Sadly I had to spend my weekend at home rather than travel to Pennsylvania. The good thing is that HD TV is available and I was able to watch the rain come down in Hawkeye Valley from the comfort of my living room couch. The weather appeared to affect the game a little bit but not quite as much as I expected at first. I had a feeling the team that could run the ball effectively would win. That feeling almost went out the window within the first few minutes of the game.
As usual for this season, the offense didn't look like the well-oiled machine of 2008. Of course it doesn't help when impact players are not available (graduation, injuries, etc) but I still think the offense is much better than it was 2 years ago. Ricky Stanzi didn't have his Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde routine going. Instead he was Capt Game Manager, which is what he is supposed to do. His final stats don't look great, but he didn't give the game away. A lot of the incomplete passes were on the WRs (dropped balls) and the first interception was from a dropped ball. The second interception looked more like Ricky's fault but the DB also made a great play after the ball was tipped. "Big Play" DJK was back in the lineup and was much needed. It seems that he and Ricky are on the same page and that they complement each other very well. The running game got off to a slow start but then started taking off behind Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher. The offense had 163 yards on the ground, which I found fairly impressive. I am left wondering right now what will happen to Jeff Brinson and how will the running game look when Jewel Hampton returns. The line also did a decent job, but it will be nice to get Bryan Bulaga back.
For all of the shortcomings of the offense, the special teams play made up for (some) of it. Ryan Donahue continues to be the most effective punter in the Big 10 (if not the nation). At one point ABC showed a comparision of the punters. PSU's punter had a 50-some yard average while Ryan had a 30 some yard average. What they didn't show was probably (read: in my mind) the biggest punting stat that is never shown: opponent's average starting position after a punt. Ryan put a punt right inside the 10 and PSU started on their own 3 yard line. This led to the safety that got Iowa on the board. He has been doing that consistently all season. The kicking game got the job done as well. Daniel Murray (aka The Lion Tamer) booted a couple of field goals (missed one terribly) and did a fair job on kickoffs. I couldn't help but wonder what the PSU players were thinking when Murray lined up for the FG attempts...
Once again (the theme for the season) the defense won this game. Thankfully 1 play doesn't decide a football game. After getting behind 10-0 I realized that we are 3-0 after being behind so far this season. The defensive line were animals! Todd McShay (an "expert" for ESPN) said in a video preview that Iowa doesn't have a very athletic defensive line; oddly enough that preview was removed right after the game while other previews were left up. You could tell that the national media hasn't paid much attention to Iowa, especially the defense, yet this year. That all changed. Adrian (Predator) Clayborn truly is showing how much of a beast he is. That kind of scares me as he may be enticed to go to the NFL a year early. Broderick Binns assaulted the linemen on his side. Karl Klug was a monster, and Christian Ballard made some nice plays. This line is getting up there with the 2004 line as the best ever. Strong line play sure helps the LBs and DBs. There were 2 decent length pass plays (79 and 39) for PSU but that was it. The running game never had much consistency (109 yards total), and Daryll Clark was clearly frustrated. I have a feeling that he is glad he will never have to face Norm's boys again. Clark was picked off 3 times, and the Hawks had at least 2 players in the back field all game long (so it seemed). All 3 LB played fairly well too. They were swarming the ball (as usual), picking off passes, and forcing fumbles. Pat Angerer made the pick that put the game away; 39 yard return and set up Adam Robinson's TD to make it 17-10 (PAT made it 18-10) after PSU had a 10-5 lead at the half. The play of the game didn't officially come on defense but it was the normal defense that was on the field. PSU had a punt formation and Iowa called "Punt Safe" (leaves the base defense on the field in case of a fake punt attempt) and Adrian Clayborn bull rushed his way to the punter, stuck his hands up and blocked the punt, and then scooped up the ball and glided in for the go-ahead TD.
Saturday night was a great all-around effort from the Hawkeyes. The coaches had the team prepared very well, and the players executed very well (minus the dropped passes). You could tell the demeanor of the team was very relaxed as they were cracking jokes all week, even the coaches were joking with the media.
The Hawks were "rewarded" with the number 13 ranking in the AP poll. Two Hawks also received Big 10 POW honors: Pat Angerer for defense (which I thought should go to the whole team but I'm still ok with it) and Adrian Clayborn for special teams.
This is shaping up to be a special season. I'm glad I'm along for the ride!
Getting Big Play DJK in the game will help Stanzi find his rhythm. Once Stanzi gets on, the offense will be nearly unstoppable. Very good effort by the 2 RB's (Black Hammer and White Lightning). Also have to give some props to Riley Reiff. He is filling in very well for Bulaga. The defense is full of animals. The entire team showed great resilience to come back from 10 points down, but the defense really picked it up for the last 3 quarters of the game. I am glad they are on our side!
ReplyDeleteAs well as Riley has played it will be nice to get Bulaga back this weekend. Riley should be brought in as an extra TE, with Predator in the backfield, in short yardage situations.
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