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Iowa football: Is it time to start worrying about Hawkeyes’ offense?
By Tom Brew
Published:
The Iowa Hawkeyes are 2-0 and, without stating the obvious, that’s a great record to have after two games.
How did they get there? With great defense, one so great that they are carrying the guys on the other side of the ball. That’s usually OK for a quarter or two, but now that we’re heading into Week 3 with a Saturday matchup against Northern Iowa next on the agenda, it’s time for the offense to get rolling.
And if they don’t? Well, then there will be considerable reason for concern.
Quite frankly, there’s concern right now.
So far, the Hawkeyes have really struggled on offense and it’s a problem because it wasn’t really expected. You have a veteran quarterback in Nate Stanley, the best stable of receivers Iowa has had for a while, talented running backs and an offensive line that was supposed to be in the upper echelon of the Big Ten.
But it just isn’t happening. It’s not clicking yet.
In the opener against Northern Illinois, it was just 3-0 Iowa at halftime, and all the Hawkeyes had to show for it was a bunch of three-and-outs, a drive that ended with an interception and one that ended on downs. That was a concern, but thanks to 30 points in the second half to seal a 33-7 victory, the criticisms didn’t last long.
But the criticism has certainly returned after the 13-3 win over Iowa State. The Hawkeyes basically had one good drive all day, and that was the one that sealed the deal with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. They went 83 yards on 13 plays, with Mehki Stewart scoring from 2 yards out to decide the outcome.
What’s been disconcerting is that the Hawkeyes aren’t really running the ball very well, which is rare. They had just 105 yards against Iowa State on 36 carries, a meager 2.9 yards-per-carry average.
As hard as the day was, that one drive felt good.
“It felt good, just to finally get some things rolling, to get the ball moving,” said Iowa running back Toren Young, who led the team with 68 yards on 21 carries. “We knew we were close on some things. … I think there’s a lot that we can take from that drive moving on. We’ll get on the film and we’ll see that.”
There will be a lot of good things to see, because it was the only time all day where the Hawkeyes consistently converted on third down, different guys stepped up in the passing game and Stewart scored his first touchdown as a Hawkeye, a well-designed play that was blocked so well that Stewart strolled into the end zone untouched.
“I’ve still got the chills. My hairs are standing up [on my arm] right now,” Sargent said Saturday.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for the offense’s struggles. The passing game still hasn’t quite clicked, with far too many dropped passes, especially on third down, slowing things down.
Stanley gets some of the blame too, because he’s missed some receivers and hasn’t always been accurate. That needs to get better, and the assumption is it will.
Having success in the running game opens up the play-action part of Brian Ferentz’s offense, and we haven’t been able to see all of that yet. With more talent at receiver, it would be nice to see the Hawkeyes take more shots downfield, too.
Just like anything, it all needs to come together at once for the Hawkeyes to get cranking offensively. This is a big week, the Northern Iowa game. It’s the last warmup before the huge Big Ten West showdown with Wisconsin.
It’s time to get it done now.
Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.