Stat Pak: Depth chart as coaching tool

FIVE BULLET POINTS ON THE INDIANA RESULT

1. The tool that the depth chart can be

— The first goal for every player is to sit at the top of the depth chart. Sure, there are super stars who streak by that process, just not many of them come to Iowa. It wasn't that long ago when Brandon Scherff tried to impress coaches enough to see some time at guard. Now look.

At some point, you're the top dog. If you're not, you're working on it.

OK, you heard offensive coordinator Greg Davis said a couple of weeks ago that he didn't believe check downs were junior Jake Rudock's default. And that could very well be true, but let's look at it this way. What if coaches thought Rudock was ripping through the reads too quickly? You can only say that so much, how do you change that behavior?

Depth chart.

Now, this probably isn't right. Rudock wouldn't have been moved out of the starter's job if he hadn't have been hurt. Maybe that parallel universe is out there somewhere. A little column A, a little column B and here we are.

You could rewind a little farther and remember the talking point out of spring practice, that sophomore C.J. Beathard was going to get real, bona fide playing time. Hmm, the great hedge bet. Or probably not. You saw the first three games. Beathard had one series and wasn't getting anymore. It didn't look like he would, anyway.

As late as media day, Davis used the word 'wild-card' in describing Beathard. Ferentz said this summer, 'We don't want him to go out there and just start chucking it up, either.' How do you coach that out of a kid? You can only say it so much, how do you change behavior?

Depth chart.

And when I use the term 'depth chart,' I really should be writing 'playing time.' It's not the great hedge bet, it's the great rudder. Ferentz slipped 'results-driven' into last week's news conference. How do you get more out of players? How do change performance shortcomings? You use the depth chart/playing time as a tool. You give it, you take it away.

'You play things by feel. And nothing's really changed,' Ferentz said in postgame. 'We like both guys.'

That is as far as we're going to be allowed to see in on this. Makes sense. The modus operendi with Ferentz has been 'Our business is our business.' It's been that way for years and it would do more harm than good to wash the dirty socks on the Pentacrest.

I do think Ferentz was being candid when this summer in Chicago he said, 'If there's an intelligent way to use him [CJB] and use that idea and concept, we'll do it. What we don't want to do is screw up our team, take away the rhythm of what we're doing, those type of things. I think a big part of that will be the mind-set we take, but the first part is we have to be convinced what we see is going to help us move the ball and score points. That's the only reason to do it. We're not trying to keep CJ happy or any of that stuff. We're not trying to entertain people. Or create a controversy, that too. I haven't thought about that option. If it's going to help us be tougher to defend, then I think — and I think it has that potential — so that's what we're kind of working through.'

So, Iowa has two QBs its likes. There's nothing set in stone except for who's performing best during their opportunity.

2. There's a competitor in there

— I think I've probably have given too little regard to Beathard's competitive instincts.

Can you blame me? You see the hair, you hear the voice. CJB sounds like a lot of the bands I like (Drive-By Truckers, Scott T. Biram and maybe Ryan Bingham, but he's more Texas with a rasp).

We automatically check that box in Rudock's favor because he snarls. (And we talked about this in the Video Session No. 3 yesterday. I am a critic. You are a critic. We are the critics. Let's not pretend this is anything else. The harsh reviews always gain more notice than the positive ones. And with football, there's always a review. They watch film every damn day. They are the critics. They also are the performers. Anyway . . . that's how this transaction works.)

CJB didn't snarl in yesterday's postgame. Neither did he leave anything up for interpretation. He said some stuff, nothing out-of-bounds, but, hell yes, he wants to play.

(Just a minute. I started listening to Ryan Bingham right when I brought him up there. 'Dylan's Hard Rain' from the Roadhouse Sun album. 'Give him your cash [bleeeeeeep], he's too fast for you.']

OK, here's CJB. I asked if he was chomping at the bit to get in there with all the big plays happening (sort of an icebreaker): 'The offense started off really fast. You can't complain about it, you're doing great. Why go in now? I got my opportunity later on and I tried to get the most of out it. We're winning games, that's all that really matters.'

