Iowa football rewind: Jermari Harris was exceptional on otherwise-iffy day for secondary

IOWA CITY — Troy seemed to try picking on Iowa cornerback Jermari Harris during Saturday’s football game, and that strategy did not fare well for the Sun Belt Conference team on Saturday.

Harris’ receivers were targeted a team-high five times, as tracked by Pro Football Focus, and the sixth-year cornerback did not allow any receptions.

The Chicago native was responsible for the Hawkeyes’ biggest defensive play of the afternoon when he intercepted Troy’s Matthew Caldwell in the third quarter and returned it for a touchdown at Kinnick Stadium.

With Iowa in zone coverage on first-and-10, Harris dropped back from his flat and easily picked off the pass intended for star wide receiver Devonte Ross. Then with great blocking from his teammates, especially linebacker Nick Jackson, he returned it 28 yards for the score.

Harris almost had another interception earlier in the game when he closely contested a pass intended for Ross on a third-and-6 in the second quarter. Harris broke up another third-down pass intended for Ross on a slant route in the third quarter.

He was the bright spot for the secondary on an afternoon where Iowa gave up 63- and 62-yard touchdown receptions to Ross. Third-year cornerback T.J. Hall was covering Ross on both of the big plays.

When Troy’s quarterbacks targeted Harris’ receivers, they were 0-for-5 with one interception, per PFF. When targeting receivers covered by other Hawkeyes, Troy’s quarterbacks were 16-of-19 for 229 yards.

Some problems with pass protection

Troy, after not recording any sacks in its first two games, took down Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara twice on Saturday.

The first sack happened when Troy linebacker Jordan Stringer pierced through the A-gap with ease as Iowa center Logan Jones barely slowed him down. The sack was despite Troy only rushing three defenders (with another three showing blitz before dropping back into coverage).

The second sack was on a second-and-eight on Iowa’s first drive of the second half. Troy’s Julian Peterson and Jordan Stringer both penetrated the A-gap between Jones and Connor Colby. Peterson quickly got past Colby, and Jones did not seem to see Stringer. Kaleb Johnson picked up Stringer in pass protection, but that left Peterson free to quickly pursue McNamara.

Both sacks proved to be drive-killers. The first sack, which was on third-and-2, preceded Troy’s 77-yard punt return for a touchdown. The second sack preceded a third-and-long and subsequent punt.

Kaleb Johnson leading the nation, with some good run blocking ahead of him

Johnson is No. 1 in the country with 479 rushing yards so far this season.

It is not a perfect stat, as Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai have played in one less game than Johnson due to their teams’ early byes. But even when looking at rushing yards per game, Iowa’s Johnson ranks third with 159.7.

Maintaining that pace is no guarantee, particularly as Iowa’s competition gets significantly stiffer in Big Ten play. But Johnson’s 159.7 yards per game, if continued over 12 regular-season games and a bowl game, would be at pace to break Shonn Greene’s program record for rushing yards in a single season.

One of the most impressive plays for Johnson, along with the run blocking ahead of him, was on the first play of Iowa’s second drive. Iowa operated in “12” personnel — one running back and two tight ends — with the ball on its own 23-yard line. McNamara pitched the ball to Johnson on the zone run.

Picture-perfect blocking, combined with Johnson’s breakout speed, meant Johnson essentially went untouched as he cleared the first and second levels and gained 39 yards. It was Johnson’s sixth run of 25-plus yards this season (and his seventh happened later in the game as well).

How much to take away from Week 3 result

Make any grand conclusions about the 2024 season from Saturday’s 17-point win at your own risk.

Since the Big Ten expanded the conference schedule to nine games in 2016, there has been very little correlation between Iowa’s margin of victory in the nonconference finale and Iowa’s number of Big Ten wins.

Iowa won six Big Ten games in 2016 and 2019. In the 2016 nonconference finale, the Hawkeyes lost to North Dakota State. In the 2019 nonconference finale, they throttled Middle Tennessee, 48-3.

In one of Iowa’s Big Ten West-winning seasons, the Hawkeyes won by only 10 points over Colorado State. In the other division title season, the Hawkeyes won by 31 over Western Michigan.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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