Iowa football rewind: How Iowa missed tantalizing opportunities in Cy-Hawk loss

IOWA CITY — Iowa football suffered the type of loss on Saturday against Iowa State that has the ability to sting a little longer.

“After a loss like this, it's tough,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “There's not much you can say to make anybody feel any better, and that's the first thing you say. It's going to hurt for a while.”

The what-ifs are plentiful for the Hawkeyes in the 20-19 rivalry loss. Here is a closer look at a few of the especially tantalizing missed opportunities after re-watching Saturday’s game:

From first-and-goal on the 1 … to a field goal

It’s hard to ask for a better opportunity than what Iowa had at the beginning of the second quarter.

Iowa had a first-and-goal on the 1-yard line, essentially meaning the Hawkeyes had three (or potentially four) tries to get one yard for a touchdown.

On first down, Iowa employed “23” personnel — two running backs, three tight ends and no wide receivers — with fullback Hayden Large lined up as a tight end. It was an inside run for Kamari Moulton, the lone running back in the backfield.

The heavy personnel grouping led to a clear blocking mismatch on the line. Iowa walk-on tight end Johnny Pascuzzi had to block 325-pound defensive tackle Dominique Orange in a matchup that unsurprisingly did not fare well for the 241-pound Pascuzzi. Orange broke past Pascuzzi with ease and leveled Moulton before the redshirt freshman running back had a chance to get back to the line of scrimmage.

Iowa showed some creativity on second-and-goal from the 4-yard line as Terrell Washington Jr. went into motion and took a jet touch pass, but Washington could not get to the edge fast enough as Iowa State defensive back Beau Freyler tackled him for another loss.

Iowa then went with an empty backfield with two tight ends on third-and-goal from the 5, and the offensive line gave Cade McNamara plenty of time to throw. McNamara could not connect with Jacob Gill, however, amid tight coverage from Freyler.

The Hawkeyes — literally one yard away from the end zone three plays earlier — had to settle for a 23-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal.

First-and-goal on the 3 … also ending in a field goal

Iowa had another outstanding scoring opportunity in the final 93 seconds of the second quarter. It was first-and-goal from the 3-yard line.

Iowa went with the same “23” personnel set that it did on the previous first-and-goal on first-and-goal and second-and-goal, and it again failed to produce positive results.

This time with Leshon Williams in the backfield instead of Moulton, Iowa called a play-action pass on first down. No receiver was open, and McNamara quickly dumped it over the head of Addison Ostrenga.

Then on second down, Williams rushed for no gain as Iowa’s two tight ends and one fullback on the right side struggled to create room for Williams to run against Iowa State’s first and second-level defenders.

On third down, Iowa switched to “12” personnel and put Gill in motion. The motion created an apparent defensive miscue — no one was covering Gill in the end zone as the Northwestern transfer went on the “out” route — but McNamara did not see him and instead missed a tightly-covered Ostrenga.

Between Iowa’s two drives that ended in field goals, the Hawkeyes had a combined minus-four yards on six plays at or inside the 5-yard line. Kaleb Johnson, who had an outstanding 187 rushing yards and was Iowa’s biggest offensive threat, was on the field for only one of the six plays.

“When you do get an opportunity to go and be opportunistic, having the ball down inside the 5, we need to come away with touchdowns,” Ferentz said. “Because it's like walking a guy in the ninth inning in baseball; usually that comes back and gets you.”

Failed 2-point conversion attempt

In a game where every point mattered, Iowa’s failed two-point conversion attempt in the third quarter came back to haunt the Hawkeyes.

A successful conversion would have expanded Iowa’s lead to 21-7 — two touchdowns — and given the defense some cushion.

“I thought it gave us our best chance to win the football game,” Ferentz said.

But when the conversion failed, the door was open for Iowa State to take the lead with one touchdown and two field goals, which is exactly what happened after that point in the game.

As for the play itself, it was up to true freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee to beat Iowa State’s Darien Porter on a fade route. As impressive as Vander Zee’s debut was a week ago, that is a tall task for a young receiver against a sixth-year defensive back.

One big problem with Iowa’s final Hail Mary pass

With one second left after Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy’s 54-yard field goal and Iowa running back Max White’s excellent kickoff return, the Hawkeyes had one shot at reclaiming the lead from the ISU 49-yard line.

Iowa logically opted for a Hail Mary pass. It was too far for a field goal, and a 50-yard throw is theoretically not too much to ask for from a starting quarterback at a Big Ten school.

But McNamara did not put enough strength on the throw to even give the Hawkeyes a realistic shot at a last-second touchdown reception. McNamara’s heave made it to the 8-yard line when Porter picked off the pass.

Even if Porter did not grab the game-clinching interception, the odds of an Iowa receiver catching the Hail Mary and then staying on their feet for another five to 10 yards (all while being outnumbered by Iowa State defensive backs) seemed unlikely.

When Ferentz talked in his postgame news conference about how Iowa “came up short here at the end,” the figurative expression (perhaps unintentionally) had some literal meaning, too.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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