If you’ve been following along you know I have remained skeptical of the Iowa Hawkeyes even as they started the season 4-0. They were supposed to start the season 4-0 because Illinois St. was a good FCS team but they were still an FCS team. Iowa St. has been a thorn in Kirk Ferentz’s side but they aren’t very good. The Pitt game was at home and at night and North Texas didn’t stand a chance. The Wisconsin game on the road in Madison was always going to be the first true test. I am usually the most optimistic Hawkeye fan but I came into this season with very little hope except for the hope that the Hawkeyes would prove my dire feelings about them wrong. The 4-0 start was a nice beginning but the Wisconsin game actually gives me real hope. It wasn’t a pretty win but good teams find a way to win ugly when they need to, did anybody watch that Ohio St./Indiana game on Saturday afternoon? Come to think of it Michigan St.’s win over Purdue wasn’t a thing of beauty either.
When Iowa and Wisconsin get together you can almost always bet the under because these two teams are rarely going to get into a shootout. Both teams run the ball, control the clock and play great defense and on Saturday Iowa played defense at another level. Going into the season I was worried about Iowa’s offense and I thought the defense had potential to be pretty good, I underestimated the defense, they are pretty great. CB Desmond King is playing at an All-American level and he had his second 2 interception game of the year and now is tied for the national lead with 5 interceptions through 5 games. No offense to the Eli Apple hype train in Columbus and on ESPN but I wouldn’t trade King for any DB in the country right now, he is special. The defensive line has also raised it’s game and they destroyed Wisconsin’s offense all day long. DE Drew Ott is playing with a big brace on his elbow and all that is doing is making him play like he’s JJ Watt (he’s playing more like Watt than Watt actually). DT Jaleel Johnson had the large shoes of Carl Davis to fill this season and Johnson isn’t just filling the shoes he’s outplaying Davis from last season. Johnson doesn’t get a lot of attention because what he does doesn’t show up on a stat sheet but he’s blowing up opponents inside run game and collapsing the pocket on passing downs. DE Nate Meier and DT Nathan Bazata are playing well too and making teams pay when they pay too much attention to Ott and Johnson.
The Iowa LB corps is playing far better than it did last season and it is certainly helping that the defensive line has been dominant all season long. It also helps that senior Cole Fisher has solidified his spot and that sophomores Josey Jewell and Ben Niemann have done the same. Continuity and familiarity help and the chemistry of the front seven has been far better than it was last season. As I mentioned King has been spectacular but the entire secondary has been much improved. CB Greg Mabin is holding his own opposite King and Reese Fleming has been a solid nickel corner. Miles Taylor’s insertion at SS has certainly improved the play in the middle and he teams with Jordan Lomax to make a good combo. Anthony Gair has also done a nice job of rotating in at safety and playing well. The defense did a fantastic job of creating turnovers and that was the difference in the game. Lastly I have to mention the unbelievable improvement by punter Dillon Kidd as he is light years ahead of where he was last season. A good punter makes a big difference especially in a game like the one against Wisconsin where field position can play such a huge role.
The defense is the good news and while the offense had it’s moments against the Badgers there is some concern. Wisconsin was by far the best defense Iowa has faced to date and CJ Beathard had his worst game as starter but it was hardly all his fault. The Badgers defense is good and DE Joe Schobert absolutely owned the Iowa offensive line especially backup LT Cole Croston who was starting for the injured Boone Myers. Schobert was a one man wreaking crew and almost wreaked Iowa’s win. The lone bright spot in the passing game was Matt Vandeberg but that’s because he was literally the only WR to catch a pass, he had 6 of them while Beathard’s 3 other completions went to a TE, a RB and a FB. I was quite adamant before the season that Tevaun Smith was Iowa’s best weapon in the passing game and this game proved just how valuable he is. Tevaun Smith is going to miss a few more weeks and that means Beathard has to work extra hard to get on the same page with freshman WR Jerminic Smith. Jerminic Smith replaced Tevaun Smith in the lineup and he showed that he has the ability to beat coverage and get deep but at the moment he doesn’t have much timing with Beathard. Jerminic doesn’t have the experience of Tevaun but he and Beathard could be a devastating combination if they can figure it out.
