Smash-mouth remains Iowa’s forte in running game

IOWA CITY — Iowa's offensive philosophy is forged by the players the Hawkeyes recruit, and the conference in which they play. That's smash-mouth power football at all times, especially in a game's crucial moments.

Never was that philosophy more on display than during a fourth-quarter sequence against Illinois last week. The Hawkeyes led 23-20 with 10:13 left and they chose to directly attack the Illini. On 10 consecutive plays Iowa's personnel groupings shifted from three wide-receiver sets to two-tight end, two-back formations. But on 11 straight plays, running back Jordan Canzeri carried the football. He rushed for 59 yards on that drive, which produced a field goal. More importantly, the drive concluded with only 3:20 left in the game.

While 'New Kirk' has become a public phenomenon for the No. 17 Hawkeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten), 'Old Kirk' still gets it done. This summer, offensive line coach Brian Ferentz detailed Iowa's dominating brand of football that's as subtle as a hammer striking a building.

'What are we trying to do? We're going to try to be the most physical football team on the field,' Brian Ferentz said. 'That's a goal. When we are, the results are good. When we're not, they're not. So what we need to do is make sure we always are.

'How do you do that? You run the football between the tackles. I don't think you ever just want to beat your head against the concrete; it's not a good idea. You want to try to find the best way to do it in a given week. But in the end, what it's going to come down to is being able to hand the ball off when everyone in the stadium knows we're going to hand the ball off. If you can do that and make four-to-five-and-a-half yards a carry when everyone in the world knows you're handing the ball off, you're going to have a championship football team.'

So far Iowa embodies that ideology. Halfway through the season, Iowa averages 201.2 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry. Those numbers have helped propel the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten West lead and their highest national ranking in five years.

While statistics sometimes don't provide a clear measure of an offensive line's effectiveness, yards per carry matters to Iowa. In 2002, Iowa rushed for a 5.0 yard-per-carry clip, and the Hawkeyes finished 8-0 in Big Ten play. In 2005 and 2008, Iowa averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Neither season produced a title but Iowa was a force by season's end.

'Yards per carry is a critical statistic in my opinion,' Brian Ferentz said. 'I can't speak for other systems, I think for us to have a healthy offense, you've got to be looking for somewhere in that 5.0, right in that region. If you're averaging 5.0 yards per carry in this offense, I think you're running the ball very effectively. Not, 'Hey, we're running well enough to win.' We're running well enough to win a championship. When you go back and you look at us over the years, our best football teams are right around that number.'

Over the previous four seasons — coinciding with Nebraska's addition to the Big Ten — Iowa averages 4.0 yards per carry, second-lowest among the seven Big Ten West Division squads. When the test period extends to 10 years, Iowa remains sixth of seven at 4.1 yards per carry. That's behind every West school except Northwestern.

While Brian Ferentz considers yards per carry as critical for his offense, it's not the sole measurement, either. Down, distance, time, score and other variables play are in consideration for running game's value. Even when the numbers are down — such as injury-plagued 2004 (2.0 yards per carry) and 2009 (3.3 yards per carry) — a team can overcome it. Likewise, yards per carry doesn't always translate into success for other teams.

'Our best rushing attack around here, either '02 or '08, '05 was good, too,' Brian Ferentz said. 'If you just look at the numbers, those would pale in comparison to some teams in our conference that haven't been to a bowl game in 15 years. It depends on the offense.'

Iowa's physical style of blocking results in a cumulative effect upon a defense. There's no slash-and-dash, just power football. Take Saturday's game against Illinois. The first play of the power series was a sweep. The ninth run was an outside zone. Everything else was between the tackles. Power football at its finest.

'We're just willing to finish and fight and put everything out on the line to get those tough yards,' Canzeri said. 'When you have everybody who's willing to do that, everybody who's worried about their job not anyone else's, everyone willing to do the most for each other and everyone being that unselfish, only great things can happen for your offense.'

On that drive, Canzeri averaged nearly 5.4 yards per carry. That was a winning number.

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