Iowa HC Reveals Key Reason Behind Loss to Indiana

One of the oldest golden rules in sports is the rule of margins. When the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2) (1-1) took to a vibrant Kinnick Stadium to face the No.11 Indiana Hoosiers (5-0) (2-0), it is safe to say the 20-15 scoreline in favor of the Hoosiers came down to the finest of margins.

Despite the Hoosiers and the Hawkeyes remaining relatively even on a number of stats, like first downs, where Indiana’s 18 outpaced Iowa’s 17, or the Hawkeyes converting on 6-16 third downs compared to the Hoosiers’ 6-15 mark. Probably the most glaring mistake of the whole entire game from Iowa came down to their poor pursuit of tackles, which allowed for chunks of back-breaking yardage to be gained by Indiana coach Curt Cignetti’s squad.

When asked the tackle problems postgame, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz detailed, “Yeah, if there is one thing defensively to me, after this block of games, yeah, we have to get better at tackling. I got to see the tape from today, but it seems to me like a lot of it is more the inexperienced guys, guys who haven't had as much game competition, and typically bad angles or where your eyes are.”

The longtime Iowa coach continued. "Those are the two things that really -- thinking about one play here in the second half, where we were outside in on a guy instead of being inside out. You just open the door for some bad things. That's one thing we knew coming in this game. Indiana had a lot of yards after catch last week against their opponent -- it's one thing to give up a completion. That will happen. You can't make the bleeding worse. Got to get it stopped. We had a couple of those today, too. They have some good players and those guys did a good job. Yeah, tackling is definitely on the list."

What made the difference in Indiana's win — Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz gives team updates during a press conference as spring training begins Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While not all the blame can be put on an Iowa defense, as the Hawkeyes' offense averaged just 4.1 yards per play. It is the little things in a game of this magnitude. Even when the Hawkeyes held the ball for over five minutes more than the Hoosiers at a 32:39 to 27:21 clip, combined with the missed 42-yard field goal from kicker Drew Stevens that would have pushed Ferntz’s side into a 16-13 lead, margins like the multiple missed tackles played a pivotal role in Iowa’s first conference loss of the season.

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