Iowa football rewind: Joe Evans’ big sack, Kaleb Brown’s November emergence

IOWA CITY — Clinching an outright Big Ten West division title seems to have some side benefits for Iowa football players, including regarding how long they can celebrate Saturday’s win.

“I did encourage the guys maybe to break the 24-hour rule this time,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ll make a small exception.”

Ferentz’s leniency on the 24-hour rule — something players frequently mention in postgame interviews after a big win or bad loss — comes despite having a short week ahead of a Friday game against Nebraska.

The outcome of Friday’s game against Nebraska will not have any impact on Iowa’s postseason opportunities, though. The Hawkeyes are going to the Big Ten championship game regardless of what happens on Friday, and the result in Lincoln is very unlikely to change the team’s desirability to bowl organizers.

“May not play our starters next week, like the NFL,” Ferentz said, seemingly in a joking manner. “We’re going, right? So what the hell?”

Here are a few observations from re-watching the game:

Deja vu with Joe Evans’ big sack

Considering Iowa’s two-point margin of victory, Joe Evans’ early sack for a safety turned out to be an obvious difference-maker on Saturday.

It was on a third-and-12 on the Illinois 5-yard line. Iowa had a four-man rush as its linebackers dropped back in coverage.

Deontae Craig was inside at defensive tackle while Joe Evans was on the outside. Craig and Evans executed what Iowa calls a “U game.”

Craig essentially set a pick on the outside, drawing the attention of both the right guard and right tackle. Meanwhile, Evans went behind and around Craig and had a near-perfect path to Illinois quarterback John Paddock.

Illinois right guard Zy Crisler’s late recognition and attempt at blocking Evans provided little resistance as Evans got to Paddock and poked the ball loose.

Crisler then dove on the ball to limit the damage to two Hawkeye points instead of seven.

As Evans pointed out to reporters after the game, the big play had some resemblance to Evans’ other sack that resulted in Iowa points — the strip-sack for a touchdown last year against Ohio State.

That time, it was Logan Lee setting the pick on the left side of Ohio State’s offensive line to create space for Evans to make the big play. Evans then went totally untouched through the A gap and knocked the ball loose from then-Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Kaleb Brown looking like a WR1

Kaleb Brown has been on a rapid ascent in the month of November.

Through the first two months, Brown did not have any receptions and was targeted only three times, according to Pro Football Focus. He had two carries for eight yards against Western Michigan, but that was the extent of his offensive involvement in September and October.

November has been a much different story. He has 11 catches for 121 yards in Iowa’s first three games of the month.

The Ohio State transfer had his best performance of the season against Illinois, hauling in a team-high seven catches for 71 yards. His biggest reception was in the first quarter for a gain of 31 yards.

The catch itself was as much of a schematic win as anything else. Illinois bought the play action, as it had done on earlier plays as well, creating a wide-open space in the middle of the field for Brown.

What happened after Brown caught the ball at the Iowa 44-yard line was excellent execution of the excellent play call. He eluded the first two Illinois defensive backs before finally being taken down at the Illinois 36-yard line.

Iowa did not score any points on the drive, but Brown’s 20 yards after the catch at least put the Hawkeyes in a position for kicker Drew Stevens to attempt a 53-yard field goal (that went wide right).

Brown’s impact in the passing game went beyond what was visible in the box score.

In the first quarter, the Chicago native drew a defensive pass interference while running a slant route on third down. The penalty kept an eventual touchdown drive alive.

Brown later drew a defensive holding penalty in the fourth quarter that gave the Hawkeyes 10 yards and a first down. He beat Illinois’ Kaleb Patterson on a double move, and Patterson had to grab him to prevent a touchdown. That drive also ended in a touchdown.

Quick toss

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com