Stat Pak: Just one B1G loss, but way too winnable, way too many breakdowns

FIVE BULLET POINTS ON THE MARYLAND RESULT

1. It ended with check downs, because that's all they could get

— In the end, Iowa needed a miracle. It got check downs.

Iowa trailed Maryland 38-31 with 59 seconds left and the ball at its 20. Even nature conspired against the Hawkeyes on this week, with quarterback Jake Rudock throwing into a whipping 17-mph wind out of the northwest.

It's an elementary football situation. Your opponent needs a TD and has no timeouts, so you drop eight or nine into coverage and make them earn it.

Rudock was left with check downs, completing three of six attempts and moving the ball 24 yards. There was nothing open deep. There were no miracles coming for the Hawkeyes, who fell to 5-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten going into this week's bye.

'It was a pretty obvious situation,' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'They're going to drop the whole team back there. It's not a good place to be. It's really not a good place to be, unless you get a miracle play or something like that.'

Iowa's maddening agony ended with wide receiver Tevaun Smith and running back Damon Bullock wrestling for a what would've been a 5- to 7-yard pass that would've left Iowa with less than 5 seconds left at midfield.

'Anything's possible,' Rudock said. 'But it's really tough when they're dropping all of their guys.'

Iowa trailed the entire fourth quarter and spent nearly all of it in this personnel group, the 11 with one running back (Bullock) split wide and a tight end with three wide receivers.

The Hawkeyes scored 10 points and gave Maryland (5-2, 2-1) something to think about at the end, but the Terrapins had a pretty good read on what Iowa wanted and needed to do and, as Ferentz said, it was an obvious situation and it wasn't a good place to be.

Will Iowa get past this, the what the defense will let it have and not what it will take, this season?

2. Iowa's five-wide spread personnel group was an easy read

— This same personnel group was in play when UM cornerback William Likely read a third-and-6 pass from Iowa's 42 and sniped it for a 45-yard interception return for a TD and a 31-21 lead with 12:29 left in the game.

The subsequent quotes from Maryland were telling.

'They were running that play a lot,' Likely said. 'We knew every time they were in trips [three wide receiver formation], three-by-two, with the back on that side, they were going to run a stick route on that side.'

Likley lined up 10 yards off Bullock, the running back who is split out wide when Iowa is in an empty backfield. He's also frequently used in the pass game and has been called Iowa's 'third down' back.

Likely locked in on Rudock's eyes. Rudock locked in on Bullock and three a quick ball. Bullock ran straight toward Likely on a stop route. It was a quick death.

'We were able to figure out what kind of plays they were going to run and make the personnel adjustments,' defensive lineman Darius Kilgo said. 'That definitely helped us out through the game.'

That couldn't have helped the Hawkeyes.

3. Postgame presser vibe

— Ferentz touched heavily on breakdowns in blocking (Iowa allowed four sacks and gained just 116 rushing yards), lack of tackling and Iowa's newfound woes in stopping the run (Maryland punched out 216 yards after averaging 155.2 going into the game).

I put the video out on Twitter and YouTube and asked for folks' impressions. The general consensus was that Ferentz held back some anger and frustration. He seemed angry at the defense, mentioning tackling. He didn't call the rush defense a crisis, but let's go ahead and at least term is a tire fire, at least here.

He also talked about blocking and the trials on the line of scrimmage. The pressures were bad. I thought the run blocking was OK. No, the numbers ended up substandard yet again (and that might be it for the running game this season, it's seven weeks in now and Iowa averages 3.79 yards a carry, story isn't totally told after week 7, but you eventually are what your numbers say you are, especially with this number). But RB Mark Weisman did average 7.8 yards on 10 rushes and Jordan Canzeri showed great toughness re-entering the game after suffering a sprained ankle (he averaged 4.4 on eight rushes).

Iowa unplugged Iowa's rush game as much as Maryland. OC Greg Davis ditched the running game trailing by three in the fourth quarter. Then, the pick six happened and that put Iowa permanently in 11 personnel and pass mode and into a wind that they all said wasn't a factor, but totally was.

