Stat Pak: You’ve eaten all of the B1G title game tickets

FIVE BULLET POINTS FROM THE PURDUE RESULT

1. A note on offensive personnel groups

- Someone sent a tweet about Iowa's offensive personnel groups and predictability. I get that, they are predictable. Remember in January, when head coach Kirk Ferentz mentioned the Packers during that news conference that, if you were listening, was a declaration of principles more so than the unveiling of a new starting QB? We all, me included, jumped to conclusion that Iowa really was going to break out some new, different ideas.

Well, they didn't and it's worked, so, you know, take a victory lap Iowa staff.

Iowa's personnel groups are mostly what they are. The only change there has been more 20 (two backs, no tight ends), but even that hasn't been drastic. You've seen more changes in where players lineup, where they motion in and away from. How much? I don't know, my charting isn't that nuanced. Still, when Iowa lines up two backs and two TEs, it's more run than not. If the Patriots lineup in that personnel group (and all teams have roughly the same personnel groupings), it's probably a run. That's . . . heh heh heh . . . football.

It's all set up for that one time that a 22 isn't a run. Or that one time that 11 (one back, one TE) out of the shotgun is a run. Or for play-action naked bootlegs that have heated up now that QB C.J. Beathard seems to have improved health.

Examples: On a second-and-9, out of 21 personnel (two backs, one TE), Beathard hit WR Tevaun Smith for a 16-yard gain. Suddenly, a run personnel group was a pass play executed at a high level.

And then there's the cumulative effect of execution. Iowa puts a personnel group on the field. You, as the defensive coordinator, have the tendency math in your head and call a run-stop defense. And the play still goes for 4 yards or 3 or even 2.

Iowa's run play is, as you know, the inside zone. In the fourth quarter, Iowa ran four consecutive plays out of 21 personnel. RB Jordan Canzeri homered on the first one, following a block from fullback Adam Cox. Iowa dialed it up again after a timeout and it went for a 2-yard loss. It followed with another 21 and drew a pass interference. And then, the finisher, another 21 from Purdue's 22, except this time, Beathard pulls the ball out of Canzeri's arms and bootlegs. Iowa flooded the left side of Purdue's secondary. Beathard, running left and throwing right, hit wide-open TE Henry Krieger Coble who scored from 22 yards.

And then there's playing to strength. Iowa ran around 19 11 personnels out of shotgun vs. Purdue. That happens to be Beathard's favorite (he's told me he prefers working out of shotgun). When the pass wasn't there, he took off and ran for first downs (both third-and-10 conversions Beathard made with his feet were from 11 shotguns).

So, in short, yes, what Iowa does out of personnel groups is predictable. But, certainly this year more than last, you see the idea behind it. 1) There's the cumulative effect of a defense not being able to stop the run when it knows the run is coming. And 2) it sets up a defense for when the offense does go against tendency.

2. Defensive snap counts - I know I've kind of hammered on this during the week. I wrote about it here last Sunday. I wrote about it here during the week. Some of those were eye openers, yes, but I kind of get Ferentz's point, too. The cavalry isn't coming, so, yeah, it is what it is and suck it up.

Having talked to a lot of these guys the whole year, I think that's exactly how they want it. But, yes, the question stands, is that optimum? It's not so much for D-linemen, and so . . . against Purdue you saw a few more new faces out there. Not really new, but you saw some backups scoop up some more snaps.

Freshman defensive end Matt Nelson played perhaps his best game with 33 snaps. DT Faith Ekakitie has seen his profile bloom a little more the last few weeks. He got 25 snaps. Junior walk-on DT Kyle Terlouw was out there for 10. (Again, thanks to @Hawkeyegamefilm for the snap counts.)

Still, the 'locked into suck it up mode” still stands the next two weeks. Iowa has a fixed amount of defensive players it knows well and trusts to play the majority of snaps. Those guys are going to play 99 percent of the snaps. Seriously, 99 percent.

And that's it for me on this topic. I won't ask KF again, either. I'm not going to act like this is some great discovery and the reason why Minnesota and Purdue were able to move the ball against the Hawkeyes. I think this might be part of it, but I don't think it's a be-all, end-all kind of answer.

