Stat Pak: Yes, just FCS . . .

5 BULLET POINTS

1. Battle Ground Academy

- If you watched the Big Ten Network broadcast of the Iowa-Illinois State game (totally loved Kevin Kugler and Matt Millen, BTW), you saw sideline reporter Lisa Byington (one of the best in the business, and, no, I don't know Lisa at all) interview Bobby Beathard at Kinnick Stadium.

I thought it was rather ingenious of Beathard, HOF-caliber NFL GM who also happens to be C.J. Beathard's grandfather and the father of Illinois State offensive coordinator Kurt Beathard, to wear what I think was a Battle Ground Academy hat and T-shirt. That's where CJB played QB. I'm not sure of any other family ties to the place (maybe Bobby is a volunteer assistant or something) beyond CJB's brothers, but it was a smart, cagey move by grandfather. Stayed nice and neutral.

Byington asked Bobby Beathard to put on the NFL GM hat and evaluate CJB: 'I would say right now he's a heckuva prospect for the next level. He's a smart kid. Spends a lot of time studying the game. Since our whole family has been involved in football, he's kind of naturally gravitated toward it. He's a great athlete and I think he's a definite prospect, but he's got a job to finish here.”

Again, exact right thing to say.

2. Caveat time

- In the horse latitudes of this game, Millen slowed it down and made a really great point. The Hawkeyes took care of business. How good Illinois State eventually becomes notwithstanding, Iowa won this game up front. The OL and DL put on their Big Ten-ness and trampled an FCS school that was young up front.

You'll read positive things here and other places. They are most definitely deserved. Iowa took care of business, and if you say you weren't nervous about this, then you may actually bleed black and goal. Like for real.

Know that no one is putting Iowa in the Rose Bowl or crowning the Hawkeyes West Division champs. Positive first step.

Now, you know the Paul Simon song '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”? Change around the words and make it fit '50 Ways to Lose to Iowa State,” because you've seen at least three crazy ways (Steele Jantz, Jake Knott and Mark Mangino/Sam Richardson) in the last four years.

And you know next week is going to get weird.

3. Pass interference penalties

- Those were pass interference penalties. Otherwise, corner Greg Mabin and safety Jordan Lomax were solid Saturday. Mabin had the form tackle of every old-school football coaches dreams and a couple of pass breakups (ISU didn't throw Desmond King's way, but teams will, I don't think it's a Revis Island situation yet). Lomax saved a first down with a powerful tackle on Marshaun Coprich on one of those screens that worked.

Still, those were good flags.

4. Lots of action for the 2s

- DE Parker Hesse, welcome to football. I thought he made a splash in his first steps as a DE. Remember, about a year and a half ago, he was a QB at Waukon. Moved like a linebacker. He had a sack and a forced fumble. He and fellow backup DE Matt Nelson played meaningful snaps, too.

Oh, Akrum Wadley. The sophomore had a beautiful 13-yard run that makes you want to buy into him and then on the next carry, he was chopped from behind and fumbled. That's four in 36 carries the last two seasons. I don't think that's the killshot. Iowa has to keep an open mind with players who can do what Wadley can do. I'm just not sure when his next carry comes.

5. Wouldja look at that? Bubble screens!

- The lack of execution on this play the last two years was a two-way street. No, Jake Rudock didn't throw it well. The ball has to be a bullet and has to be placed perfectly . . . because the wide receiver has to make an athletic play, turning to locate and catch the ball while on the run. None of it worked the last two years.

Saturday, that play, out of a triple stack of Iowa's best WRs, struck big twice. Matt VandeBerg took one 15 yards, following blocks by Tevaun Smith and Jacob Hillyer. And then VandeBerg scored on a 9-yarder late in the third quarter.

Ball and execution were there.

THREE STARS

1. Iowa DE Drew Ott

- In a span of about a minute in the postgame, Iowa left tackle Boone Myers was asked twice, 'So, that Drew Ott, he's good at football, huh?” Maybe that not exactly, but Myers practiced across from Ott all spring and summer. He has the battle scars. Saturday, Ott was up against junior Dan Pawlak (6-5, 280), who made his first start. Ott ate all of the guy's eggs, picking up two sacks and should've been credited with two other QB hurries. Ott also forced a fumble, not to mention setting a tone for the defense that was tornadic.

2. RB LeShun Daniels

- In his first career start, the junior was everything Iowa will need him to be this season. He rushed 26 times for 123 yards, including a long run of 27 yards on his third carry, running an outside zone through a hole created by Myers and center Austin Blythe. In his first game in 2008, Shonn Greene had 109 yards on 22 carries against Maine. Comparable? No, certainly not, just the first thing that jumped into my mind.

3. RB Jordan Canzeri

- The senior put up 118 all-purpose yards on just nine touches (four receptions for 90 yards). Iowa used him in space. Kirk Ferentz was asked in the postgame why not Beathard earlier? Well, why not Canzeri in space earlier? His 51-yard screen pass set up a field goal for a 17-0 halftime lead. Canzeri had one drop (another that was a bad ball from Beathard), but other than that, showed he could be a weapon on the swing/wheel route/screen this season. Also, Canzeri threw a key block on CJB's first 6-yard TD run.

FILMROOM

You saw the ferocity with which Ott zeroed in on the QB on Saturday. You'll likely see that a lot this season. Millen talked about Ott concentrating on his 'get off” this offseason. I think that's what we used to call back in the suspension helmet days 'firing off the ball.” Against Illinois State, this was a bear loose in the children's zoo.

