Parker Hesse Is Always There
I know I give a tremendous amount of love to AJ Epenesa, and yes, Epenesa is, by far, the most talented guy on the defensive line, but nobody maximizes their impact quite like Parker Hesse. This is a guy who is nonstop hustle and knows how to be in the right place at the right time. He blew up Maryland's jet sweep on multiple occasions and added a sack late in the third quarter on a third down play that had Maryland converted, they may have actually had a chance to score on the Iowa defense. It's rarely flashy, but Hesse has been starting for what feels like a decade, and I am going to miss that constant next season.
Chauncey Golston Deserves Some Love
As I stated above, AJ Epenesa is the freak; Parker Hesse has started forever, and both Nelsons are massive human beings, starters, and yet somehow not related. Iowa has eight defensive linemen rotating in, and I feel like Golston is the least talked about, but damn, that dude is legit. Every game, there is a split second where I ask myself who linebacker #57 is and why he's tearing it up in an opponents' backfield, but then I realize it's Golston who makes plays every game. His stat line of three tackles with one tackle for loss isn't going to jump off the page, but watching him play in and play out is impressive. Hell, his most impressive play was stopping an outside run in the backfield, the runner was able to jump out of Golston's grasp, but the rest of the defense, led by Epenesa cleaned up the mess. Still, it was Golston that made that play happen, and even with the turnover up front, the future of the defensive line is still bright for the foreseeable future.
Kirk Ferentz Loves Field Position
Although Iowa is more dynamic and aggressive on offense, Kirk probably hasn't noticed at all. He's just staring at the flags at the top of the stadium to judge that wind. When he's not lost in those flags, the man is only thinking about punting and gaining all of the slightest edges. We all know that punting is winning, but Kirk puts his kickers and punters in the best position possible by calling timeouts at the end of the first and third quarters in order to ensure that Iowa would have the wind, and Maryland would be fighting against it in the kicking game. This man doesn't care about a seven point advantage, but a seven yard advantage? That's why Kirk Ferentz got into coaching.
Where Is The Weakness?
Iowa just keeps kicking ass. They had almost no passing game today, and it didn't matter as there were enough other parts that stepped up to make this a stress-free victory. So outside of Iowa biffing multiple punt returns, how does this team lose? The passing game has an improved Nate Stanley throwing to great tight ends and a receiving corps that seems to make incremental improvements every week. The running game looks better and better as there is are usually two running backs delivering, and the offensive line has dominated the past couple weeks. On defense, the defensive line is phenomenal, the linebackers fill the role, and Amani Hooker being able to step up in the box against spread formations really helps with the defense's versatility. At corner, nobody is challenging Julius Brents which is a pretty damn good sign that he will never see the bench again in his Iowa career, and Riley Moss has improved each week, although I think I still feel more comfortable with Hankins if he is able to get healthy.
There are only two things that could sidetrack this team, and they both revolve around the quarterback. The first is Nate Stanley dropping from nine to seven hours of sleep, so hopefully things don't get too tough on him during the second half of the semester. The second is what we saw late in the game yesterday where not one but two backup quarterbacks were put in the game with Peyton Mansell and Spencer Petras. WHO IS THE TRUE #2? Will this divide the Iowa locker room?
If Stanley sleeps and no backup quarterback peeps, this will be a season with memories we will keep.
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