3. Big Ten title game tickets talk

- The Big Ten has had championship football games since 2011. Iowa clinched its first berth and boy, oh boy are you all over it.

That's the good news. The bad news is some of you have started to hear from the UI that your ticket requests have been denied because, well, they're out.

Here's the email sent out by Pam Finke, UI Ticket Manager (a friendly Iowa season ticket holder fowarded it to me):

Dear (Person who was nice enough to forward this to me),

Thank you for the great support this season! Unfortunately, due to a large demand for the Big Ten Football Championship we are unable to fill your request for any tickets. We had requests for over 16,000 tickets and our allotment is 10,000 seats at Lucas Oil Stadium. The priority points breakoff was at 103 points for receiving tickets from our allotment. Your point total is XX (way below 103).

The Big Ten Conference is expecting to announce a sell out for this event, the primary market place is at www.ticketmaster.com . Their preferred secondary sales vehicle is at www.vividseats.com but you may also find tickets at www.stubhub.com . I do not know at this point what the secondary market for tickets will be, but it does fluctuate based on many factors. Below this note, there is a map of Lucas Oil Stadium and a listing of which sections are assigned to Iowa for the game.

Again, we apologize that we are unable to fill your request for the Big Ten Football Playoff Tickets but we truly appreciate your support the past season! Additional Post-Season ticket information will follow this week.

Good luck to everyone. If you don't hit this, remember there's always the Rose/New Year's Six/Citrus Bowl. (That's the bowl area in which I believe Iowa is slotted. There, I'm internet dirty now. I've thrown out some blind guesses on Iowa's bowl destination. I hate guessing, but I feel obligate. Please click away.)

4. King-dom come or go

- Wanted to get a gauge on cornerback Desmond King's plans for his senior year, so I asked the question. Sure, be mad online about the question. How can I ask that when they're HUNTING FOR PERFECTION? I don't know, you guys, it just came out. That's kind of how this works with me sometimes. I blurt. I try to ask the things you want to know.

So, I asked King about his plans for this senior year. He didn't suddenly lose concentration and disintegrate. I didn't sprout horns. He answered as honestly as he possibly could. We both walked away from it fine. I left it at that. I thought I was pushing my luck simply by asking. I could feel Ferentz about ready to burst through the wall and throttle me to within an inch of my video camera (that doesn't make sense, but Stat Pak has that from time to time).

'I'm not sure where I'm at right now,” King said. 'I'm still undecided. I'm not going to think about it until it's time for me to think about it. Right now I'm focusing on this season and my team.”

A bunch of factors will go into it, but with eight interceptions, it's a legit possibility for King. The deadline to declare is something like 10 days after the last bowl game (it's a very quick turnaround). I've heard possible second-round grade for King. How fast will he clock a 40-yard dash? Is he big enough to play safety in the NFL? Those are questions that will be on NFL clipboards.

5. How four RBs might work - The one concrete takeaway from Purdue is we might now know how four RBs are going to work for the next three games. (And it is three games now, that is a fact.)

- LeShun Daniels and Jordan Canzeri will split No. 1 carries. I had quite a few people ask if Daniels was hurt yesterday. He finished the game and talked in the postgame, so if he was, it's not serious. Canzeri has three games to total 176 and eclipse the 1,000 mark. Iowa's last 1,000-yard rusher? You know who it was. Marcus Coker went for 1,384 in 2011. Mark Weisman was close in 2013, but was stopped at 974 against a great LSU defense in the Outback Bowl.

- I'm not telling you anything you don't know when I write Derrick Mitchell is the third down back. Iowa tried a couple of screens against Purdue. They weren't there. If Iowa is going to run the ball out of spread 11 shotgun personnel, it's going to be Mitchell. - RB Akrum Wadley is a corner-getter. He only had four carries against Purdue. I expect at least 15 on Friday at Nebraska.

