Iowa Football Week 1 Report Card Puts Hawkeyes Near Top of the Class

Week 1 can often be a time for teams to work out some miscues and figure things out. Not the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Unlike previous years, Iowa came out firing on all cylinders in this game, aside from a few mishaps, and ran away with a 40-0 win over Northern Illinois in one of its most complete performances in years.

With the first win in the books, Iowa is sitting near the top of the class with this week's report card.

Offense

Offense Grade: A-

I called for at least 275 rushing yards in this one. Iowa delivered by rumbling for 289 yards, which included a 183-yard outing from Kamari Moulton. The passing attack was just 21-for-40, but did throw for 218 yards, and each quarterback tossed a touchdown. More importantly, threw an interception.

The biggest reason this grade is slacking a bit is Iowa's goal-line offense. It was a strength last year for the Hawkeyes, but in this game, they came up short a couple of times, with things looking clunky and difficult when things get tight. This is an area of focus moving forward for the offense.

Defense

Defense Grade: A+

This was a special performance. Every unit on defense did its job, which culminated in pitching a shutout. Deshaun Lee got on the board with a great interception, while the defensive line found some pressure on the way to six sacks.

Holding any team to 120 yards is a special effort, and it's only made better by allowing seven total rushing yards on 31 carries. This unit was the star of the day and answered some questions about Phil Parker's ability to reload talent on defense.

Special Teams

Special Teams Grade: B+

This unit was so, so close to being higher than this, but the missed extra point and the missed field goal attempt are two blemishes on the test that lower this grade ever so slightly.

The kickoff coverage was elite. Boston Everitt was solid in the punt game. And Evan James looks ready to carry the lineage of special Iowa punt returners with game-changing talents after a 77-yard punt return touchdown.

Coaching

Coaching Grade: A

Things were put to bed pretty quickly in this game, which eliminated a lot of the need for coaching decisions to be made or put in the spotlight.

Phil Parker called an excellent game, but Iowa's defense really carried the weight there. The real kudos belong to Tim Lester for continuing to mix it up, whether Jeremy Hecklinski or Hank Brown was in at quarterback, which is much easier said than done.

Overall

Overall Grade: A

This is the type of performance you expect from a good team against a lesser opponent. Far too often Iowa has played down to its opponent's level or let them hang around. Today was extremely business-like and saw the Hawkeyes show up ready to go.

It will get harder next week with Iowa State looming, but this performance provides plenty of reason to be confident as the Cy-Hawk game approaches.

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