THE DAY AFTER: The takeaways after Saturday's loss at Michigan

Saturday's 10-3 loss at Michigan was ugly, but it was only the first defeat of the season for Iowa, which has plenty of football remaining to play.

“There’s a lot of football in front of us, and that’s what we have to focus on,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But it’s good to feel the sting. It kind of motivates you to move forward a little bit faster, maybe.”

That motivation better come soon. The Hawkeyes play host to Penn State (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) in next Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game at Kinnick Stadium.

One defeat isn't a setback in the Big Ten West Division race, especially this early in the season. But it does reduce the Hawkeyes' margin of error, considering the entire West Division is waiting after the game with the Nittany Lions.

So, what did we learn from Saturday's loss?

The Hawkeyes aren't perfect

We were spoiled by four games with only one turnover. Saturday's game was sloppy — one lost fumble and three interceptions. You're not going to win anywhere doing that, certainly not on the road against a team like Michigan.

If the Hawkeyes want a division title and get to the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis, they can't have another game like that.

The offensive line isn't perfect

One of the biggest concerns about the Hawkeyes before the season was the uncertainty of the interior of the offensive line, but that hadn't been a problem until Saturday.

The Hawkeyes had been good up front, especially inside, to start the season even with the rotation of players caused by early injuries.

The Wolverines exploited plenty of openings up the middle on Saturday with blitzes that seemed to constantly confuse the Hawkeyes.

Alaric Jackson, back at left tackle, struggled at times, but he figures to get better with more playing time, especially after missing the last three times.

The Wolverines gave the rest of the Big Ten a blueprint for how to beat the Hawkeyes, now it will be up to Iowa to adjust.

The offensive line struggles affected the running game

Iowa’s three running backs — Toren Young, Tyler Goodson and Mekhi Sargent — had 21 carries for 67 yards.

Sargent was out of sorts after fumbling on his first carry of the game. He's better than that. Young was able to carve out yardage when he got the ball, and Goodson is becoming a receiving option as well as a speed-back option.

This game was probably an anomaly, but the Hawkeyes will have to control the ball against Penn State, and that means a better running game.

It's not the end of the world

To win the West Division, you're going to have to beat everyone in the division. You can't afford a loss within divisional play, otherwise you may have to deal with a tiebreaker you can't win.

In the end, it's going to come down whether the Hawkeyes can run the table in divisional play. But...

They can't afford a loss next week

You don't want to try to win a division title with two losses, because then you have to hope somebody else loses two games.

November should be about controlling your destiny, not playing with the pressure of winning-and-needing-help.

So, next Saturday night becomes quite important for the Hawkeyes. Lose, and the rest of the season becomes a mad scramble.

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