But did you notice the counter? Illinois State started rolling the running back into the flat for quick screen passes. The first time, corner Desmond King made a great open-field tackle on Coprich to hold him to a 7-yard gain on a third-and-21. Pro play by King. ISU did it a second time and it worked. The drive ended in a missed 50-yard field goal.

So, it didn't hurt Iowa, but teams will play off this aggression. Why wouldn't you? If you're Iowa, you still want Ott going 1,000 mph and you want to rely on your overall team concept, players staying home and doing their jobs.

There was a lot of that Saturday. In the postgame, ISU QB Tre Roberson mentioned how Iowa defended the read-option with a DE controlling the block and then an LB flowing in and a safety flowing in after that.

In one outing, this defense felt more team concept, all on the same page than at a lot of times last season.

TWO PLAYS

1. Raider package?

- It made a couple of appearances Saturday. I don't know what this means. Will it be a thing? Is it just a look to throw on video? Time will tell, but here was the personnel:

Standup on the line of scrimmage: Ott and fellow DE Nate Meier started almost in the flat and pinched in before the snap. Linebacker Josey Jewell and Hesse were the standup DTs. OLB Ben Niemann was stood up on the LOS.

Wide side coverage: Mabin and King lined up together (interesting) and played a scissors concept perfectly (WRs trying to pick defenders off by crossing). Maurice Fleming and linebacker Cole Fisher were the coverage on the boundary. Miles Taylor and Lomax were in two deep.

Again, who knows if we'll see it a lot or again, but that was the personnel.

2. Quick slant

- You saw it a few times. Off play-action and a short drop, CJB hit a few quick slants OVER THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD. All caps denotes that this was a bit of a departure.

On one of these in particular, CJB faked a middle handoff off a three-step drop and hit WR Jacob Hillyer on a slant over the middle. The ball traveled 11 air yards and was on the back hip. Hillyer adjusted well and made the play, but CJB leads that a little more and Hillyer makes it a 35-yarder instead of the 20 it went.

UP NEXT - IOWA STATE

From our friends at the Ames Tribune:

- The Cyclones did good things on defense and special teams in their 31-7 victory over Northern Iowa last Saturday night.

- ISU star WR Allen Lazard averaged 25 yards on four punt returns vs. UNI. This is using your best football player to play more football. It's a sound practice.

- ISU bowled in the south end zone this year. I think it's a really big deal for ISU. If for nothing else, that horrific camera angle that peered into the wilds of the Jack Trice Stadium parking lot is gone. Now, you see a sea of people. And they see a great concourse area where you can sit and enjoy soda (probably going to be beer there, I think eventually).

THE NUMBERS GAME

Touchdowns in the red zone

Iowa

- 4 of 5

Illinois State

- 1 of 1

Tracking the Hawkeyes: Week 1 vs. ISU

- 4 of 5 (off), 1 of 1 (def)

The takeaway:

The fourth-down slant from CJB to Tevaun Smith was a really big deal. Without it, this stat is pedestrian for Iowa's offense. With it, this is sterling. ISU's conversion came against the No. 2 defense, but it still was pretty routine and against ISU's No. 2 QB.

3 and outs (forced by defense)

Iowa

- 3

Illinois State

- 2

Tracking the Hawkeyes: Week 1 vs. ISU

- 3 (def), 2 (off)

The takeaway:

Iowa had one negative play vs. ISU. It happened to come on a first down in the third quarter. It also happened to cause a 3-and-out. Once most offenses fall off schedule, it's tough to overcome. Iowa made more third downs (6 of 12 and 2 of 3 on 4th) to really override this one 3-and-out vs. ISU.

Second half adjustments

Iowa

- 163 yards, 5.25 yards per play (31 plays)

Illinois State

- 195 yards, 6.5 yards per play (30 plays)

Tracking the Hawkeyes: Week 1 vs. ISU

- 163 yards, 5.25 yards per play (31 offensive plays), 195 yards, 6.5 yards per play (30 plays on defense)

The takeaway:

This week, a meaningless stat here. In the first half, the yardage was 268-36 in favor of Iowa. The Redbirds were not ready for the boom.

20-plus plays

Iowa

- 4

Illinois State

- 3

Tracking the Hawkeyes: Week 1 vs. ISU

- 4 (off), 3 (allowed)

The takeaway:

Three of Iowa's four 20-plus plays came from running backs. Daniels had a 27-yard outside zone on Iowa's first series. He finished the run by knocking the ISU safety head over heels on the sideline. Canzeri had a 21-yard reception and that 51-yard screen pass. He's a good runner, but he has a chance to be a Darren Sproles-type danger in space with the ball. The other was a 20-yarder to WR Jacob Hillyer, who had a game to grow on. The Redbirds' big plays came in garbage time.

The Iowa/Greg Davis definition of explosive (it's 12-plus runs and 16-plus passes):

9 (Illinois State 9)

Magic points (scores inside of two minutes)

Iowa

- 3

Illinois State

- 7

Tracking the Hawkeyes: Week 1 vs. ISU

- 3 (off), 7 (allowed)

The takeaway

: I'm not sure what the Kinnick crowd enjoyed more: Marshall Koehn's 40-yard field goal that came with no time left on the clock in the first half, a drive that started with 37 seconds left on the clock and at Iowa's 33 (Ferentz, January meeting with coaches, going against percentages). Or the fake field goal on fourth-and-10 from Illinois State's 30. Koehn went 8 yards before he was tackled. The Kinnick crowd approved with a loud applause.

I think you liked the fake field goal (Ferentz, January meeting with assistants, going against the percentages) better.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com