Iowa ran 36 plays in the fourth quarter with no real running plays other than short plunges for first downs.

It was a game of chicken that Iowa's 11 personnel couldn't win.

4. Painfully painful mistakes

— Three other critical errors deflated an effort that saw Iowa spin defensive end Drew Ott's interception into a 14-0 first quarter lead.

— Tight end Jake Duzey caught a pass that looked to be a first down at UM's 48 early in the second, but he was stripped of the ball and Kilgo recovered to squelch the drive. It was turned into a 41-yard field goal.

— Cornerback Desmond King fumbled away a punt with 10:21 left in the third. Iowa trailed 17-14 at the time and would've had first down at UM's 36 with the wind to its back. King, who's never returned a punt, lunged at the ball and had it pop off his pads.

— On a second-and-6 from UM's 41 late in the second quarter with Iowa down 17-14, running back Jordan Canzeri ripped off what looked to be a 24-yard gain to the 17. The play was called back when center Tommy Gaul was hit with a holding penalty. He hooked up with UM linebacker Cole Ferrand and was caught with a handful of jersey.

These led to lost opportunities for the offense, which literally couldn't get out of its own way in the end. Smith let out a little anger toward Bullock, but caught himself. They both just turned and walked to the sideline.

The Hawkeyes went down trying to complete a 6-yard pass for a first down at midfield with around five seconds left in the game.

No, it was not a good place to be.

5. Jaunty jauntiness

— Whenever I describe a team as jaunty, it really means I see a team that's resourceful and really seems happy and totally into what it's doing.

As you can imagine, I describe Northwestern as 'jaunty' a lot. The Terps had a hugely jaunty moment when third-string backup QB Perry Hills connected with wide receiver Stefon Diggs for a 53-yard TD on a wonderfully executed WR screen for a 24-14 lead with 4:18 left in the third quarter.

Why was this jaunty?

Hills hadn't thrown a pass since 2012. He had a good thing going until he suffered a torn ACL in October 2012. He didn't throw a pass in 2013 and then yesterday connected on 5 of 10 for 86 yards and the TD against the Hawkeyes. He flailed in the end zone and ran for his life a bit, but he also rushed three times for 15 yards.

Hills, a former all-state wrestler from Pittsburgh who's other schollie offers were from MAC schools (how did Iowa not know about this guy?), was a high-wire act and he gave Maryland exactly what it needed exactly when it needed it.

OK, it did help that he threw to Diggs, who next year at this time will own a nice home and a nice vehicle and maybe a tiger as an NFL rookie. It also helped that Iowa ran a corner blitz right into the teeth of the screen (Greg Mabin rushed in, but Hills stuck with the throw). It also helped that TE Hayward blotted out LB Reggie Spearman. Guard Zeller blocked FS Jordan Lomax. Center Conaboy blocked SS John Lowdermilk. WR Leak pushed King out of the play and that was that.

That's jaunty, a happy, resourceful team that has an unsung do something big time.

THREE STARS

1. Maryland WR Stefon Diggs

— I've asked and I've been told Iowa can't route its offense through an electric playmaker. Iowa QBs follow the reads wherever they take them. OK, I get that. I'm also making the leap that Iowa has consistent electric playmakers. I think it has some exciting players. Of course, WR Damond Powell. I also really like Smith. When Canzeri is healthy, he's an extremely fun player. We're learning about RB Jonathan Parker.

Maryland funneled everything through its best player. Diggs ended the day with 11 touches for 142 yards and a TD. He caught nine passes for 130 yards.

I think Iowa could route through a brilliant player. I don't think Iowa has a Diggs.

2. Maryland QB C.J. Brown

— The sixth-year senior had 21 carries for 99 yards and completed 12 of 23 for 120 yards and two interceptions. Not great numbers, but showed a lot of heart coming back from having his neck being Gumby'd. He also ran the Terps' zone read with hocus-pocus deception. Iowa had a hard time finding who had the ball all day.

