116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa defense 'drew a line in the sand' after relying on offense vs. Iowa State
Sep. 9, 2017 7:23 pm
AMES — Early in the fourth quarter Saturday, Iowa's football team was in the midst of getting punched in the mouth — especially on defense — by Iowa State.
The Hawkeyes had been up 21-10 and seemed to have taken control of the game with back-to-back scoring drives of 91 and 94 yards, respectively, which took up more than 10 minutes of game time.
But the Cyclones' offense, led by quarterback Jacob Park, running back David Montgomery and receivers Allen Lazard and Hakeem Butler, put together three straight scoring drives of their own. Iowa State scored in different ways — the first on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, the second on a 30-yard Butler touchdown reception — and when the home team went up 31-21 on a speed option pitch from seven yards out to Montgomery, that was when Iowa defensive end Parker Hesse said, 'we drew a line in the sand.'
Nevermind the fact that the Hawkeyes gave up 467 total yards — 347 to Park through the air and 120 total on the ground — or that the Cyclones' tempo had done damage most of the game.
Iowa went into 'just win,' mode. It did just that, 44-41, in overtime.
'We were either going to buck up and play Iowa football, or we weren't going to win. I think we made that decision,' Hesse said. 'Coach Morgan said that. He said, 'We're drawing a line in the sand right now where we have to decide whether we're going to go out and win this game or lay down.'
'Sometimes one area is going to have a tough task or going to be lacking, and it's about doing more than your share; picking up and doing what's best for the team.'
The differences defensively between Week 1 and Week 2 were written on the faces of the defensive players after the game. A win allowed them to remain upbeat about their performance, but none of them were exactly jumping for joy.
Hesse's comments about the offense doing more than its share in picking up the defense were echoed by every defensive player questioned, including middle linebacker Josey Jewell. Jewell went back to his tried and true saying of focusing on details, and the lack thereof Saturday, as the main culprit.
But when the Hawkeyes needed to most, the defense showed up.
When Iowa tied the game on a superb 46-yard catch and run from Akrum Wadley, Iowa State got the ball back with 1:03 remaining and a timeout. Park, who aside from a Hesse interception had picked apart Iowa's secondary, couldn't find receivers thanks to tremendous pass rush and the game went to overtime.
In fact, after Iowa State scored to go up 38-31, the Cyclones only totaled 20 yards of offense — from 3:32 to go in the game through overtime.
In the overtime session, the Hawkeyes stalled their rivals at the 13 yard-line — thanks in no small part to a pass breakup by Michael Ojemudia against Lazard in the end zone.
'There were mistakes the whole game,' Jewell said. 'In overtime, we all tried to really focus in, especially when you get down to the nitty-gritty. We had to do our detailed jobs, which I don't know if we were doing the whole time. Our tackling was atrocious today, myself included; it was terrible.
'We just needed to all do our jobs. I think sometimes we want to do somebody else's job. We'd over rotate on defense or we'd overrun a play and Montgomery would expose us.'
As much as the missed tackles were glaring, every part of Iowa's defense struggled at one point or another.
The pass rush failed to generate pressure often enough, with Park having time to throw on many occasions. The secondary missed on assignments multiple times, exposed via touchdown passes of 30 yards and 74 yards (both to Butler).
The two units operate in conjunction with each other — when the pass rush is there, it's easier in coverage down field, and when the coverage is tight, it provides margin for error on a delayed pass rush. Hesse said the line has 'the capability to disrupt more than we did today,' and is something they'll 'have to improve on.'
Even accepting those things as true, the guys in the secondary admitted fault as well. A talented and physically commanding ISU wide receiving corps put Manny Rugamba, Josh Jackson and Ojemudia in some bad spots.
It was enough even to where Rugamba was pulled from the first team unit at corner and moved into sub packages, with Ojemudia playing the majority of the game in Rugamba's traditional spot. Rugamba, who was beat on a back-shoulder touchdown pass to Lazard in the first quarter, said he won't let his personal frustration get in the way of improving. Ojemudia said he's always had confidence, but getting called on in a big stage — and delivering in overtime — was an individual highlight on an otherwise up-and-down day.
Jackson, Jewell and Hesse all pointed to big plays made by the offense — Wadley's 46-yarder and Ihmir Smith-Marsette's game winner the most referenced — as boosters for them.
Last week it was the defense lifting up the offense. This week it was the other way around.
'We made a lot of mistakes on the back end, but we have to learn and grow from that,' Jackson said. 'With better communication, we will get a lot better.
'This definitely made us grow up a lot. We fought through and finished. … The best thing to do is rely on your teammates and play it out. It turned out good for us.'
l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com
Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Michael Ojemudia (11) breaks up a pass intended forowa State Cyclones wide receiver Allen Lazard (5) during overtime at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames on Saturday, September 9, 2017. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)