So, I asked: I hear things in the outside world, but you seem OK with this? 'I'd like to play more and do things. You can't complain about it. I have a role on this team. I know my role. Right now, we're winning games, that's what it is.'

For what it's worth, I didn't detect any bitterness. I think he has a grasp of what's going on and will continue to have opporuntity.

3. Remember when CJB and Ole Miss had that mutual breakup?

— I might not be remembering this as cleanly as I should be, but coming out of Tennessee, Beathard originally committed Mississippi. There was a coaching change. Hugh Freeze brought a read-option offense to Oxford. You see Bo Wallace tearing it up now. The Rebels are in it this year more than Bama is (oh man, SEC! I wrote that so much faster).

Beathard cited the read option as not being a fit for him when he finally picked Iowa. And there he was Saturday, running the option with freshman RB Jonathan Parker. Clearly, read option and option is part of what Davis wants out of CJB. But, no, you see his arm. The feet are nice, but . . .

'Things open up because I can run the ball and do things with my feet,' he said. 'I came here for the prostyle offense and we still do that.'

4. Is 'yin' the good one or bad one?

— Indiana put up 316 rushing yards on the Hawkeyes. That was the 11th worst performance for a rush defense in the country this week. The worst? Illinois allowed Wisconsin to truck for 401. Iowa plays Wisconsin, you know.

Indiana's 6.3 yards a carry (39 attempts) was fifth best in the nation this week.

This was the first time Iowa allowed 300-plus yards rushing since Northwestern went for 349 in 2012. RB Tevin Coleman's 83-yard run was the longest against Iowa since . . . I don't have this one. Maybe I can find it this week.

Let's make 'yang' the good one this week. The seven completions Iowa allowed was third in the nation this week. The 66.9 pass efficiency was fourth. And the 116 passing yards allowed was ninth this week.

What score would Iowa have needed to put up if Nate Sudfeld hadn't been injured? Let's say 59, but that's also an alternate universe with a population of zero.

5. Speaking of alternate universes

— Ferentz was asked this week how interested Iowa was in Coleman and vice versa. He sort of dismissed the question.

Here's what I know: Iowa offered Coleman. Sometime during the process, he named Georgia Tech his leader. He visited Michigan State. He committed to Indiana. Where Iowa was in the process, I'm not sure. Coleman is from Oak Forest, a Chicago suburb. He was recruited by former Iowa RB coach Lester Erb. I'm not sure, but I think it timed up with Erb's departure from Iowa (he was fired).

I've had a few inquiries on tracking players who almost picked Iowa. All I can say there is seriously? You want to live in a world of cognitive dissonance? What if Montee Ball were a Hawkeye? He wasn't, so what's the use? In recruiting, there's first and everyone else. You have to learn to suck it up.

Don't chase this tail. You'll never catch it and it will only look at you and flip you the bird for eternity. Don't do it. (But if you must, Michael Crabtree and Matt Ryan might give you a facial tic.)

WOLF T-SHIRTS

1. DE Drew Ott

— I don't think the 6-5, 270-pound junior will be allowed to take another play off this season. Teams have ID'd him and are running away from him. Coleman's massive 83-yard TD run was to the left, Ott's side, and so I thought maybe I better look this up before awarding a wolf T-shirt. Nope, Ott wasn't in the game. Senior Mike Hardy spelled him and was reach blocked. No one played this worth a black rubber bit from the FieldTurf.

Ott finished with a 1.5 sacks and is now fifth in the Big Ten with 4.5 sacks.

2. QB Jake Rudock

— The ESPNU guy said Rudock suffered more than a hip injury at Pitt. He mentioned something midsection? I don't know. They talk about that stuff in that Friday production meeting with TV. (Imagine running through that with Ferentz. Wait, it's national media, he's probably very cool and gracious.)

Anyway, great numbers. His 160.14 pass efficiency was the fourth best of his career (when Ferentz mentions Rudock's games that people have forgotten, I think Nebraska is No. 1 on his mind, here you go: 9 of 15 for 126 yards and two TDs).

His 72-yard connection with WR Damond Powell was Iowa's longest play of the season. More on that later.

