Too much jerky, not enough herky

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Iowa's charter leaves for home 10: 30 this morning. You could argue it took a detour in the first half of the Insight Bowl.

No. 19 Oklahoma put Iowa's offense in a headlock, for the most part, and held off the Hawkeyes, 31-14, before 54,247 fans Friday night at Sun Devil Stadium. It was Iowa's second consecutive Insight appearance and the bowl set an attendance record for the second straight year.

The lumbering running quarterback Blake Bell rushed for three touchdowns and the throwing NFL prospect quarterback Landry Jones chipped a tooth and threw a third-quarter TD that gave OU (10-3) a 21-0 lead with 7:42 left in the third quarter.

Oklahoma kicker Michael Hunnicutt sealed it with a 35-yard field goal with 2:28 left in the game.

The Hawkeyes finished a herky-jerky 2011 with a thud in the desert, watching a three-bowl winning streak go by the boards while falling to 7-6.

Let's assume the "herky" is a positive for the team with the Herky mascot.

Jerky, the offense in the first half.

Herky, the TD drives in the second half that erased a three-TD deficit.

Jerky, quarterback James Vandenberg going 9 of 20 in the first half.

Herky, after throwing a 9-yard screen pass to freshman running back Jordan Canzeri, Vandenberg was 23 of 42 with nearly seven minutes left in the game.

Jerky, Iowa State, Minnesota, Michigan State.

Herky, Pitt, Michigan, Purdue.

Iowa's defense did retiring coordinator Norm Parker proud with an excellent effort, but Iowa's offense never broke free from said headlock.

Iowa's offensive effort, until getting it together at times late in the game, was pretty accurately summed up in this sequence: Vandenberg hit wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley for a 38-yard gain to OU's 35 late in the first half. But no, the Hawkeyes were flagged for an illegal formation. So, instead of first-and-10 deep in Oklahoma territory, Iowa faced first-and-25 from its 22.

Oh, and right tackle Markus Zusevics was on the sidelines throwing up because of the flu that zapped him this week. Throw in the fact that wide receiver Marvin McNutt was held to one catch for 10 yards in the first half, which came on Iowa's first drive, and it was an all-wretch for Iowa.

McNutt needed eight catches to set Iowa's career receptions record. He caught four for 46 yards, falling three short of tying Derrell Johnson-Koulianos' career record of 173 receptions. McNutt also caught a wrist injury on his first catch and a dinged shoulder in the third quarter, which was severe enough to hamper his range of motion.

Also, Zusevics never returned and linebacker James Morris was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury in the first half.

In a grip-and-grunt game with two old coaching buddies, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and OU's Bob Stoops -- who really don't want to be coaching against each other -- turnovers were going to be a big deal.

It was hard to tell if it was a bad route or what, but Vandenberg threw behind McNutt on Iowa's second series and right to OU cornerback Jamell Fleming, whose return was boosted by a late-hit penalty called on Vandenberg.

The late hit didn't count against Vandenberg's pass efficiency, but he was 1 of 7 at this point with the interception, which was an efficiency of minus-2.3. If you didn't think they had minus efficiency, well, apparently they do.

Oklahoma immediately went to the "Belldozer," a formation that takes advantage of Bell's 6-6, 245 pounds. And on second-and-goal from the 4, Bell plowed into the end zone untouched for a 7-0 lead with 10:19 left in the first quarter. It was Bell's 11th rush TD this season.

Iowa countered with a serious threat, but running back Jordan Canzeri was stopped for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from OU's 6. OU was late running some personnel off the field, but the Pac-12 officials didn't see it, sending the Iowa sideline into full uproar.

The Sooners had 7 yards on eight plays in the first quarter, but still led 7-0.

You knew the yards would come and they did early in the second quarter.

The Hawkeyes had OU pinned on a third-and-11 at Oklahoma's 45, but Jones had a ton of time and found wide receiver Kameel Jackson for a 15-yard gain to Iowa's 40. Jones scrambled for a first down on a second-and-6 from Iowa's 21, and a personal foul for a helmet-to-helmet on safety Jordan Bernstine moved the ball to Iowa's 8.

From there, OU again called on the "Belldozer." Bell ran a draw to the left for 4 yards, and then ran a sweep to the right for his second untouched 4-yard TD run, giving the Sooners a 14-0 lead with 6:56 before halftime.

At this point, it's time to debate if Oklahoma is the best defense Iowa has faced this season. Penn State? That's a good one, top 10 nationally. Michigan State? Not bad, but the Hawkeyes did score 21 on the Spartans.

The lone bright spot was Canzeri, who rushed 22 times for 58 yards and caught six passes for 28 yards. The 172-pounder, of course, was in for sophomore Marcus Coker, who was suspended for the Insight Bowl because of an unspecified violation of the student-athlete's Code of Conduct.

His status remains up in the air, and so does the status of freshman running back Mika'il McCall, who's been suspended since late November.

Iowa's defensive coaching staff also is in flux. Ferentz has some questions to answer, some comings and goings.

The questions were too jerky and the answers weren't herky enough against the Sooners.

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