So, this is where Iowa started, except Mitchell has a deeper profile (I'm guessing the sell for him is this is how he'll get to the NFL) and Wadley has worked his way back into the circle of trust. It's really as good as it gets for Iowa RB.

THREE STARS

1. The TE cousin combo

- Senior Henry Krieger Coble and junior George Kittle are, as you know, cousins. They were a tag-team of disaster against Purdue's defense Saturday, combining for six catches for 125 yards and two TDs. They're a couple of really great athletes who've worked their bodies into Big Ten TE bodies. Krieger Coble talked last week on the Ferentz TV show about working in construction after graduation. Wait, fella. You might be in an NFL camp. Don't think so? Here are the B1G's top four TEs this season: 1) Michigan's Jake Butt - 43 receptions for 566 yards and three TDs; 2) Minnesota's Brandon Lingren - 28 for 395 and three TDs; 3) Krieger Coble - 27 for 338 and 1 TD; 4) Wisconsin's Troy Fumagalli - 26 for 277 and 1 TD.

Krieger Coble works in high-traffic areas and has shown, repeatedly, that he knows what to do in tight one-on-one matchups.

The Krieger Coble and Kittle duo really came through for the Hawkeyes this season. Jake Duzey suffered a torn patellar tendon in March. It's a tough injury to come back from and very difficult in a six- to eight-month window. This was an injury that made you worry. Duzey had a productive 2014 with 36 catches for 392 yards and three TDs. He was the TE who scored on an 85-yard TD at Ohio State in 2013 (when he caught 19 passes for 270 yards and two TDs).

How was Iowa going to make up for the loss of Duzey? If you were banking on Krieger Coble and Kittle, you were banking on a collective 4 receptions for 53 yards and two TDs in 2014. Krieger Coble came through in a way no one saw coming. Ferentz was asked about Kittle during the spring and basically said he's going to have opportunity, the ball is in his court, he has to go get it. After just one catch during a sophomore year cut short by an ankle injury, Kittle has caught 16 passes for 229 yards and five TDs this season. His blocking has been worth that much in points (brilliant vs. Northwestern).

2. FS Jordan Lomax

- In his final home game, Lomax collected a career-high 13 tackles, including a half tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. He had the hit that caused Purdue QB David Blough to fumble and subsequently leave the game with what looked to be a head injury. (We've been over this in previous Stat Paks, ballcarriers are generally not deemed 'defenseless” by officials. In this case, Blough did appear to lower his head while Lomax was in the act of tackling. It didn't look like the crown of his helmet. I'm not justifying this, mind you, just trying to explain why no targeting penalty.)

3. QB C.J. Beathard

- It didn't feel like this was CJB's second-best game of the season, but the numbers suggest it was. Beathard completed 12 of 20 for 213 yards and three TDs with no interceptions (he did have a fumble on an oddly timed QB draw, or what looked to be a called QB run). Beathard's pass efficiency was his second highest of the season at 198.96. His yards per attempt also was the second best of 2015 at 10.7 (13.2 vs. North Texas is the best).

If you need a departure number from Jake Rudock 2014 to Beathard, it's yards per attempt. Beathard is at 7.9. Rudock finished at 7.1 last season. 2010 Ricky Stanzi is best in recent years at 8.7. I'm not sure where Brad Banks finished.

FILM ROOM

- WR Tevaun Smith doesn't have the numbers that all of us thought maybe he would've had this season (he missed two games with a knee sprain), but he's certainly providing the Hawkeyes with explosive plays. He has 24 for 433 yards and two TDs. His 18.04 yards per catch is second in the Big Ten, behind Nebraska's Brandon Reilly

(19.5).

Against Purdue, Smith had four catches for 73 yards. This season, 21 of his 24 catches have gone for first downs. He moved from 26th to 25th on Iowa's all‐time list for receiving yards (1,370), passing Kerry Reardon

.

