Hlas: Hawkeyes need some time in the shop

IOWA CITY — The bye week couldn't come at a better time for Iowa's football team, because it needs a break from giving public performances and the public needs a break from watching them.

Wisconsin can make an opposing offense look challenged, yes, and the Badgers were an impressive lot Saturday in their 17-9 win over the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. But this game was just another example that Iowa has been pretty mundane this fall.

That has nothing to do with any sort of hangover from last season's frolic through 12 games without a scratch. Forget comparisons. The 2016 Hawkeyes just aren't interesting or entertaining, and the coming Saturday is a good chance for some palate-cleansing by seeing how offense is played elsewhere in America.

You're forgiven if you don't want to hear how injury-depleted Iowa's passing game is with wide receiver Matt VandeBerg out for the year and tight end George Kittle not very serviceable Saturday with a bad foot.

The fact is, the Hawkeyes haven't adequately replaced the collection of passing targets who either were seniors last year or are hurt now, making C.J. Beathard look like less of a quarterback.

Wisconsin set up its second and final touchdown — and the game's second and final touchdown — on a 57-yard pass from freshman Alex Hornibrook to freshman Quintez Cephus. It was Cephus' second catch of the year.

The contrast was a bomb from Beathard to sophomore Jay Scheel in the second quarter. The ball hit Scheel in the fingertips and bounced away. It wasn't an easy play, but the chance was there and wasn't seized.

'We have to develop a knack of becoming a little more opportunistic, work on the fine lines,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Meaning what?

'I'm thinking about everything, quite frankly,' he said.

Here's something to consider: Trying to seize a legitimate opportunity instead of optimistically hoping for better things later in the game.

The Hawkeyes, trailing 14-6 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the game, had a 4th-and-5 at the Wisconsin 20.

They chose to kick a field goal.

That was Iowa's 11th possession, and it hadn't gotten past the Wisconsin 19-yard line all day. So you're kicking a field goal with 5:25 left to make it 14-9 and you'll still need a touchdown to win?

'You have to score twice,' Ferentz said. 'It gets down to that. Somehow, some way, you're going to have to score twice.

'If there's a little bit less, fourth-and-2, something like that, we probably would have gone for the touchdown.'

Maybe Iowa should take a sliver of money from the $90 million north end zone renovation project and hire a math major who specializes in quickly computing probabilities.

Look, this game was lost because Wisconsin's defense shut down Iowa's offense, and that's that. The odds Iowa would have gotten five yards on that play and proceeded to a touchdown and 2-point conversion for a 14-14 tie were obviously against them.

But when you've gotten precious few chances to score over the first 54-plus minutes and you'll need a touchdown sometime in the last 5:30, you go for the five stinking yards.

'Fourth-and-five against these guys is not easy,' Ferentz said.

It was no harder than watching this game.

The better team won. A very good team won. Do you visualize the Hawkeyes having a pair of 7-point losses at Michigan and at home (in overtime) against Ohio State, like Wisconsin did? No, you do not.

But 236 yards and zero touchdowns in your biggest game of the season to date? That's not entertainment. That's tedious.

It's been 42 days since the Hawkeyes last won in Kinnick. The next home game is 21 days from now, when Michigan brings its nation-best defense. Oh boy.

It was all pixie dust around here a year ago. That was back when you couldn't wait for the bye week to zoom by so the season could resume.

This year? The bye gets a red carpet welcome. Which will at least bring some color into a dull season.