3. Maryland DE Andre Monroe

— He finished with a tackle for loss, a half sack and six tackles. But the 5-11 appliance with a brilliant first step was much more than that.

Here's what the SBNation blog Testudo Times wrote: It's time to recognize Monroe as one of the best ends in the Big Ten. He's got very strong numbers — 5.5 sacks now in seven games — and, as he showed today, can be a real terror even when he isn't racking up J.J. Watt numbers from his edge-rushing position. Monroe, all 5 feet 11 inches of him, got the better of highly-touted Iowa left tackle Brandon Scherff on Saturday, limiting Iowa's options on the ground and in the air. When he doesn't have pads on, Monroe doesn't look much like a star college football player. He isn't comparatively big and doesn't have outrageous measurables. But he's developed into a terrific asset for Randy Edsall's program. Just ask Scherff.

FILM ROOM

Third-and-2

— Iowa forced a punt at the beginning of the fourth quarter down 24-21. It was a punt into the wind, so 35 yards later, first down Hawkeyes at their 48.

On first down, Weisman rushed for 5 yards. Second down, another 3 from Weisman. It's third-and-2.

Iowa came out in 21 (RB, FB, one TE) and so Maryland was probably thinking run. And so when Rudock dropped back to throw, he had options.

Right off the bat, fullback John Kenny was open for a first down in the flat. A tick later, tight end Henry Krieger-Coble was open short right for first-down yardage.

Rudock didn't look their way and instead tried TE Ray Hamilton on a medium out route along the right seam. Throw was late. Safety reached over Hamilton and batted the ball down. Perfect play.

Kenny was open early. HKC was open. Rudock had time. He threw the ball over HKC and clearly went for 15 when all Iowa needed was 2.

Pass on the flat route to Kenny would've gotten it done. Iowa would've had first down at around UM's 40.

Was the wind a factor on this play? Perhaps. Hamilton wasn't open, either.

This was hardly the play that got Iowa beat. You saw the blocking and tackling, the lifeblood of Iowa football now and forever. That's what lost this game.

There was a ton of screaming about C.J. Beathard in the cyber world. I think he would've played if he were healthy. Ferentz said he was 'nicked up' after Indiana, but was available. The plan was Rudock and they stuck with Rudock.

I wonder how 'available' CJB was. He never warmed up after the pregame. The only time he took off headphones was to hand them to Rudock so he could talk to coaches in the booth.

This wasn't the play that got Iowa beat. It was another missed opportunity. Those piled up and this was one of those plays that either got heavy scrutiny in today's video study or it was already discussed and passed over quickly.

TWO PLAYS

1. Gaul hold

— I thought it was a really well executed outside zone. Canzeri bounced it and did benefit from Gaul's block. UM LB Cole Farrand, what you want in a linebacker, was in pursuit. Gaul was locked on him. He did have jersey, but I thought Gaul's head and hands were where they needed to be. Head was across and even with Farrand's. Hands were on the front numbers.

Referee probably through the flag because he thought Farrand had an angle and Gaul was hanging on for dear life.

Call could've gone either way. It stung. Iowa would've had a first down at UM's 17 late in the first half. Might've scored. In two quarters going into the wind, Iowa scored 10 points, all coming in the desperation time of fourth quarter. A score here into the wind before half would've been a monumental lift. Tough call.

Iowa ended up juggling the interior OL. Ferentz said freshman Sean Welsh suffered a leg injury. Junior Jordan Walsh replaced him. Gaul stuck. They all had their struggles keeping Rudock vertical.

2. King's muffed punt

— Good, smart players sometimes take chances and make bad decisions. I'm not sure how much of a chance this was. King has never returned a punt, but let's assume he can catch one. This was into the wind, so, yes, it was tailing away from him and slightly into coverage. Riley McCarron was deeper and did signal for a fair catch. King lunged at the ball and fell to his knees. It was a tough catch. He was square to the ball and his feet weren't set. You have to like the instinct. King obviously wanted the best possible field position. The execution lacked.

This would've been a first down at UM's 35 with the wind and trailing just 17-14.

