Hawkeyes Share The Blame, And Begin The Cleanup

Two-game skid leads to questions about Iowa's offensive problems.

IOWA CITY — There was agreement in the Iowa football building on Tuesday.

Iowa’s current offensive woes can be found anywhere you look.

The quarterback says he has held on to the ball for too long on some of the sacks.

The offensive lineman says it’s the entire unit needing to communicate.

The tight end also says it’s all about communication.

The coach says there is a lot to clean up.

Iowa’s two-game losing skid has led to some reflection among the Hawkeyes on the offense.

The Hawkeyes have scored just 15 points — three field goals and one touchdown — in back-to-back losses to Michigan and Penn State. They came into the remaining part of the Big Ten schedule 4-0, having scored in every quarter of the season. Since then, they have been scrambling for answers.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he believed in his team after Saturday’s 17-12 loss to Penn State at Kinnick Stadium, and he repeated that part during Tuesday’s media availability.

“After watching the tape on Sunday, I feel the same way,” he said. “I believe we have a good football team. Certainly room to improve. The bottom line is it's a fine line between winning and losing. There's a handful of plays out there that we weren't good enough in executing to give ourselves a chance.

“I think our guys are working hard, our focus moving forward is on the things we can correct and coach a little bit better. That's what we're paying attention to there.”

The little things have turned into big things in the two defeats.

Quarterback Nate Stanley was sacked eight times at Michigan, twice more against Penn State. The Hawkeyes cleaned up their penalty woes a bit — after eight against the Wolverines, they had one against the Nittany Lions — but had two more turnovers to go with the three interceptions and the fumble against Michigan.

The Hawkeyes, ranked No. 22 in the coaches poll and No. 23 in the Associated Press poll, have played two quality teams — Michigan and Penn State are both in the national rankings, and the Nittany Lions have one of the top-ranked defenses in Football Bowl Subdivision play.

Stanley credited the opposing defenses with some of the issues, but he, too, knew much of the blame fell on the Hawkeyes.

“When it comes down to it, we’re the ones who have held on to the ball (too long) or committed the penalties,” Stanley said. “Ultimately it comes down to us. If we execute better, we’ll put points on the board.”

“You’ve got to give credit to (Penn State), they made the plays when it came down to it and got after us,” tight end Nate Wieting said. “But again, I think a lot of it falls on us as well. Communication, to start off. Be detailed, be where we need to be. Have an awareness. And then going out and executing at a high level. And I think we’re really close.”

Left tackle Alaric Jackson said responding has to be a collective effort.

“Just be a team. Just communicate,” he said. “It’s on everybody’s hands, to be honest. It’s not just one guy’s fault.”

Ferentz said the Hawkeyes have to be cleaner fundamentally.

“Whatever it is we're doing that's not performing well enough to get us in a winning margin, we just got to try to focus on that, improve it,” Ferentz said. “All you can do is try to work out in practice, then be smart in meetings. Hopefully guys take what they see in meetings into practice, work on correcting things, like any sport.

“That's a challenge. Really doesn't matter what position it is. If we're not quite getting it done, it's always frustrating. We want to do well. But the good news is, we've seen our guys play better. We'll keep focused on that, see if we can't get back up a little bit better.”

The Hawkeyes have been off-balance on offense. They had just 67 yards rushing from their running backs at Michigan, 75 against Penn State. Toren Young was the leading rusher against Michigan — eight carries for 49 yards. Tyler Goodson had eight carries for 35 yards to be the leading rusher against the Nittany Lions.

“Everything goes hand-in-hand on offense, in my opinion,” Ferentz said. “At some point in the season, somebody is not going to let you run it, you got to throw it, and vice versa. You got to be able to do both to be a successful team, unless you live off the option or throw it every snap of the game type team.

“The only thing I'd throw out there, we've played two pretty decent defensive football teams. History or time will bear that out. What I saw with my own eyes, I believe it.”

The Hawkeyes have struggled with consistency from the offensive line. Jackson missed three games and most of the season opener with Miami (Ohio) with a knee injury. Cole Banwart was injured early in the season, came back, and is now lost for the season. Kyler Schott was solid at guard before suffering a foot injury that will keep him out until after Iowa’s next bye week in two weeks.

Mark Kallenberger, now starting at right guard, moved over from being the backup at left tackle, and struggled at times in Saturday’s game.

“If we don't protect, that's going to be a problem any week of the season. It can happen this week, then be fine for a couple weeks,” Ferentz said. “That's how football is sometimes. Your opponent, whatever it may be, schemes.

“Yeah, if we're not protecting the quarterback, it's going to be tough to operate the way we want to operate. That's certainly paramount. Just like running the football better, that's paramount on the list.”

There is a chance for the Hawkeyes to get some offensive momentum going in Saturday’s 11 a.m. game against Purdue at Kinnick Stadium. The Boilermakers rank 79th nationally in rushing defense (166.5 yards per game), 104th in total defense (444.5 ypg) and 112th in passing yards per game (278 ypg).

“Obviously, it’s frustrating that we haven’t won,” Stanley said. “But I don’t think anyone’s attitude or demeanor has diminished. I think everybody’s been upbeat and positive, knowing that we still have some goals out there on the table.”

“I think you have to have some patience as a player, that not everything is going to be perfect,” Wieting said. “Sometimes, you’re going to feel like you’re spinning your wheels. But that’s the time where you really have to focus.”

“I told our team this morning, our good teams, common denominator, when time goes on, we get better,” Ferentz said. “We've been 2-2 before and had a great season.

“There's still a lot out there to be playing for, but it's not going to happen if we don't improve. That's really where our focus has to be.”