3. RB Mark Weisman

— This milestone sneaked up on me, but Weisman is now the Ferentz-era leader for TDs, with his two Saturday giving him 24 and passing former Iowa RB Albert Young's 23. Not all of you, but some of you are very quick to point out that Weisman isn't a naturally instinctive RB, but I'll counter with this: Weisman is the best short-yardage back in the Big Ten this season. He's 6 of 6 on converting fourth down attempts. That's a pretty big deal for the way Iowa plays offense.

FILM ROOM

The 83-yarder

— Let's get this out of the way: I would be shocked if Coleman, a junior, returned to Indiana for his senior season. The 6-1, 210-pounder is an NFL RB. You saw in the last draft how RBs' values have sunk a bit. I don't think Coleman will have that worry. He came into the Iowa game averaging nearly 9 yards a touch on 100-plus touches. He carried 15 times and averaged 14.6 yards a carry against one of the better rush defenses in the nation (I'm talking about Iowa, BTW, it was one of the better rush defenses in the country).

Coleman took a handoff left and immediately cleared the scrimmage traffic. Hardy got reached. MLB Quinton Alston over ran the play and was simply shielded by a WR. WLB Reggie Spearman read the play well and might've had the best chance to stop it, but he couldn't shed a guard.

SS John Lowdermilk was extremely critical of himself after the game. He called for his own benching. He ran blindly on this play right into a block. Coleman had all angles beat just 10 or 12 yards off the line of scrimmage. It was that bad. OLB Bo Bower I think did the right thing. He gave up his body to seal the edge and force Coleman inside. He was too fast. CB Desmond King didn't shed his block soon enough to be a factor. This was 83 yards untouched. The only Hawkeye who found a angle, albeit way late, was backside corner Greg Mabin.

Iowa was blocked, lost contain and lost leverage. Other than that, never mind. Correctable? Yes. And it will need to be with the running back gauntlet the Hawkeyes face in November.

TWO PLAYS

1. The 72-yarder

— This was in Iowa's 12 personnel (one back and two TEs). Powell and WR Tevaun Smith lined up bunched on the wide side of the field. TE Jake Duzey motioned to their side. That motion probably influenced a few defenders. I'm going to guess they ran run play.

What made this play, IMO, was the play-action fake. Rudock did a great job selling it the fake to RB Jordan Canzeri. Safety Chase Dutra had his eyes in the backfield and then he read Smith, who ran a crossing route, about 6 to 8 yards deep. Dutra, already behind the play after the fake, sucked in toward Smith.

Powell bolted like . . . well, Usain Bolt. He ran a post and was free of corner Tim Bennett from the hop. He was open and only getting more open.

Rudock placed a great ball. He threw away from the defender and allowed Powell to remain full speed and only needing to flatten a few steps to catch the ball in stride. He showed another gear after he caught it.

This reminded me a lot of one of Ricky Stanzi's deep passes. Iowa receivers ran that post, got the defender on their hip, shielded, and Stanzi threw away from the pressure.

Exactly what Iowa needed.

2. Jet sweep is just fun to say

— Speaking about constraint, this is going to be a thing defending Iowa hereafter. Parker is an element. He's not a cloudy rookie that you have to Google. He's in the playbook, really, really in the playbook.

OK, Parker lined up right and motioned left. I sit next to the other half of #oniowapod Scott Dochterman and he said before the ball was snapped, 'It's a jet sweep.' He always says that when Parker is on the field. OK, OK, credit where credit is due.

Credit here: Iowa was again in 12 personnel. TE Jake Duzey fired off the ball and rode strongside linebacker Forisse Hardin a mile out of the ball. WR Jacob Hillyer was split out, maybe a few steps in to be called 'split out.' He charged down, took corner Michael Hunter with him and clacked pads with Dutra. Rudock carried out his fake. Maybe that influenced Hunter? Otherwise, he was just blindly hanging on to Hillyer. He clearly didn't have his eyes in the backfield.

That was that. Contain was blown. There was no leverage. Parker cruised untouched.

NEXT UP — MARYLAND (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten)

— Ten numbers to that standout in Maryland's first six games: From the Baltimore Sun's Matt Zenitz: The crazy number is CB William Likely's 22 yards per punt return. That's nutty. The bad number for the Terps, they continue to allow big plays in both the running game and the passing game and have been exploited for 34 plays of 19 yards or more during the last four games.