The bright spot on the offense overall was RB Jordan Canzeri who went for 125 yards rushing and had one of the other 3 completions from Beathard in the passing game. Canzeri has carried the running game since LeShun Daniels sprained his ankle a few weeks ago and while Daniels has played the last couple of weeks you can tell that he just doesn’t have the explosion from his legs and that ankle is still not 100%. The Hawkeyes have to look at getting Daniels rested and recovered because 3rd string RB Derrick Mitchell missed the Wisconsin game with an injury and Canzeri isn’t going to last if he has to take a pounding like he did against the Badgers every week. Canzeri also fumbled this weekend which makes 3 in 5 games and I think 2 of them were due to fatigue. It’s interesting that Canzeri fumbles and he still gets a chance while Akrum Wadley has barely been heard from since his fumbling problems.
Wisconsin’s defense certainly deserves some credit but Iowa has to do a better job of finding other playmakers and using them. WR Jerminic Smith, TE Jake Duzey and potentially freshman WR Adrian Falconer could be useful players. It’s fairly clear that WRs Jacob Hillyer and Riley McCarron don’t get open enough and other than his one ill-fated jet sweep a few weeks ago I haven’t seen converted WR Jonathan Parker this season. I’m going to propose a radical solution to Iowa’s lack of playmakers problem, let Desmond King play some WR. It sounds like a crazy solution but King has shown he has a some playmaker in him when returning punts and kicks and while he’s incredibly valuable on defense he wouldn’t be the first college football player to play CB and WR. If he got in on offense it would certainly jump start that King for Heisman campaign I am hoping to start.
For the first time since November of 2010 the Iowa Hawkeyes are ranked ( #22 in the AP, #23 in the Coaches) and unlike many teams the Hawkeyes earned their ranking. To say that the Hawkeyes entered the season with low expectations would be an understatement. No considered this a team that could be in the top 25 and the only preseason lists you could find the Hawkeyes on were the ones talking about Kirk Ferentz and the hot seat he was on. A well earned ranking has to feel quite satisfying for Coach Ferentz and the team and I’m more than happy to have been wrong. Go Hawks!
College Football Hott Reads (I haven’t weighed in on College Football much other than talking about the Hawkeyes so here it goes)
- I get the fact that Urban Meyer is a phenomenal college coach and all but how is he not giving JT Barrett a shot when Cardale Jones looks absolutely terrible at times for Ohio St. It’s not like Barrett wasn’t fantastic before he got hurt last year and Jones took over. I also can’t figure out why OSU refuses to feed Ezekiel Elliott in the first half of games. He lit up Indiana for over 200 yards in the second half on Saturday so why is Meyer insisting on using an ineffective Jones when he could rely on Elliott. Maybe the Buckeyes miss former OC Tom Hermann more than they realize.
- Speaking of Cardale Jones I’m not sure how anyone has watched him play this season and still believes he is a first round NFL draft pick. At this point he’s a less athletic version of EJ Manuel and that might be his ceiling. His floor is a poor man’s JaMarcus Russell.
- Congratulations to Iowa St on their final win of the season…sorry…second win of the season. Okay I would give the Cyclones a chance against Texas but Charlie Strong might be coaching for his job when he’s 1-6 going to Ames. How far has Texas fallen that their coach might need a win at Iowa St. to save his job.
- Paul Rhoads might not be the first Big 12 coach fired but he might be the guy who gets the first Big 12 coach fired. Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury can’t afford a home loss to Iowa St this week or his seat will get pretty warm and then of course there is the aforementioned Strong.
- By the way, Texas would be stupid to let Charlie Strong go after two seasons but it is the place that hired Steve Patterson to be the AD so anything is possible. Letting Patterson go after 22 months was the right call but never hiring him in the first place would have been the better call.
- OSU’s Joey Bosa is still the odds-on favorite to be the first pick in the 2016 draft and while he hasn’t been quite as dominant as people expected that might be because the talent on OSU’s defense is showing through (and the expectations were pretty high). The extra attention paid to Bosa is giving guys like Adolphus Washington and Darron Lee a chance to make the plays before Bosa can.
- Everyone wanted to write off Michigan after they got beat by Utah in week 1 and people thought Jake Rudock was terrible. The truth is Rudock is fine and Utah is pretty damn good. Michigan is going to give OSU and Michigan St. a run for their money in the Big Ten East and Urban Meyer and Mark Dantonio might want to get used to the idea that Jim Harbaugh is going to be a pain in their asses until he goes back to the NFL. I wonder if Harbaugh likes South Beach?
