Iowa football: Four Hawks named to PFF’s B1G week seven team

The Iowa football team is coming off a big win over Indiana Saturday. A season-high four Hawks were named to PFF’s week seven B1G team after the victory.

It’s not surprise after the Iowa football team’s huge win over the Indiana Hoosiers that the team now finds a season-high four players appearing on Pro Football Focus’s Big Ten Team of the Week for week seven.

In fact, the most players Iowa has had on this list is two. They also haven’t had more than one player make the list on the offensive side of the ball. Today they have three, which makes sense considering the explosive showing for the Iowa football team Saturday.

Before you take a look, one noticeable exclusion is FBS National Player of the Week Nate Stanley. Furthermore, I am not one to say I told you so, but each of the guys on the offensive side of the ball also appeared in our article where we handed our three game balls for the strong performances against Indiana.

There is no surprise, however, that tight end TJ Hockenson and two offensive lineman, Ross Reynolds and Keegan Render make the list.

Hockenson had another outstanding performance bringing in two touchdowns on four catches and tallying 107 yards total receiving.

The offensive line, meanwhile, spent most of the day keeping Nate Stanley clean. Where their grade really comes from though is the work they did clearing space in the run game for the Iowa football team to accumulate 159 yards on 32 rushes for an average of 5.0 yards per carry.

Defensively, senior defensive end Parker Hesse is the lone representative for the Hawkeyes on the Big Ten defensive team. Despite not getting any sacks on mobile quarterback Peyton Ramsey, he did total seven tackles and two tackles for loss. What’s more impressive about Hesse’s performance on the field is his performance off the field–he’s currently in the running for a prestigious academic award.

While Iowa football fans might be excited to see the Hawks continuing to receive recognition, others might be questioning how others aren’t making this list. For reference, here is how Pro Football Focus’ grading system works. While stats can have some correlation to PFF grades, there is not a causation effect in place. PFF analysts grade completely separate of the statistical output.

Through six games, Iowa has had representation every single week, and I don’t anticipate that streak stopping anytime soon.