— Here are Matt's grades for the Terps

FIVE BULLET POINTS ON THE INDIANA RESULT

1. The tool that the depth chart can be

— The first goal for every player is to sit at the top of the depth chart. Sure, there are super stars who streak by that process, just not many of them come to Iowa. It wasn't that long ago when Brandon Scherff tried to impress coaches enough to see some time at guard. Now look.

At some point, you're the top dog. If you're not, you're working on it.

OK, you heard offensive coordinator Greg Davis said a couple of weeks ago that he didn't believe check downs were junior Jake Rudock's default. And that could very well be true, but let's look at it this way. What if coaches thought Rudock was ripping through the reads too quickly? You can only say that so much, how do you change that behavior?

Depth chart.

Now, this probably isn't right. Rudock wouldn't have been moved out of the starter's job if he hadn't have been hurt. Maybe that parallel universe is out there somewhere. A little column A, a little column B and here we are.

You could rewind a little farther and remember the talking point out of spring practice, that sophomore C.J. Beathard was going to get real, bona fide playing time. Hmm, the great hedge bet. Or probably not. You saw the first three games. Beathard had one series and wasn't getting anymore. It didn't look like he would, anyway.

As late as media day, Davis used the word 'wild-card' in describing Beathard. Ferentz said this summer, 'We don't want him to go out there and just start chucking it up, either.' How do you coach that out of a kid? You can only say it so much, how do you change behavior?

Depth chart.

And when I use the term 'depth chart,' I really should be writing 'playing time.' It's not the great hedge bet, it's the great rudder. Ferentz slipped 'results-driven' into last week's news conference. How do you get more out of players? How do change performance shortcomings? You use the depth chart/playing time as a tool. You give it, you take it away.

'You play things by feel. And nothing's really changed,' Ferentz said in postgame. 'We like both guys.'

That is as far as we're going to be allowed to see in on this. Makes sense. The modus operendi with Ferentz has been 'Our business is our business.' It's been that way for years and it would do more harm than good to wash the dirty socks on the Pentacrest.

I do think Ferentz was being candid when this summer in Chicago he said, 'If there's an intelligent way to use him [CJB] and use that idea and concept, we'll do it. What we don't want to do is screw up our team, take away the rhythm of what we're doing, those type of things. I think a big part of that will be the mind-set we take, but the first part is we have to be convinced what we see is going to help us move the ball and score points. That's the only reason to do it. We're not trying to keep CJ happy or any of that stuff. We're not trying to entertain people. Or create a controversy, that too. I haven't thought about that option. If it's going to help us be tougher to defend, then I think — and I think it has that potential — so that's what we're kind of working through.'

So, Iowa has two QBs its likes. There's nothing set in stone except for who's performing best during their opportunity.

2. There's a competitor in there

— I think I've probably have given too little regard to Beathard's competitive instincts.

Can you blame me? You see the hair, you hear the voice. CJB sounds like a lot of the bands I like (Drive-By Truckers, Scott T. Biram and maybe Ryan Bingham, but he's more Texas with a rasp).

We automatically check that box in Rudock's favor because he snarls. (And we talked about this in the Video Session No. 3 yesterday. I am a critic. You are a critic. We are the critics. Let's not pretend this is anything else. The harsh reviews always gain more notice than the positive ones. And with football, there's always a review. They watch film every damn day. They are the critics. They also are the performers. Anyway . . . that's how this transaction works.)

CJB didn't snarl in yesterday's postgame. Neither did he leave anything up for interpretation. He said some stuff, nothing out-of-bounds, but, hell yes, he wants to play.

(Just a minute. I started listening to Ryan Bingham right when I brought him up there. 'Dylan's Hard Rain' from the Roadhouse Sun album. 'Give him your cash [bleeeeeeep], he's too fast for you.']

OK, here's CJB. I asked if he was chomping at the bit to get in there with all the big plays happening (sort of an icebreaker): 'The offense started off really fast. You can't complain about it, you're doing great. Why go in now? I got my opportunity later on and I tried to get the most of out it. We're winning games, that's all that really matters.'