- Iowa ran its raider or radar third-down defensive personnel about a half dozen times vs. Purdue. A few times, this pitted Purdue's top receiver DeAngelo Yancey in one-on-one press coverage across from redshirt freshman Joshua Jackson

. Without any real sustained pressure on third-and-long and in raider or radar, it was a matter of time before Purdue QB Austin Appleby found this matchup. And finally, on a fourth-and-6 from Purdue's 47 in the fourth quarter, Appleby hit Yancey for a 22-yard completion against Jackson. The drive ended in a TD that pulled the Boilermakers to within 33-20. At 6-1, 185, Jackson could be a Micah Hyde starter kit, but Yancey is pretty good (nine catches for 117 yards and a pair of drops that would've gone for TDs on Saturday) and he was going to get away from a freshman in one-on-one tight man coverage.

That said, it does show how much trust that DC Phil Parker has in Jackson and that can only bode well for the future.

- K Marshall Koehn

has now missed five PATs this season. They've happened in all ways you can miss a kick. Two PATs were failed on Saturday. Purdue blocked one, and Koehn missed another. That's five this year after having a streak of some 150 snapped. If you don't think this is grinding on him, you're wrong. I mentioned on Twitter that it hasn't hurt them yet and someone, very respectfully, said 'yet” shouldn't be an excuse or a get-out-of-jail-free card. And that person was right. I'd like to think it's an easy fix. I'd like to shrug it off, but Koehn did miss a PAT in game 11. Can't have that. He'd be the first to admit it.

TWO PLAYS

1. The jet sweep

- Iowa did sneak WR Jonathan Parker into the game for a jet sweep. The play went for 2 yards. Parker has run two jet sweeps this year (fly sweeps, whatever you want to call it) for minus-10 yards. Of all the things Iowa does on offense, Parker jogging onto the field and lining up in the slot is perhaps the Hawkeyes biggest tell.

Parker is only a sophomore. He did only move to WR this spring. There's time for him to make a move from jet sweep specialist to bona fide WR. I'm not sure when, but there's time.

2. The reverse

- I'm not sure when we last saw the reverse. Oh yeah, against Minnesota, except that Smith threw a pass - a pretty great pass to a well-covered Matt VandeBerg - and so does that count? On Iowa's second drive, the Hawkeyes faced second-and-8 from Purdue's 47, and VandeBerg took a reverse 15 yards to the Boilers' 32. Iowa scored three plays later for a 14-0 lead.

The rush goes down as an explosive play (rushes for 12-plus yards). It was kind of a trick. It also came out of 12 personnel (one back, two TEs), so it was definitely against tendency.

UP NEXT - AT NEBRASKA (5-6, 3-4 Big Ten West)

- Nebraska had a bye week and this story surfaced. Three Huskers football players - Tommy Armstrong, Jordan Westerkamp and Trey Foster - were part of a sexual assault investigation following an accusation of rape that allegedly occurred at Armstrong's residence. Here is what Nebraska coach Mike Riley said about the investigation: 'Right now, we're really early in all this,” Riley said. 'It's one of those deals where we will follow exactly what the policies are within the athletic department and the university as everything goes forward. Whatever they find out - whatever they deem - we'll follow it right to the core. I know the university in general and our Title IX office are the lead in this working with law enforcement.”

An update on procedure is the top story on the Omaha World-Herald's Big Red Today.

- World-Herald sports columnist Tom Shatel writes that the series has a chance to become a rivalry. And he's right. Iowa had a chance to take something away from the Huskers in 2012. Yes, that dreary Iowa team had a shot to poke a hole in the Huskers' divisional title, but fell short in a windy 13-6 defeat. The Huskers have a chance to end Iowa's perfection. Iowa has a chance to celebrate perfection in Memorial Stadium. These are things that tend to fester and . . . build rivalries.

- The World-Herald's Lee Barfknecht has some stats that say, yes, Iowa's defense might be tired. The one that gets my attention - Points per game allowed: First eight: 15.3. Last three: 27.3. Yikes. Lee also writes about Mark Mangino's heartless tweet after Iowa State's brutal loss to K-State last weekend and says nice things about now-former Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads.

