Stat Pak — No, it wasn’t easy

FIVE SENTENCES ON UNI RESULT

1)

The communication breakdowns that plagued the linebackers and safeties rotations on UNI RB David Johnson are correctable mistakes, but . . .

2)

. . . Iowa will see better spread combos (you saw Nebraska and Wisconsin yesterday, and Maryland probably doesn't stink at it, either).

3)

The Hawkeyes D lacked the fine tuning in coverage, not getting on receivers and re-routing, but it was the debut, basically, for LBs Quinton Alston, Reggie Spearman and Bo Bower, cornerback Greg Mabin and free safety Jordan Lomax. It was a big step for that group. They know improvement is needed, because defensive coordinator Phil Parker will continue to ask a lot.

4)

The short passes? Yes, that's been your biggest complaint on Twitter. I asked QB Jake Rudock about the game plan and he said, 'The plan is to win the game.” On Iowa's radio broadcast, analyst Ed Podolak pleaded for Iowa to stretch the field. On the Big Ten Network TV broadcast, Chuck Long praised the offense for taking what the defense gave it. Both points are valid. UNI scouted Iowa to the bone. It knew all of Iowa's personnel and it wasn't going to get beat deep. Baby steps with the passing game, but . . .

5)

. . . What's the deal with the running game? The right side of the O-line lost more than it won. UNI changed the LOS way too many times. Reach blocks missed on outside zones doomed RB LeShun Daniels a couple of times. Is that correctable? Maybe. The key here is how well UNI knew Iowa. The key also will be how well the rest of the B1G knows Iowa.

THREE STARS

1) DT Louis Trinca-Pasat

- Yes, Trinca-Pasat and fellow senior defensive tackle Carl Davis play off each other. And Davis was great against the Panthers (he was officially credited with one QB hurry, but there were more). Trinca-Pasat had the numbers. It was one of the most productive days for a defensive tackle in the Kirk Ferentz era - six tackles, 1.5 sacks and 3 tackles for loss. Maybe next week this will be Davis. (One note: I talked to CB Greg Mabin after the game. He said the D-line was invaluable Saturday. He said it in a very serious tone. He called the D-line the best unit on the defense.)

2) WR Tevaun Smith

- If you're a fan of the On Iowa podcast, you've probably heard me say that I haven't done enough on Smith during the season run-up hype time. Yesterday you saw why I felt that way. Smith was an athlete just dying to make a play. I loved how he took command on that reverse. He could've tried to run through some traffic, but, no, he cut back, barely stepped out of bounds and gained 35 yards. Iowa's offense needs more Smith. You saw the one-handed TD. More of that. More, more, more.

3) OLB Bo Bower - The freshman linebacker's August went like this: Check into the Coralville Marriott and Iowa football camp. Win starting outside linebacker job. Earn scholarship. And then, in his first game action ever, come up with an interception and a key sack. How was your August? It probably wasn't better than the former West Branch prep's.

Honorable mention

- I kept this all Hawkeyes because I cover the Hawkeyes, but I love UNI RB David Johnson. He averaged 13.2 yards on 18 touches yesterday. He caught five passes for 203 yards, including receptions of 53, 60 and 70. Johnson is an NFL player, and give credit to UNI coaches for maximizing him against where they thought Iowa's soft spots might be.

INTO THE FILM ROOM

1) Checking down -

Rudock's 6.1 yards per attempt is below average. Winning is 7.0, but it worked. Rudock will have some video study cognitive dissonance. Second drive, he threw short to running back Jordan Canzeri, who made something out of a little for a 13-yard gain. On that play, if Rudock waits another click, there was no pressure, tight end Ray Hamilton is open down the seam. Not the biggest window there, but it was doable. Beginning of the second quarter, Rudock checked to a short pass that RB Damon Bullock had batted out of his hands. Hamilton was again breaking open on the seam.

2) Flatfooted

- The nuance in defending the pass? On the 60-yard gain and 70-yard TD, Alston met Johnson completely flatfooted and Johnson squirted by him in space. Could Alston have stopped him if he would've opened his hips one way or the other? Probably not. That was probably an option route for Johnson, as in read the hips and go the other way. Could Alston have slowed him down or re-routed him with a chip? Yes, probably. He's a strong player. He probably minimizes the damage if he takes a hard edge on the inside and re-routes Johnson outside.

3) On the run

- I don't know. I didn't see anything that was glaring. Do RBs benefit from a bunch of carries, you know, that whole groove thing? Maybe. It was odd. UNI's linebackers locked in on their keys and the whole defense really flowed. Hey, Iowa had 151 yards and averaged 4.2 yards on 36 carries. It wasn't a negative, but it was a neutral. That just felt odd.

4) Quick snap on fourth-and-1

- That play might've run its course, but I don't expect it to go away. It's fairly low risk and Iowa usually doesn't pull it out unless it's inside the opponent's 30, which is punt-worthy. This time, though, Rudock lost the ball (at least it looked like). This offense will want to maximize this season. This play has lost its stealthiness.

