Iowa's Biggest Defensive Question vs Washington: How Long Can the Hawkeyes Hold?

It's not the exact same song as we have seen before with the Iowa Hawkeyes, but this is certainly a remix or at least on the same album.

It's the song where the chorus falls on Phil Parker's defense stepping up to keep Iowa hanging around in a tough road game that the Hawkeyes have to win.

Now, it isn't like the Hawkeyes of the early 2020s, when the defense had to hold to fewer than 10 points to win a game, but that wouldn't be upsetting if it happened against the Huskies.

With some questions of health on Iowa's offense, a strong defensive effort and what Iowa can do with it is the biggest question ahead of Friday night's kickoff.

How long can the Iowa Hawkeyes' defense hold up?

Let's look at last week just for a moment. Ohio State had 17 points at the half, but that's far from the fault of the defense. The first seven were gifted by a fumble and a short field. The last seven came when the defense never should have been on the field, if not for penalties.

Washington is a talented offense, but it's not the same as Ohio State. Very few teams in America are. That's huge for Iowa's defense holding up in this game.

The Hawkeyes need to get off the field and avoid the early splash plays, with the offense sputtering in the run game and the passing game in question if Hank Brown isn't fully healthy.

How does Iowa hold up against Washington?

I have extreme confidence in Iowa's run game this week. The Washington Huskies do not run the ball very well. They are near the bottom of all of college football in rushing yards per game.

Iowa is one of the best front sevens in the country, consistently shutting down run games. The Hawkeyes even held up against Ohio State. They should be able to make Washington's offense one-dimensional.

That turns to focus on the pass defense, which, if we are going to be honest with ourselves, was exploited badly by Ohio State and Jeremiah Smith last weekend. Now, there is more to that story. Smith torches every defense he faces.

Still, Iowa is No. 39 in the country in overall pass defense, allowing just 186.4 yards per game through the air. The area where Iowa can cause some issues is with tight windows. The Hawkeyes allow only 56.5% of passes to be completed against them.

The recipe for the defense to hold up this week is to sell out on the run game early to set up passing downs, which is Phil Parker's specialty, to disguise coverages and create interceptions or dial up unique pressure packages.

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