Iowa football: Who gets game balls in loss to Northwestern?

The Iowa football lost their third straight game Saturday to Northwestern. The loss, however, doesn’t negate the strong performances of two individuals.

As frustrating as the loss to Northwestern was, there were a few bright spots from the game, which is why we will be handing out a virtual offensive and defensive game ball for two players on the Iowa football team.

Offensively, the Iowa football team couldn’t get much going all day. The team was plagued by their inability to convert on third down and a lackluster play calling performance that had Iowa going horizontal almost as much as they had them going vertical. With that being said, there was one player who stood above the rest both on offense and on special teams.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette accumulated 190 total yards with 90 yards coming through the air on the offensive side of the ball and the other 100 yards coming on three kick returns. Moreover, he added a touchdown catch on one of his four catches that gave the Iowa football the lead in the third quarter. This guy was one of the only effective players on the Iowa offense, and he is going to be quite a threat for the next two seasons in a Iowa football uniform.

His kick returns were electric and set the Hawkeye offense up with fantastic field position (that they ultimately didn’t capitalize on). Furthermore, on a key third and five in the middle of the third quarter, Smith-Marsette gave us his best Brandon Smith impression and came down with a fantastic catch along the sideline.

Defensively, our midseason defensive MVP Amani Hooker continued his stellar play this season. The versatile safety/linebacker/corner hybrid role that Phil Parker has Hooker playing is working. Against Northwestern, he was involved in every facet of the game wrapping up six tackles, getting a sack on a well-timed blitz and having one verified pass defended among a few other hits that dislodged the ball from Northwestern receivers.

Why this guy isn’t getting national hype when it comes to the NFL draft is beyond me, but hopefully that means he will stick around for another year because the Iowa defense wouldn’t be the same without him.

As you probably have figured out then, our offensive game ball is going to Ihmir Smith-Marsette and our defensive game ball is going to Amani Hooker for his contribution in every aspect of the defense.

These two will need to continue their great play and hopefully elevate the play of others over the final two games so the Iowa football team can avoid a full implosion to close the 2018 season.