So, I asked: I hear things in the outside world, but you seem OK with this? 'I'd like to play more and do things. You can't complain about it. I have a role on this team. I know my role. Right now, we're winning games, that's what it is.'

For what it's worth, I didn't detect any bitterness. I think he has a grasp of what's going on and will continue to have opporuntity.

3. Remember when CJB and Ole Miss had that mutual breakup?

— I might not be remembering this as cleanly as I should be, but coming out of Tennessee, Beathard originally committed Mississippi. There was a coaching change. Hugh Freeze brought a read-option offense to Oxford. You see Bo Wallace tearing it up now. The Rebels are in it this year more than Bama is (oh man, SEC! I wrote that so much faster).

Beathard cited the read option as not being a fit for him when he finally picked Iowa. And there he was Saturday, running the option with freshman RB Jonathan Parker. Clearly, read option and option is part of what Davis wants out of CJB. But, no, you see his arm. The feet are nice, but . . .

'Things open up because I can run the ball and do things with my feet,' he said. 'I came here for the prostyle offense and we still do that.'

4. Is 'yin' the good one or bad one?

— Indiana put up 316 rushing yards on the Hawkeyes. That was the 11th worst performance for a rush defense in the country this week. The worst? Illinois allowed Wisconsin to truck for 401. Iowa plays Wisconsin, you know.

Indiana's 6.3 yards a carry (39 attempts) was fifth best in the nation this week.

This was the first time Iowa allowed 300-plus yards rushing since Northwestern went for 349 in 2012. RB Tevin Coleman's 83-yard run was the longest against Iowa since . . . I don't have this one. Maybe I can find it this week.

Let's make 'yang' the good one this week. The seven completions Iowa allowed was third in the nation this week. The 66.9 pass efficiency was fourth. And the 116 passing yards allowed was ninth this week.

What score would Iowa have needed to put up if Nate Sudfeld hadn't been injured? Let's say 59, but that's also an alternate universe with a population of zero.

5. Speaking of alternate universes

— Ferentz was asked this week how interested Iowa was in Coleman and vice versa. He sort of dismissed the question.

Here's what I know: Iowa offered Coleman. Sometime during the process, he named Georgia Tech his leader. He visited Michigan State. He committed to Indiana. Where Iowa was in the process, I'm not sure. Coleman is from Oak Forest, a Chicago suburb. He was recruited by former Iowa RB coach Lester Erb. I'm not sure, but I think it timed up with Erb's departure from Iowa (he was fired).

I've had a few inquiries on tracking players who almost picked Iowa. All I can say there is seriously? You want to live in a world of cognitive dissonance? What if Montee Ball were a Hawkeye? He wasn't, so what's the use? In recruiting, there's first and everyone else. You have to learn to suck it up.

Don't chase this tail. You'll never catch it and it will only look at you and flip you the bird for eternity. Don't do it. (But if you must, Michael Crabtree and Matt Ryan might give you a facial tic.)

WOLF T-SHIRTS

1. DE Drew Ott

— I don't think the 6-5, 270-pound junior will be allowed to take another play off this season. Teams have ID'd him and are running away from him. Coleman's massive 83-yard TD run was to the left, Ott's side, and so I thought maybe I better look this up before awarding a wolf T-shirt. Nope, Ott wasn't in the game. Senior Mike Hardy spelled him and was reach blocked. No one played this worth a black rubber bit from the FieldTurf.

Ott finished with a 1.5 sacks and is now fifth in the Big Ten with 4.5 sacks.

2. QB Jake Rudock

— The ESPNU guy said Rudock suffered more than a hip injury at Pitt. He mentioned something midsection? I don't know. They talk about that stuff in that Friday production meeting with TV. (Imagine running through that with Ferentz. Wait, it's national media, he's probably very cool and gracious.)

Anyway, great numbers. His 160.14 pass efficiency was the fourth best of his career (when Ferentz mentions Rudock's games that people have forgotten, I think Nebraska is No. 1 on his mind, here you go: 9 of 15 for 126 yards and two TDs).

His 72-yard connectio