The Hawkeye Report: Week 4

Pre-game.

It was a throwback game at Kinnick Stadium on saturday. The weather was damp and cold, and so was the way Iowa played until the second quarter. Iowa's offense sputtered at the beginning, only scoring on one of its first four drives, but quickly found their stride, scoring on six of the last seven drives of the game. The offense this week was paced by Ricky Stanzi's 19-25, 288-yard performance, which would have been better had it not been for about three or four easily reachable balls that were dropped. The big question this game was who was going to be the #2 runningback, and after Saturday's performances by two freshman, I don't think Ferentz will be as concerned with the spot. Marcus Coker showed promise with 10 rushes for 60 yards and definitely explosive speed (Next to Adam Robinson, it's not hard to look explosive.) Also, Brad Rogers had a decent debut performance at halfback with 9 rushes for 66 yards, slightly better than Coker. The final score was 45-0, with Iowa getting their first shut out of the year.

I noticed several times where Stanzi's feet are not set, or throwing off the back foot. As you can tell by this photo, he's not even on the ground.

On a personal note, I went to the game early to get front row seats, which were definitely worth the wait. I am very sure i was on TV, so if you know anyone who may have DVR'd the Iowa game on the Big Ten Network, let me know. It'll be the second national TV appearance by yours truly just this week. I got some great pictures and came about three inches away from catching a rogue punt in warm up.

Derrell Johnson-Koulianos

Overall, the Hawkeyes played well, and needed to after losing to Arizona last week, but at the same time, little can be judged on a game against a dismal Ball State team in poor conditions. There were a few times where a better defense would have capitalized on offensive mistakes. Also, penalties were an issue, Clayborn had several with what seemed to be avoidable personal fouls. Next week, Iowa will take on Penn State for a homecoming night game at Kinnick. The defensive will need to step up again.

Omaha-Native Shaun Prater celebrating after a forced turnover

Iowa vs. Penn State Prediction, 32-25 Iowa