THE NUMBERS GAME

Touchdowns in the red zone

Iowa

- 3 of 3

Purdue

- 2 of 4

Tracking the Hawkeyes:

Week 1 vs. ISU - 4 of 5 (off), 1 of 1 (def); Week 2 Iowa State - 2 of 3 (off), 1 of 2 (def); Week 3 vs. Pitt - 3 of 3 (off), 2 of 3 (def); Week 4 North Texas - 5 of 5 (off), 1 of 3 (def); Week 5 Wisconsin - 1 of 4 (off), 0 of 2 (def); Week 6 vs. Illinois - 1 of 4 (off), 1 of 2 (def); Week 7 vs. Northwestern - 4 of 8 (off), 1 of 2 (def); Week 8 vs. Maryland - 3 of 4 (off), 1 of 2 (def); Week 9 vs. Indiana - 4 of 4 (off), 1 of 3 (def); Week 10 vs. Minnesota - 4 of 5 (off), 3 of 3 (def); Week 11 vs. Purdue - 3 of 3 (off), 2 of 4 (def)

The takeaway

: Since a dip of 1-for-4 against Illinois and 4-for-8 against Northwestern (when you could argue in a 40-10 victory, Iowa didn't need to be perfect, and hey, eight redzone trips?), the Hawkeyes are 14 of 16 with TDs in the red zone. Yes, that's steadied with Beathard's ability to run. It also might've been higher vs. Purdue, but the Hawkeyes had three TDs come from explosive plays outside of the red zone, which shows an offensive capable of throwing strikes.

Iowa is at 70.83 percent of TDs in the red zone. That's third in the conference. Second? Say hello to Nebraska at 71.1 (Purdue is first at 71.8). Iowa is tracking toward its best number here since at least 2008 (that's as far as I go tonight).

In a game decided by 20 points, the Hawkeyes' two defensive stops in the red zone kind of added up here.

3 and outs (forced by defense)

Iowa

- 2

Purdue

- 4

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. ISU - 3 (def), 2 (off); Week 2 vs. Iowa State - 4 (def), 4 (off); Week 3 vs. Pitt - 3 (def), 2 (off); Week 4 vs. North Texas - 6 (def), 3 (off); Week 5 vs. Wisconsin - 4 (def), 3 (off); Week 6 vs. Illinois - 5 (def), 1 (off); Week 7 vs. Northwestern: 7 (def), 3 (off); Week 8 vs. Maryland - 6 (def), 1 (off); Week 9 vs. Indiana - 3 (def), 3 (off); Week 10 vs. Minnesota - 3 (def), 1 (off); Week 11 vs. Purdue - 2 (def), 4 (off)

The takeaway:

Yes, Iowa's defense only had two, but it also stopped a drive after five plays with a fumble. It also stopped three over drives on downs. Iowa's offense has had dead periods to begin second halves the last two games. One little artifact lost in last week was the mighty wind out of the north. It made one direction (the south) much more favorable than the other. Iowa used that with an average starting field position of its own 40 in the first quarter while taking a 20-0 lead.

Second half adjustments

Iowa

- 186 yards, 6.4 yards per play (33 plays)

Purdue

- 249 yards, 5.2 yards per play (48 plays)

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. ISU - 163 yards, 5.25 yards per play (31 offensive plays), 195 yards, 6.5 yards per play (30 plays on defense); Week 2 vs. Iowa State - 232 yards, 6.62 yards per play (35 offensive plays), 66 yards, 2.12 yards per play (31 defensive plays); Week 3 vs. Pitt - 165 yards, 5.5 yards per play (30 off plays), 124 yards, 5.1 yards per play (31 def plays); Week 4 vs. North Texas - 148 yards, 4.9 yards per play (30 offensive plays), 207 yards, 4.3 yards per play (48 defensive plays); Week 5 vs. Wisconsin - 69 yards, 2.55 yards per play (27 offensive plays), 177 yards, 4.21 yards per play (42 defensive plays); Week 6 vs. Illinois - 179 yards, 5.42 yards per play (33 offensive plays); 242 yards, 5.90 yards per play (41 defensive plays); Week 7 vs. Northwestern - 296 yards, 7.1 yards per play (42 offensive plays); 80 yards, 2.75 yards per play (29 defensive plays); Week 8 vs. Maryland - 53 yards, 2.03 yards per play (26 offensive plays); 173 yards, 5.1 yards per play (34 defensive plays); Week 9 vs. Indiana - 201 yards, 4.9 yards per play (41 offensive plays), 166 yards, 4.05 yards per play (41 defensive plays); Week 10 vs. Minnesota - 216 yards, 6.5 yards per play (33 offensive plays), 225 yards, 7.25 yards per play (31 defensive plays); Week 11 vs. Purdue - 186 yards, 6.4 yards per play (33 offensive plays); 249 yards, 5.2 yards per play (48 defensive plays)

