So Iowa is 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Not the start all of us in Hawkeye-land were hoping for.
I don't feel I need to explain the magnitude of Saturday's game to all of you, but I will anyway. It's huge.
Going back to what I said before, I refuse to call this a "must-win" because you should be wanting to win every game regardless. But given Iowa's circumstances right now, I'll use the cliche "do or die."
Simply put, if Iowa loses this game to an Indiana team that also is on a four-game losing streak, stick a fork in the rest of this season. Considering the rest of the schedule includes Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, Purdue, and Minnesota, none of those games should be considered guaranteed wins.
The turnovers are disgusting to watch right now, especially the ones in the red zone. Those are the kinds of things Iowa needs to improve off of because if they continue against the Hoosiers, then just imagine what happens against any of those other teams I mentioned, which probably have better defenses than Indiana does.
Now one positive I took away from the Michigan State game last week is that the Hawkeyes are beginning to become more aggressive. Perfect evidence of this is the fact that on two occasions during the fourth quarter, head coach Kirk Ferentz decided to go for the first down rather than settle for a field goal. If you read my commentary earlier this week, you already know my stance on this.
But the aggressiveness I'm eluding to is (for instance), throwing a deep ball on the ensuing play after Michigan State was called for encroachment. The play I'm referring to is the touchdown pass Ricky Stanzi threw to Andy Brodell. As a football fan, that's what I love to see out of an offense - burning defenses after they make stupid mistakes. Hopefully, more of that takes place this weekend and beyond.
More often than not, time of possession is usually overrated, but in this instance, I'm going to say it will factor in who wins on Saturday because the key for Iowa is going to be utilizing Shonn Greene again to the best of his abilities to set up the pass against a defense that, like the Hawkeyes, has a solid front four. Defensively, it will be staying home when Marcus Thigpen has the ball and not allowing Kellen Lewis to get behind anybody.
In other words, the basics that Iowa has excelled at, but without the turnovers, should be enough to put Iowa over the top on Saturday.
- Brendan Stiles
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3 comments:
This is a must win game for Iowa whether you want to admit it or not. Indiana is arguably the worst team in the Big Ten right now. Their defense is below average, and Iowa should be able to move the ball on them. Greene should get 25 carries which would net him 170 yards.
If the defense can contain Kellen Lewis and Marcus Thigpen we should beat the Hoosiers.
Well as long as we don't turn the ball over.
Hoosierdaddy now? Go Hawks baby!
I tend to agree with you Brendan that every game should be a must win for any team, but I really think that if Iowa just holds on to the ball this season could be dramatically different and today will end up going well for the Hawks!
ASSIGNMENT - Where, in your opinion, does Shonn Greene rank among current college running backs as an NFL prospect?
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