Iowa should have stuck with Hank at the start of the game.
Heck played against a cardboard cutout defense in Washington, and had huge help from the success of the run game. Against Minnesota he was just making a single read, and if it wasnt there he forced it, hence the terrible pick in the red zone this could have been a determining factor in the outcome of the game.
Benching Hank after coming back from an Injury against Ohio State would take a hit on any player's confidence, even with the expectation that he will be coming in during the back half of the game. It took too long for the passing game to get a rhythm, and at that point it was too little, too late.
Minnesota has a solid run defense, but my god, the Offensive line is so inconsistent. How are you supposed to move the ball when you have two pulling OL getting blown up by the secondary in the backfield? They do exactly what they should against lesser competition but ISU, OSU, and Michigan also ate the OL up this year.
Back to back false starts by Lauck was frustrating. You cant be doing that as a veteran. Penalties as a whole have been very uncharacteristic for an Iowa team.
The right side of the line has struggled all year, both in the run and the pass. It almost feels as though this line has caused the RBs to hit their runs with less confidence. Missed some big cutbacks, but they didnt really have much to work with to begin with.
The front seven looked so good today. The linebackers were quick, and the front 4 did a solid job of disrupting Minnesota's OL for most of the game. They needed to rattle Lindsey, and that's exactly what they did.
The secondary is improving, but still has moments where they show their inexperience. The Watson NZ infraction, Styles blowing that coverage to set up the walk off. With that being said, if they stick with Iowa, I think the secondary is going to be rock solid in the future, Hawkins and Brown included.
Parker is one of the best in the game, but his 2 min defense has always been ass.
Overall a well called game by Lester, Iowa just couldn't hide there weaknesses this week. My only complaint with play calling was running at on 3rd and 4 at midfield just to follow it up with a punt at 4th and 2. Either pass on 3rd and medium, or go for it on 4th after the run. Didn't make much sense imo.
Very frustrating game to watch, especially with the late TD to tie it up just to piss down your leg when your defense is needed the most.
Most importantly, I cant stand PJ Fleck in any way, shape, or form and he's probably gonna do some weird ass shit to Floyd, which preemptively rubs me the wrong way. End rant.