NEXT UP — BYE WEEK

— Finally into 'Canada' and love it.

— Podcast Monday. Big Ten teleconference Tuesday and I'm out.

— Yes, I know Iowa's next four opponents will be coming off byes or something like that.

It's November. It's hate month (all border rivals, all the time). Iowa does have a chance to play meaningful football.

This was just one loss. It was a loss full of missed opportunities and a totally bitter pill, I get that.

Your real bone of contention should be the red flags that sprouted for this team.

Maryland rushed for 216 yards against the Hawkeyes. Minnesota RB David Cobb has rushed for 200 yards almost three times this season. Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah has 22 career 100-yard games. Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon averages 8.0 yards a carry FOR HIS CAREER.

Iowa is in for a run of physical tests running and stopping the run.

THE NUMBERS GAME

Touchdowns in the red zone

Iowa

— 4 of 5

Maryland

— 2 of 3

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. UNI — 4 of 6 (off), 3 of 3 (def); Week 2 vs. BSU — 2 of 6 (off), 1 of 2 (def); Week 3 vs. ISU — 2 of 2 (off), 1 of 2 (def); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 3 of 3 (off), 2 of 4 (def); Week 5 at Purdue — 2 of 5 (off), 0-1 (def); Week 6 vs. Indiana — 3 of 4 (off), 1 of 2 (def)

The takeaway:

These numbers are a little distorted because of the pick six and the 53-yard screen explosion for UM. This is a winning number for Iowa's offense. In fact, if you were given this number on Friday night, you would've thought Iowa victory by two scores.

3 and outs (forced by defense)

Iowa

— 8

Maryland

— 10

Tracking the Hawkeyes:

Week 1 vs. UNI — 3 (off), 3 (def); Week 2 vs. BSU — 5 (def), 3 (off); Week 3 vs. ISU — 2 (def), 3 (off); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 0 (off) 2 (def); Week 5 at Purdue — 7 (def), 6 (off); Week 6 vs. Indiana — 8 (def), 6 (off)

The takeaway:

Defensively, Iowa only forced one three-and-out in the first half (Ott's pick on the first drive). Iowa's defense was OK in the third quarter except for the 53-yarder. That and the pick six were monumental plays in a game that had several little-big plays. Offensively, the third quarter was an epic fail. Iowa had an average starting field position of its 42 (35I, 43I, 37I, 49I and 48I). The last one ran from the end of the third and into the fourth. The Hawkeyes had the wind and that field position and worked it for seven points. This is when the Diggs screen happened. Huge flip in the script that held with the wind.

Iowa rushed eight times for 69 yards this quarter, but completed just 5 of 11 for 31 yards. It converted just one third down.

Second half adjustments

Iowa

— 263 yards, 4.78 yards per play (55 plays)

Maryland

— 172 yards, 4.77 yards per play (36 plays)

Tracking the Hawkeyes:

Week 1 vs. UNI — 190 yards, 5.93 yards per play (32 offensive plays), 199 yards, 5.68 yards per play (35 plays on defense); Week 2 vs. BSU — 247 yards, 5.61 yards per play (44 plays on offense), 128 yards, 3.55 yards per play (30 plays on defense); Week 3 vs. ISU — 102 yards, 3.64 yards per play (28 plays on offense), 190 yards, 5.27 yards per play (36 plays on defense); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 183 yards, 5.90 yards per play (31 plays on offense), 173 yards, 5.40 yards per play (32 plays on defense); Week 5 at Purdue — 284 yards, 5.65 yards per play (50 plays on offense), 56 yards, 1.86 yards per play (30 plays on defense); Week 6 vs. Indiana — 126 yards, 3.6 yards per play (35 plays on offense), 185 yards, 5.78 yards per play (32 plays on defense)

The takeaway:

Iowa did lengthen the game and gave itself a chance at the end. It wasn't a quality chance and a few Maryland players said after the game that it didn't have to be that close. Iowa's 55 plays gets your attention, but Rudock also had 43 incompletions in a lot of all-throw mode (24 of 43 for 203 yards, TD and INT in the second, which was a 98.49 pass efficiency).