TWO PLAYS

1) 46-yarder to Willies - I know you all roll your eyes when he says it, but when OC Greg Davis says you have to be smart about picking your spots on shot plays, this is a great example.

UNI choked off the deep play all day. Finally in the fourth quarter, and with Iowa first down at its 46, the Panthers probably felt Iowa would settle into ground and pound. Out an 11 personnel (one RB, one TE), Iowa flashed run and the safeties dropped. Willies reconized it right away and hit top gear on a streak. Rudock saw him and gave him a catchable ball. The shot play hit. First down at the UNI 8. Tunnel screen to Damond Powell and Iowa had its 31-23 margin.

2) Jet sweep - There it was. Running back Jonathan Parker lined up in the slot and UNI totally whiffed. He took the handoff from Rudock and made one defender missed and went 21 yards.

It was a great-looking play. We probably will never see it again. Kidding. It will be judicious, though, I'm sure.

NEXT UP

Ball State (1-0) at Iowa (1-0)

TV: 2:30 ESPN2

- Here's something from The StarPress (Muncie, Ind.) gamer after the Cardinals 30-10 victory over FCS Colgate:

The whole proceeding became almost perfunctory in the way FBS-FCS meetings often are. The Cardinal run game hammered away for 311 yards, with backs Horactio Banks (134 yards) and Jahwan Edwards (109) leading the way. The defense played stout against the run-first Raiders, while the passing game with new starting quarterback Ozzie Mann made its debut post-Keith Wenning.

Here's the link.

- Here's StarPress columnist Doug Zaleski on a postive first step.

- The bad news? BSU suffered a few injuries (linky). The upshot: BSU started former walk-on Nick Plavchek at left tackle. Starter Drake Miller had a hand injury and might be out this week. During the game, the Cardinals lost receivers Jordan Williams and Shane Bell to ankle sprains and safety Dae'Shaun Hurley suffered a knee injury.

THE NUMBERS GAME

Touchdowns in the red zone

Iowa

- 4 of 6

UNI

- 3 of 3

The takeaway:

It's a start. The Hawkeyes finished 11th in the Big Ten last season in red zone efficiency (75.93 percent). They were horrible in percentage of TDs, which this stat really is or should be all about, notching TDs just 51.85 percent (that was 106th in the country). It was 67 percent against the Panthers. In one game, Iowa has 14 percent of the red zone TDs (four) that it produced all last season (28).

3 and outs

Iowa

- 3

UNI

- 3

The takeaway:

Yes, three isn't a lot. Remember, first day at work for a lot of the defense. Timing was everything here. All three came in the second half (two in the fourth quarter) when the game was close and Iowa needed them the most.

Second half adjustments

Iowa

- 190 yards, 5.93 yards per play (32 plays)

UNI

- 199 yards, 5.68 yards per play (35 plays

The takeaway:

That's a big number, but it's a big number both ways for the Hawkeyes. The sour note is that Johnson's 60-yard pass came in the second quarter. The same play went for a 70-yard TD in the third quarter.

20-plus plays

Iowa

- 3

UNI

- 7

The takeaway:

That's an imbalance. All of UNI's biggies came through the air, too. Again, the players talked about correctable mistakes in the postgame.

Iowa generated just one that wasn't trickeration, Derrick Willies' 46-yard reception. That's not a shining beacon of explosiveness, but Davis got the ball into playmakers' hands in different ways a couple of times. The timing on the jet sweep and reverse were excellent, too (both on first downs).

The Davis definition of explosive

(this is a holdover stat from last year, it's 12-plus runs and 16-plus passes): 6

Magic points (scores inside of two minutes)

Iowa - 3

UNI - 0

The takeaway: Iowa's 2-minute drill at the end of the half was efficient. You might grumble about the lack of the 'shot” play, but Iowa just took what the Panthers gave it. The drive was 10 plays, 51 yards and the field goal came with just 1 second left before halftime. It also was a bit of a boost, with the Hawkeyes holding just a 14-13 lead at the time.

Short yardage (converted second-5 and third-5)

Iowa

- 9 of 15

UNI

- 5 of 10

The takeaway:

The Hawkeyes muscled up more often than not. UNI made it tough with great reads on Iowa's running game. What's a good number here? I don't know, let's see where this goes throughout the season.

Disruption numbers (number of TFLs/sacks, QB hurries, passes defended and turnovers divided by total number of opponent plays)

Iowa

- 9.0 TFL, 2 INT, 4 PBU, 3 QBH = 18 divided into 62 = 29 percent

UNI

- 6 TFL, 1 fumble forced, 1 fumble recovered, 3 PBU = 11 divided into 77 = 14.2 percent

The takeaway:

Again, kind of nutty professoring my way through this. We'll see what it means as more numbers compile, but 30 percent seems like a lot of disruption.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@sourcemedia.net