tried not to score too much.
The way this team came out and played Saturday really impressed me. They very easily could have laid an egg after three heartbreaking losses, but they didn’t. They showed some intestinal fortitude. They came out and won a game that they were suppose to win, but did it in a dominant fashion.
That will only help this team as they now enter a 5 game stretch that includes games against Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, and Minnesota (who by the way, won their 6th game of the season as Iowa won their 4th, on Saturday).
If the Hawkeyes do the little things, like they did today, 5 wins is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Iowa matches up very well with Wisconsin and gets them at home. Minnesota just beat Illinois, in Champaign. Penn State is terrifying. Purdue is certainly a winnable game. And finally, a trip to Minnesota, to end the season and football in the Metrodome, will be a huge game.
. . .
Herk’s Hero…was tough to choose, but today it was the offensive line. They parted the Crimson Sea permitting Iowa running backs Greene and Hampton to carry the ball a combined 45 times for 229 yards and 4 TD’s. They also protected Rick Stanzi allowing him to complete 12-20 passes for 184 yards and 2 TD’s.
Play of the Game: After the first touchdown of the second half, Iowa’s Daniel Murray kicked off. On the return, Indiana’s Roby-Walker eluded all but one Iowa tackler while he returned the kick 44 yards only to be drilled by none other than, Daniel Murray. Had Murray not made the tackle, Roby-Walker would have scored.
And the crowd goes wild…or about as wild as they could. Indiana’s Memorial Stadium holds just over 49,000 people but Saturday there were 33,428. Only about 27,000 of which dawned Crimson, and most of which were gone by the 3rd quarter. (It appeared that there were about 5,000 black and gold faithful in attendance).
Say what!?…“We wasted two plays in the first half offensively when we looked like a bad junior high team,” Ferentz said, “and I say that with all due respect to everybody playing junior high football.”
Mother Nature…84 degrees and hot.
Next up…Wisconsin (3-3, 0-3)
The ‘eye see’s…a grueling, grind-it-out game against some large, angry Badgers.
Wisconsin has lost three in a row, and the last two were at home. They love to run the football. In fact, they threw just one time in the first quarter against Penn State last weekend. They are strikingly similar to Iowa in that they gain their yards and touchdowns just like the Hawkeyes. Both teams will play power football.
Schematically, I really like the way the Hawkeyes match up with the Badgers. I hope they pound Greene, use the play action to take some shots down field, and are relentless on defense.
But the Hawkeyes must be careful. They might have been able to squander away opportunity after opportunity by calling illogical plays at inopportune times against Michigan State, and yet still have a chance to win the game in the last minute.
They might have been able to afford to turn the ball over 5 times and still have 4 opportunities to win the game from the 8 yard line against Northwestern.
And Iowa may have been able to make an incorrect coaching decision so blatantly obvious that it ultimately cost itself the game against Pittsburgh, but still, somehow, have an opportunity to win on a last minute drive.
If the Hawkeyes beat themselves by turning the ball over frequently and if the coaching staff undercuts the payers by not putting them in the best position to win, against Wisconsin, then you can kiss this one good bye and you can do so before halftime.
However, more aware of the tough lessons learned during a three game losing streak, I believe we'll see a Hawkeye team more like the one we saw against Indiana.
If Iowa does the little things—blocks well, tackles correctly, holds on to the football, focuses on time of possession, and limits mistakes on special teams—like they did against Indiana, good things will happen and they will be in a position to win come fourth quarter.
As Iowa enters their bye week, a win would do wonders for the confidence of a young team who has yet to experience what that big victory tastes like. It would also create an upbeat attitude in the locker room which can only mean a more productive, focused two weeks of practice.
I also believe a win would translate into a more poised and prepared football team when they travel to Champaign, IL on November 1. A big win in front of a hostile, anxious home crowd who are fully aware of what this team is capable of, would mean the world for this team.
Finally and maybe most importantly, as much as the players and coaches have to focus on the little things to put themselves in a position to get the win Saturday, Hawkeye Nation has its biggest responsibility since the number one team in the country came to Kinnick in 2006.
I firmly believe that the crowd on Saturday could have as big of a momentous factor as they have ever had inside Kinnick Stadium in a game that could have heavy implications for not only the remainder of the 2008 season, but also the next two years to come.
It'll be a collision of two large, hard-hitting teams desperate for a win. You’ve got one team that's lost three in a row, the last two at home, and the last one by 41 points (biggest loss to a Big Ten team since 1942). You’ve got another team that, with a loss, falls to 4-4, with only 4 games left while headed for a long bye week.
Emotions will be riding high, and if Wisconsin gets down, the crowd has an opportunity to influence the momentum of the game so that they are never able to come back, and vice versa.
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Side Notes: On the line Saturday is the 4 year-old Heartland Trophy and Iowa wants it back after last year’s heart-breaking loss at Camp Randall… Wisconsin leads the overall series 41-40-2..The game has been designated Gold Bowl 2008, so WEAR GOLD TO THE GAME…Jewel Hampton: I really cannot say enough about him. You’ll say, ‘He scored three touchdowns and that’s the only reason you are talking about him,’ but that’s not the only reason. This kid runs HARD. And he has the speed to make big, breakaway plays—something Iowa has been missing for quite some time. I look so forward to watching him evolve and succeed once Shonn Greene leaves for bigger and better things. The next few years look extremely bright in the Iowa backfield, as they have boatloads of potential…Wisconsin is good, don’t let their record or last week fool you (Penn State is competing for a trip to the BCS National Championship)…They are also B I G…Badger offensive line: Height: 6’7” 6’6” 6’4” 6’6” 6’7” Weight: 328, 315, 323, 332, 324… QB Everidge has the ability to escape--he rushed for the Badgers only TD on Saturday, but he may not even start coming off of a brutal, physical stretch which included games against Michigan, Ohio State and Pen State…Iowa has outscored its opponents 54-17 in the first quarter this season. Iowa's 45 points against Indiana are the most against a Big Ten opponent since a 47-17 victory against Purdue in 2006 at home...Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten and 18th in the nation against the run...Saturday was Ferentz's 150th game as a head coach. His record improved to 77-73 with the victory...Tuesday, a picture of Ferentz appeared on the front page of espn.com along with Phillip Fullmer and Ty Willingham. The three, among others, were listed by Pat Forde as the possible NCAA coaches to be fired in the near future...Wisconsin has now lost their first 3 Big Ten games for the first time since 2002 and haven't started 0-4 since 1996...Coach Bret Bielema is now 7-7 after starting his coaching career 17-1 at Wisconsin.
