The First Half: The Running Backs

Goodson shows a glimpse of the future.

A first-half breakdown of Iowa's position groups.

Tyler Goodson hesitated.

It was first-and-10 from Iowa's 42-yard line in the second quarter of Saturday's 17-12 loss to Penn State.

Goodson, a true freshman, took the handoff from Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley and headed left.

There was no opening, but Goodson paused just long enough for the hole to open. And when it did, Goodson sprinted past Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, breaking out for a 29-yard gain.

Later in the game, Goodson was swarmed on a run to the left after a breakdown in the offensive line. He fumbled the ball, leading to a field goal for the Nittany Lions.

There have been times when Goodson has looked like a veteran, other times as a player in his first season of college football.

But it is clear that he is becoming Iowa's running back of the future, and the future may be sooner than you think.

Goodson has 48 carries for 252 yards — that 29-yard gain on Saturday was his longest of the season. He also has 15 receptions for 92 yards.

What has impressed Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is how Goodson responded from that fumble.

"He's been fine," Ferentz said on Tuesday. "Again, he doesn't have 100 percent ownership in that. I'm not sure the ball was smoothly exchanged. The other part is it's going to happen. We have had two of those at a really bad time a year ago, then we had a heck of a streak after that where we really protected the ball well.

"That's one more thing I'm impressed with, all of us are impressed with with Tyler. He handled it well. Had a good two days of practice right now. Part of competing at this level against really good teams, you're going to have a bad play or a bad day. It's how are you going to respond to that. He's done a good job two days into it."

It's a veteran backfield. Mekhi Sargent and Toren Young are both juniors with a lot of carries in their careers, but Ferentz isn't afraid to use Goodson.

Sargent leads the Hawkeyes with 329 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but he had a costly fumble early in the 10-3 loss to Michigan. Young has been the power back that everyone expected, with 313 yards and 48 carries.

Ivory Kelly-Martin, on the depth chart early in the season and expected to be part of the running back rotation, has just six carries for 23 yards in four games, and Ferentz hinted he could be a redshirt candidate unless he is needed later in the season.

Fullback Brady Ross has been consistently good as a blocker. He has four carries for three yards, but he does have a touchdown carry.

Best game — Iowa had 351 yards against Middle Tennessee State. Young had 131 yards, Goodson had 97 and Sargent had 91.

Worst game — Sargent's fumble set an early tone at Michigan. The Hawkeyes had just one rushing yard, a total hurt by Stanley's eight sacks. Take those away, and the Hawkeyes' running backs had 21 carries for 66 yards.

Second-half outlook — Iowa has to get the running game going again to be successful. That's on the offensive line to some extent.

Sargent has to be more of a factor again. Young has been steady. Goodson may become the breakout star.