20-plus plays

Iowa

— 4

Maryland

— 5

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. UNI — 3 (off), 7 (allowed); Week 2 vs. BSU — 1 (off), 1 (def); Week 3 vs. ISU — 1 (off), 3 (def); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 2 (off), 7 (def); Week 5 at Purdue 4 (off), 1 (def); Week 6 vs Indiana — 4 (off), 5 (def)

The takeaway

: Iowa did OK here, but Maryland did better. Maryland forgot to cover Bullock out of the backfield for a 52-yarder that helped set up Iowa's second TD. Weisman busted free for a 38-yard run. Iowa didn't score off its 20-plus plays; Maryland scored twice. RB Jacquille Veii broke tackles at the line of scrimmage and bounced out a 23-yard TD run. Diggs scored on the 53-yard screen. He also had a 27-yard reception.

The Iowa/Greg Davis definition of explosive (it's 12-plus runs and 16-plus passes)

: 10 (Indiana 4, Purdue 13, UNI 6, BSU 6, ISU 1, Pitt 4)

Magic points (scores inside of two minutes)

Iowa

— 7

Maryland

— 0

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. UNI — 3 (off), 0 (allowed); Week 2 vs. BSU — 7 (off), 0 (allowed) Week 3 vs. ISU — 0 (off), 3 (allowed); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 0 (off), 3 (def); Week 5 at Purdue — 3 (off), 0 (def); Week 6 vs. Indiana — 7 (off), 0 (def)

The takeaway:

Marshall Koehn's 24-yard field goal came with 1:19 left in the game. Maryland then forced Iowa to burn all three of its timeouts on a three-play, 4-yard, 19-second drive. Iowa had the ball at its 20 with 59 seconds left. It was a chance, but not much of a chance.

Short yardage (converted second-5 and third-5)

Iowa

— 10 of 17

Maryland

— 8 of 10

Tracking the Hawkeyes:

Week 1 vs. UNI — 9 of 15 (off), 5 of 10 (def); Week 2 vs. BSU — 9 of 13 (off), 5 of 7 (def); Week 3 vs. ISU: 14 of 19 (off), 10 of 14 (def); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 10 of 17 (off), 8 of 15 (def); Week 5 at Purdue — 8 of 18 (off), 7 of 18 (def); Week 6 vs. Indiana — 3 of 14 (off), 3 of 9 (def)

The takeaway

: Maryland's Brown ran the zone read to perfection on third down, converting three of these. Terps also converted a fourth-and-1 for a 1-yard TD. Weisman converted 4 of 5 short-yardage attempts, including two for TDs. Rudock threw four times in short yardage and converted three.

Disruption numbers (number of TFLs/sacks, QB hurries, passes defended and turnovers divided by total number of opponent plays)

Iowa

— 6.0 TFL/sacks (2.0), 3 PBU, 5 QBH, 2 INT = 16 divided into 79 = 20.2 percent

Maryland

— 4 TFL/sacks (4.0), 1 FF, 2 FR, 9 QBH, 8 PBU, 1 INT = 25 divided into 87 = 28.7 percent

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. UNI — 14.2 percent (off), 29 percent (def); Week 2 vs. BSU — 18 percent (def), 18 percent (vs. off); Week 3 vs. ISU — 17 percent (def), 22 percent (vs. off); Week 4 vs. Pitt — 16.7 percent (def), 11.3 percent (vs. off); Week 5 at Purdue — 19.1 percent (def), 15.9 percent (off); Week 6 vs. Indiana — 23.3 percent (def), 14.4 percent (off)

The takeaway

: That's a decent number for the defense. For the offense, horrible. That's as disrupted as Iowa's offense has been this season. Rudock had 21 plays affected by the defense, including QB hurries, sacks, pass breakups and the pick. Iowa lost the line of scrimmage to a first-year Big Ten team. You want to blame the QB for this? QB was far from perfect, but QB also was about sixth or seventh on the checklist of destruction.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com