The takeaway

: I noticed and even wrote down that Purdue picked up the pace in the second half and that it did seem to bother the Iowa defense. I really did write that down. I didn't, however, use it anywhere, so you'll just have to trust me. The 48 plays against in the second half ties the most vs. Iowa this season. The 84 plays against Iowa also is the second most and most since North Texas. It's probably not optimum for a defense that has played a ton of snaps going into a short week against a tough opponent that would like nothing more than to end its perfect season. This is me saying the defense is going to have to reach into the soul/heart or whatever and come up with something this week. I'm sure the Huskers will run some high tempo (I actually don't know if they have that in their bag, but that is what I would do).

20-plus plays

Iowa

- 6

Purdue

- 4

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. ISU - 4 (off), 3 (allowed); Week 2 vs. Iowa State - 6 (off), 3 (allowed); Week 3 vs. Pitt - 4 (off), 3 (def); Week 4 vs. North Texas - 4 (off), 4 (def); Week 5 vs. Wisconsin - 2 (off), 3 (def); Week 6 vs. Illinois - 5 (off), 5 (def); Week 7 vs. Northwestern - 4 (off), 1 (def); Week 8 vs. Maryland - 4 (off), 2 (def); Week 9 vs. Indiana - 5 (off), 5 (def); Week 10 vs. Minnesota - 8 (off), 5 (def); Week 11 vs. Purdue - 6 (off), 4 (def)

The takeaway:

Iowa's 20-plus went like this: Four passes (24 to HKC, 30 to T. Smith, 35 to Kittle, 22 to HKC) with two of those going for TDs. Iowa had two 20-plus runs, both from Canzeri, including a 42-yard TD on the final run of his career in Kinnick Stadium. I liked the salute to the crowd he gave. It was subtle and didn't show up Purdue. Nicely done from a total class act. Iowa allowed four pass plays of 20-plus to Purdue's backup QB. Tommy Armstrong Jr. might be the best QB Iowa has faced this year. He's right there with IU's Nate Sudfeld.

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

: 9 (Illinois State 9, Iowa State 12, Pitt 6, North Texas 10; Wisconsin 5; Illinois 9, Northwestern 12, Maryland 8, Indiana 8, Minnesota 15. Purdue 9)

Magic points (scores inside of two minutes)

Iowa

- 0

Purdue

- 3

Tracking the Hawkeyes

: Week 1 vs. ISU - 3 (off), 7 (allowed); Week 2 vs. Iowa State - 7 (off), 0 (def); Week 3 vs. Pitt - 10 (off), 7 (def); week 4 vs. North Texas - 7 (off), 0 (def); Week 5 vs. Wisconsin - 3 (off), 0 (def); Week 6 vs. Illinois - 3 (off), 0 (def); Week 7 vs. Northwestern - 0 (off), 0 (def); Week 8 vs. Maryland - 7 (off), 0 (def); Week 9 vs. Indiana - 7 (off), 0 (def); Week 10 vs. Minnesota - 7 (off), 7 (def); Week 11 vs. Purdue - 0 (off), 3 (def)

The takeaway

: Canzeri's 42-yarder came with 2:12 left in the game. Oh so close to the magic, but, alas, not quite. Purdue kicker Paul Griggs nailed a 20-yarder with 25 seconds left in the first half. Iowa has now outscored opponents 44-3 in the final two minutes of the first half this season.

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