Howe's High 5: Iowa State Stuffs Hawkeyes

Iowa Offense Remains Mired Below Mediocrity

Iowa’s Quinn Schulte (30) tackles Iowa State's Jirehl Brock on Sept. 10, 2022 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - It's been great watching the Iowa Football players sticking together so far this season. They've rallied around each other despite the stress of their offensive struggles. 

It's important that it continues. With no signs of the offense having an ability to win games, their unity could be tested. 

The Hawkeyes managed just 150 yards in Saturday's gut-wrenching, 10-7 loss to Iowa State here at Kinnick Stadium. Last week, they accumulated 173 yards in a 7-3 victory against South Dakota State, needing two safeties and a field goal to win. 

The critics were loud last week and are expected to raise the volume after Saturday. Watching bad offense for the first two weeks of the season after it ranked among the worst in the country in 2021 has created a cumulative effect. 

It's important for the Hawkeyes to keep shutting out the noise. They'll be grinding for wins with the makeup of this team. All is not lost until fingers are being pointed at the offense by stellar defensive and special teams' units. 

That's one. 

Here's the rest of Howe's High 5 for the Cy-Hawk game: 

2. Is there a quarterback controversy? I don't think we can call it that. It's just kind of weird situation. 

Head coach Kirk Ferentz keeps saying it's an issue for the offense as a whole, not just starting quarterback Spencer Petras. Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is putting more blame on his signal caller, at least according to his comments this week. 

The problems are bigger than Petras, no doubt. The line is leaky, the receiver position hobbled and the running game stalled. 

That said, at some point, backup Alex Padilla deserves a chance. Start Petras next week against Nevada. If it remains ugly early, make a switch. 

3. You could see the defense wearing down during Saturday's second half when the Cyclones marched 99 yards in 21 plays for a touchdown late in the third quarter. That's a concern going forward if the offense can't move the ball and give the D some rest. 

Iowa State converted 10 of 20 third downs on the day and rolled up 313 total yards. It ran for 129. 

The defense and special teams are really good. But they need help now. 

4. Cooper DeJean continued breaking out. The second-year defensive back paced the Hawkeyes in tackles (11), picked off a pass in the end zone and broke up two more passes. 

The personal foul penalty he incurred for a hit on ISU quarterback Hunter Dekkers was questionable. It looked bad, but he made contact inbounds and didn't carry it out across the sideline. 

DeJean's ability to play cornerback and Cash is special. It's a unique skill set. 

5. Iowa has to take some shots over the top on offense. It's not going to be able to dink and dunk its way way down the field with a young line and inexperienced receivers. Too many things can go wrong. 

You saw what can go wrong going long when Iowa State's Will McDonald stripped Petras of the ball in the first quarter, but the Hawkeyes can't just keep doing what they're doing. It's the definition of insanity.