Iowa has some passing statistics I never thought I'd see

First and foremost, the statistic that matters most is this in college football: Wins and losses. Everything else is for giggles and snorts.

Iowa is 2-0 in the Big Ten. That's as good as it gets for two games.

Which makes the following statistics more like peccadilloes instead of cardinal sins, but they're still pretty surprising after a half-season with a senior quarterback in James Vandenberg:

In passing efficiency, the Hawkeyes are 114th of the 120 FBS teams that aren't reclassifying/provisional. There are four reclassifying/provisional teams, but that's not our concern.

Iowa is tied with Army at 118th in passing touchdowns with two. Army has thrown 61 passes, Iowa 195. New Mexico is last with one. It has thrown 84 passes. New Mexico, like Iowa, has a winning record.

Iowa is last in FBS in the percent of its touchdown passes that are touchdowns at 1.03.

Iowa is 115th in yards per pass attempt, at 5.82.

Last season, Iowa was 46th in passing efficiency. It completed 6.1 percent of its passes for touchdowns, and averaged 7.41 yards per pass attempt.

Yet, the Hawkeyes have more passing yards per game (189.0) than four Big Ten teams including Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern.

And for glass-half-fullers, Iowa is tied for 22nd in fewest interceptions thrown, with a mere three. Michigan's Denard Robinson has eight.

Iowa has allowed just one quarterback sack in its last five games.

And, oh yeah, the Hawkeyes are 19th nationally in total defense. There's your 4-2 and 2-0.