AJ Epenesa Is A Stud
AJ Epenesa is fulfilling all Hawkeye fans greatest fantasies. This guy is an elite talent at the college level, and if he keeps progressing like this, he's going to be an elite NFL talent. Although we probably shouldn't expect him to average two sacks per game, he is going to consistently be in opposing backfields causing havoc. Late in the fourth quarter, he basically decided that he was going to end the game, and then he went out there and did it by drawing a holding call, batting down a pass, and then coming up with a strip sack that Iowa recovered. If somebody did that during a game, he might be named the player of the game, this man did it in a matter of minutes. He's very good, and if teams don't give their left tackle help on him, he's going to continue to wreak havoc.
Dijmon Colbert Might Be One Too
Did anyone else fall in love during yesterday's game? Because I sure did, and Colbert is the target of my affection. I don't know how to pronounce his first name, but I am all in on him at linebacker. Going into the game, I thought David Montgomery might be the best player in the game, but due to Colbert being all over the field making tackles, I'm not even sure if Montgomery was the best #32 in the game. Colbert not only made a huge stop at the goal line early in the game, but he was consistently reading and reacting like a senior when he has barely played linebacker in his life. How he looked in his first start would have been impressive for somebody with any level of experience, but considering how little experience he has, the sky is the limit. It will be interesting to see what happens when Kristian Welch comes back, but I saw enough from Colbert to make a pretty strong argument that he keeps the job.
Nate Stanley Is...Fine
It was another uninspired performance from Nate Stanley, and I can't say it is all that surprising. This was what Stanley did last year as sometimes he looked great, and other times, it all came crashing down. I don't think he's been bad, but he has continued to struggle with his pocket presence as the slightest bit of pressure gets him to bail. It's also a question of how good he can be if receivers aren't getting separation. I felt like the offensive play calling was a little too conservative, as I would have really liked to see Iowa use their tight ends to attack the Cyclones safeties. The Hawkeyes are going to need more from him to beat the Badgers in two weeks. To end on a positive, he threw two beautiful deep balls in this game, which is something he may not have done twice all of last season.
Colton Rastetter Might Be Good
The discrepancies between the two punters in this game was pretty incredible. Rastetter has really shined this year as he is consistently getting big yards out of his punts and has shown the versatility to do both rugby and traditional punting. Iowa is always going to be in close games, so having a reliable punter may seem like a small thing in the SEC. But in the B1G, punting is winning, and Iowa is looking like a real contender with Rastetter.
Offensive Line Still Gelling
Overall, I thought the offensive line played pretty well. Things still seem to be shaking out at guard, but it was definitely helpful to have the two tackles back in there. I know the running stats were pretty poor, but Iowa State was selling out for the run and Iowa did not make them pay with the passing game. I think it will be good for everyone to play Northern Iowa next week to (hopefully) help build their cohesion and confidence.
Again, it wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and I will always take a win against the Cyclones.
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