What Iowa Football Got Right and Wrong vs. Iowa State

No one says wins have to be pretty. There aren't style points for winning. Well, actually, in college football there might be. Who is to know what really matters?

What does matter is that the Iowa Hawkeyes found a way to take back the Cy-Hawk over Iowa State in classic Iowa fashion. Iowa grinded out a 16-13 win inside Kinnick Stadium, which saw the Hawkeyes end the game on a 16-3 run.

While Iowa sits at 2-0, it's time to reflect on what went right, or wrong, against the Iowa State Cyclones.

Right: Special Teams

There appear to be minimal growing pains in the Chris Polizzi era as Iowa's special teams coordinator. His unit put together a masterclass in this game to help Iowa win the field position battle and put points on the board.

Caden Buhr was automatic on the day, including a game-winning field goal to give the Cyclones a taste of their own medicine in the Cy-Hawk rivalry. Punter Boston Everitt dropped four punts inside the 20-yard line to set up Iowa's defense with a long field. It was everything Iowa's special teams have aimed to be under Kirk Ferentz.

Wrong: Running Game

After Week 1, all signs pointed to the running game being where Iowa had the biggest advantage in this game. That was not the case at all. The Cyclones didn't allow Iowa to get much push up front for most of the game.

Iowa stayed committed to the ground game, running it 29 times to 30 passing attempts, but churned out just 3.2 yards per carry. For a unit as good as Iowa's offensive line is, this has to improve moving forward.

Right: Phil Parker's game plan

Phil Parker did it again. The defensive wizard of Iowa once again reminded the nation why he is the best defensive coordinator in the country. He took away any big plays from Iowa State and dared them to drive the field, which they simply were unable to do consistently.

His defense held Jaylen Raynor to 117 passing yards on just 10-for-19, while limiting his legs to 18 yards on eight carries. The run defense did allow 138 yards, but tightened up when it had to.

Wrong: Third down conversions

Iowa struggled on third downs, to put it plainly. The Hawkeyes were 5-for-15 on third downs, plus a 0-for-1 showing on fourth downs. This made life hard on Iowa. The Hawkeyes were unable to sustain drives.

This is tied into the run game struggles. Iowa was consistently facing third-and-long situations, which it just isn't built for.

Through two games, Iowa is 11-for-29 on third downs. Converting just under 38% of third downs has them at No. 87 in the country right now. It's only two games, but it has left something to be desired.

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