- In my very early look at the 2016 NFL draft I listed a whole bunch of QBs that could move around on the board. Cal QB Jared Goff is rising fast and might give Bosa a run for the top spot (if the Texans are drafting a QB has to be the pick). Cardale Jones is dropping like a rock. Penn St.’s Christian Hackenberg fell early with a terrible performance against Temple but he’s rebounded a bit. Connor Cook is steady but unspectacular. Trevon Boykin is spectacular but his transition to the NFL game would be quite unsteady. Cody Kessler is a poor man’s Drew Brees, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. Indiana’s Nate Sudfeld is my sleeper pick but he needs to stay healthy.
- I’ve always liked Georgia coach Mark Richt and I always thought he got a raw deal from the Georgia faithful but the guy just can’t seem to win a big game. For the first time since Mike Shula was on the sidelines Alabama was an underdog and Georgia got handed a beatdown by the Tide. 10 win seasons are nice but when you always end up in the Outback Bowl no one cares.
- I always despised Bo Pelini at Nebraska almost as much as I despise Nebraska in general. I was shocked when they hired Mike Riley and I wasn’t the least bit shocked when the Nebraska fan base talked themselves into thinking it was a good hire. They are 2-3 and just handed Illinois a victory on Saturday, this could get ugly. Has any college coach ever been fired in the middle of his first season? You think I’m kidding but what happens when they lose to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Northwestern (all possible losses) and then get tripped up by Purdue? If Riley loses to Rutgers he might not make the Iowa game at the end of the year.
NFL Hott Reads
- The lead story Monday was the firing of Dolphins coach Joe Philbin. Philbin was Kirk Ferentz’s first offensive line coach at Iowa and he was an excellent coach. He may not be cut out for the head job or it may just be that Miami is that dysfunctional of a franchise. Things don’t sound good but Philbin will land on his feet somewhere. The Dolphins may have too many chefs in the kitchen and the direction of the franchise is suspect. Owner Stephen Ross, Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum and GM Dennis Hickey need to pick a direction and all pull the same way.
- Speaking of dumpster fires the Eagles have no idea what they are doing. They can’t seem to get Demarco Murray going and they may be better off with Mark Sanchez at QB and Ryan Mathews at RB, words I never thought I’d write. Something tells me Chip Kelly is checking real estate ads in Austin, TX and Miami, FL, I’m talking about the Hurricanes not the Dolphins.
- Speaking of dumpster fires…sorry I already used that one…actually no it’s a dumpster fire too…did you see the Texans get annihilated by the Falcons. The QB situation in Houston is a joke. Bill O’Brien pulled the plug on Brian Hoyer in week 1 and Ryan Mallett proceeds to look like garbage so O’Brien goes back to Hoyer, he was better but they are still a joke. The draft can’t get here fast enough and this time O’Brien better pull the trigger early on a pocket passer that can run his offense (Christian Hackenberg come on down).
- Speaking of the Texans I haven’t heard a lot coming from JJ Watt, he must be taking the season off so he can win next year’s Defensive Player of the Year. He’s like the San Francisco Giants they only win the World Series every other year.
- I wonder if interim Dolphins coach Dan Campbell can find Ndamukong Suh, maybe he is hiding with Watt.
- Going the other way for a minute the Atlanta Falcons looked fantastic dismantling the Texans and OC Kyle Shanahan was paying attention all those years watching his father. When your defense is suspect and your offensive line struggles pass blocking run the damn ball. The Falcons do that very well and bowling ball like RB Davonta Freeman knows how to cut and go. Shanahan is an underrated offensive mind because he prefers to run the ball not spread it out and throw it all the time.
- The Bengals are the other team that looks good (the Patriots are awesome but they were on a bye week). The offense is humming right along and Andy Dalton has raised his game. Jeremy Hill was struggling but got back on track this week so he and Giovani Bernard are a deadly combo. The Bengals defense is playing great and with that offense they can be aggressive because they don’t fear giving up a few points.
- Tavon Austin was apparently released from the witness protection program and he showed up this week and caught passes from Nick Foles and looked like a genuine weapon for the Rams. We will see if they will let him come out and play next week.
- Todd Gurley started off slow for the Rams this week but he had a second half that should scare the bejeezus out of the rest of the league. When he gets healthy and I mean totally 100% healthy, he will dominate.
- The Raiders are still the Raiders which is why they blew their game against a very beatable Bears team but Derek Carr to Amari Cooper is something special. It is something they can build their offense around. Somebody get these guys some offensive linemen and a defense please.
The Hott Read 