Entering the Black

        We saw the Hawkeyes win in convincing fashion on Saturday.  The first half was the best half of football they have played all year.  They had 19 rushing attempts for 163 yards and 19 passing attempts for 165 yards.  It doesn’t get more balanced than that half of football.  Minnesota didn’t know what to expect.  There was even a trick play called a flea flicker that went for 47 yards and a touchdown.  This leads the question: How can the Hawks lose to Central Michigan and then beat a former undefeated team in Minnesota?
In the game against Central Michigan, Iowa looked average offensively.  They made some big plays but struggled to convert on third down.  Meanwhile, the defense looked lost as they tried to defend a sub-par Central Michigan offense.  It was embarrassing how many yards they racked up on the defense.  The most important stat in that game was the 9 points scored in the final two minutes.  Iowa runs a bend and don’t break defense.  The defense broke.  There was no pass rush, allowing the quarterback to find the open receivers in the prevent-style zone defense.  The result was a 9 point comeback to had Iowa a loss.
The game against Minnesota looked like a whole new defense.  They were very good against stuffing the run which forced Minnesota to pass the football.  They blitzed for the first time all year with two linebackers.  Of the six times they blitzed, they were successful with a pass breakup or a sack four times.  The defense put it on the quarterback to make a great play with a blitz.  Our defensive line and linebackers came up big in causing chaos.  There were three interceptions because the quarterback was put under pressure.  This is why Minnesota was shut out in the first half and only scored one touchdown against our first string defense.  The bend don’t break defense was replaced with the scheme of we are blitzing and you have to make a play.  You don’t lose too many games when your defense has three interceptions.
What does this mean for the Hawks as we move through the season?  There obviously has to be a change in the defensive scheme that matched up with the game last Saturday.  The defensive line can’t pressure the quarterback.  They need additional help from the linebackers to make a play.  This prevents the two deep safety plays that Iowa likes to run and pushes them into man coverage.  There will be more big plays against Iowa as well as turnovers and punts.  As a result, Iowa will have more time for their offense and more time for their defense to win.  This is a winning strategy that might push the Hawkeyes into the pot to win the Big Ten.
There are a couple of key things for the offense as well going forward into Big Ten play.  The offense needs Mark Weisman, who delivered another stellar game with 170 yards and a touchdown.  In order for the passing game to open up, especially the play action bootleg, Mark Weisman needs to rack up four to five yards on first down.  He also needs to be able to pick up the one or two yards on an obvious running situation.  Thus far he has done that with little struggle.  The minute that Iowa can’t run the football, they will lose the game.  Finally, Iowa needs to look farther into their trick play category.  They are known for a very conservative style play and do not do trick plays with the lead.  This is why the trick play was so effective last Saturday when the receiver was clear by 20 yards of any defender.  Iowa needs to take advantage of its reputation as a conservative offense and use it to their advantage in big games like Michigan State in two weeks.
There are a lot of unknowns to the Hawkeyes this year.  Their offense and defense have shown glimpses of greatness.  Will both of them show up when they play to big teams like Michigan State or will one flop and cause Iowa to lose.  There are a lot of question marks to the Hawkeyes this season.  The tittle race includes the Hawks thus far, but only time will tell if they are legit.  Speaking of the title race, if Iowa beats Michigan and Michigan State, does that make Central Michigan the unofficial winner of the Big Ten?

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