Iowa football rewind: Kaleb Johnson’s dominant running and other film takeaways from win over Minnesota

IOWA CITY — Iowa football placed a big bet on its rushing attack in Saturday’s win over Minnesota.

The Hawkeyes called 44 designed running plays versus 20 designed passing plays against Minnesota. (It was almost the opposite of Minnesota, which called 40 designed passing plays versus 18 running plays.)

The figurative bet paid out nicely as Iowa rushed for 272 yards while averaging an outstanding 6.04 yards per carry. Kaleb Johnson again had a starring role, rushing for 206 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.

Johnson unsurprisingly was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, sharing the recognition with Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer.

A closer look at the film showed just how dominant Johnson’s performance was (along with some other takeaways for the Hawkeyes):

Johnson’s physics-defying near-touchdown

As impressive as Johnson’s three touchdowns were, his most impressive run might have been on a play where he came up just short of the end zone.

The run, on a second-and-9 at the Minnesota 24-yard line, did not look promising.

Minnesota defensive end Jalen Logan-Redding and defensive back Jack Henderson broke through — Logan-Redding from the back side and Henderson off a tight end block. Henderson especially appeared to be in a prime position to tackle Johnson for a 3 or 4-yard loss.

But Johnson stayed on his feet as Logan-Redding, Henderson and other Gophers fell like bowling pins while trying to make the play. With an opening along the left sideline, Johnson sprinted to the 1-yard line before barely stepping out of bounds with his left foot.

“Nowhere to go, and yet he makes something out of nothing,” NBC play-by-play commentator Noah Eagle aptly exclaimed.

Johnson’s ability to break through contact was a theme during Saturday’s performance. He ended up gaining 136 of his 206 rushing yards against Minnesota after contact, per PFF.

Turning third-and-10 into a rushing TD

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s level of faith in Johnson (and the run blocking ahead of him) was especially apparent as Iowa called a run play on third-and-10 at the Minnesota 15-yard line.

Johnson motioned from the line of scrimmage to the backfield before the snap. He started to run to the right side before switching directions to the left side and showcasing his speed on the 15-yard touchdown run.

The play was an exhibition in run blocking not only from the offensive line, but also Iowa’s wide receivers. Johnson was untouched on his way to the end zone.

Minnesota’s Henderson bulldozed Iowa running back/wide receiver Terrell Washington Jr. to the ground, but Washington’s self-sacrificing block was enough to keep Henderson from catching up to Johnson.

Iowa wide receiver Jacob Gill also was excellent in his blocking, essentially taking a redshirt senior cornerback out of the equation on the run to his side of the field.

Johnson’s final carry of the night

Iowa’s run-blocking success was especially apparent during Johnson’s final carry of the evening. Iowa had a first down from its own 48-yard line on the second play of the fourth quarter.

The play call was not anything unusual for the Hawkeyes — an outside zone to the right side. The execution was flawless. Iowa’s offensive line opened a sizable hole between right tackle Gennings Dunker and tight end Luke Lachey, with wide receiver Dayton Howard also delivering a critical block.

The result was a gain of 33 yards as Johnson went entirely untouched until he going out of bounds at the Minnesota 19-yard line.

Short passing game

Iowa’s dominance on the ground was despite the Hawkeyes showing virtually no deep threat in the passing game.

Quarterback Cade McNamara had only one passing attempt of 20-plus yards, according to Pro Football Focus. When the sixth-year senior threw the ball 10 yards or farther, he was 1-of-4. When he threw it within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage or behind the line of scrimmage, he was 10-of-13.

When Iowa did gain significant yardage on passing plays — take Addison Ostrenga’s 20-yard reception on a play-action bootleg at the beginning of the third quarter as an example — it was usually because of what Iowa’s receivers accomplished on their own. Of McNamara’s 62 passing yards on Saturday, 51 came from receivers after the catch.

Deontae Craig’s key role on Jay Higgins’ interception

Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins’ early interception had an obvious impact as it set up the Hawkeyes’ lone scoring drive of the first half. Without Higgins’ turnover, Iowa could have been looking at a 14-0 halftime deficit instead of 14-7.

The key play might not have happened without defensive end Deontae Craig’s efforts. Craig easily beat Minnesota right tackle Quinn Carroll and hastened Max Brosmer’s throw.

The short throw — one that any Big Ten-caliber quarterback should complete at a high percentage if there isn’t any pressure — was behind running back Darius Taylor and in the perfect spot for Higgins to make the interception.

It helped that Higgins anticipated the throw to Taylor following Iowa’s film study during the preceding week.

“Three seconds, and it’s going to the check-down,” Higgins said. “That time, he threw it on the second 1,000. So that back wasn’t ready. And I was ready for it because I knew it was coming. … Coach (Seth) Wallace told me it was coming, and I trusted him and went out there and made a play.”

If Brosmer had a full three seconds to throw the ball, that play could have had a much different outcome.

Rhys Dakin’s spectacular punting

Rhys Dakin had his best game as a Hawkeye in Saturday’s Floyd of Rosedale win.

He averaged 49.6 yards on his five punts, with three landing inside Minnesota’s 20-yard line. Those numbers are even more impressive when considering the Gophers could not return any of the five punts.

Four of the punts resulted in (valid) fair catches, and the other went out of bounds.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Dakin’s punting was a “huge component of the game.”

“This is his first road game, his first conference game, his fourth game in American football,” Ferentz said after the win. “And he just seemed unfazed.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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