4 Takeaways from the Iowa / Indiana Game

Another week, another dominant win for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and it's always nice to be able to go into these things with only positive things on my mind. Let's go over the things that stood out from the 42-16 win over the Hoosiers.

Offensive Line Domination
This was the best game Iowa's offensive line has played this season as they absolutely dominated Indiana up front. Not only did Nate Stanley have plenty of time, but both Toren Young and Mekhi Sargent had huge holes to run through the entire game. The entire game is one of the big keys as Iowa's offensive line has really done its best work by wearing down teams in the first half before getting those big runs in the second half. In this one, they dominated from play one. Still, the best moment was near the end of the game. Iowa faced a 3rd and 13, and it was clear that they decided to just go for a field goal and called a run play. The only problem was the offensive line dominated to such an extent that Mekhi Sargent went for 14 yards and kept the drive alive for Nate Stanley to get his sixth touchdown pass. When Iowa is doing their conservative play calls, and they're still leading to big plays, things are going really, really well up front.

The Underrated Linebackers
I would just like to take some time to give some love to Iowa's linebackers. It was by far the biggest question mark heading into this season as the Hawkeyes graduated all three starters from last year. The most sure thing, Amani Jones, lost his job after one game. His replacement, Jack Hockaday, got injured, and yet Iowa still kept marching on. Even though Iowa primarily played two linebackers today in Kristian Welch, and Dijmon Colbert, they know where to be and just don't make big mistakes. Competence is an underrated attribute as these guys knowing where to be means that it's really hard to exploit any specific aspect of the Iowa defense.

Amani Hooker Makes the Defense
The reason Iowa was only able to play two linebackers for most of the game was that Amani Hooker basically acted as a third linebacker in Iowa's defense, and this forced change may be the best thing to happen to Iowa. Playing two linebackers and Hooker at the nickel back position means that Iowa doesn't give up a noticeable amount in the run game while being much, much better in defending the pass. Iowa has always struggled with the changing college football game as teams are able to spread out Iowa and attack the linebackers with speedy receivers, but with Hooker in the game, it diminishes those opportunities. Also, at safety, up in the box, hell, probably even on the defensive line, Hooker just knows where to be on a football field, and he can consistently make plays because of that. Iowa had two safeties with interceptions today, and Hooker was still not just the best safety on the field, but maybe the best defensive player period. He's the puzzle piece that completes the defensive picture for the Hawkeyes.

We Want Bama
I'm only half joking. I watch this Iowa team, and it has gone from, "Is this team really freaking good?" to "Holy shit, this team is really freaking good." Iowa gave away that Wisconsin game which sucks, but it's not all that hard to see Wisconsin losing twice on the B1G schedule while Iowa has a legitimate chance to run the table. They will be heavy favorites in every game but at Penn State, and Penn State is a very good team, but I'm honestly not sure if they are better than Iowa. The offensive line is improving, the tight ends are unstoppable, the running game is solid, Brandon Smith has given Iowa  legitimate receiver, and Nate Stanley has shown tremendous improvement throughout this season and just keeps getting better. Also, the defense, especially with a healthy Matt Hankins (I have a suspicion that Julius Brents may have usurped Ojemudia as the other starter) is downright terrifying. Run the table, and then take out Ohio State, why can't we take on Bama in the Playoff? And up until that last sentence, it's not just me being a homer; this Iowa team looks special, and I am so excited for the rest of the season. 

5 Takeaways from the Iowa/Iowa State Game

Iowa is now 2-0 and has vanquished their first rival of the year with a 13-3 victory over Iowa State. I love my Iowa Hawkeyes, but let's be honest: This game sucked. I only yelled at my television three times, which is a record low for a game against the Cyclones. I know a lot of Iowa fans like to discount the meaning of this rivalry, but as somebody from the state, I know so many people that are fans of both schools that this game is important, so getting a win, no matter how ugly, still feels pretty damn good. Here are the five takeaways from the win.

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.