Iowa football: Three most disappointing performances from Penn State

Throughout the season, the Iowa football coaches have seemingly been one step ahead of the opponent. After some early season struggles getting the offense going, the Hawks play-calling has been fantastic. Furthermore, they have been creative and have incorporated quite a bit of trickery, which we at Dear Old Gold have praised heavily this season.

It’s exciting and fun football, and it’s something we haven’t seem from Kirk Ferentz before. It’s why this year’s Kirk has appropriately been dubbed #NewKirk.

Unfortunately against Penn State, #NewKirk got a little too cute and it put the Hawks in a bad position. Most notably, late in the second quarter with a 4th and 10 at the Penn State 42, the Hawkeyes decided to run some sort of trick play that involved backup quarterback Peyton Mansell. The play was a bust and Mansell scrambled for no gain and a turnover on downs.

Penn State’s offense would quickly drive down the field to put three points on the board and tie the game going into half. In that situation, why not just punt the ball and pin Penn State back deep in their territory and go into half 17-14?

The second interesting call was late in the fourth with Iowa on Penn State’s four-yard line, and the Hawkeyes called a passing play instead of just running the ball. You have four downs to gain four yards running through the heart of your offensive line with arguably the best offensive player for the day, Mekhi Sargent. Furthermore, the result was an interception by the struggling Nate Stanley.

I’ll give the Hawkeye coaches a pass for one bad game, but stuff like that can’t happen if Iowa is expected to win out the rest of the season. Sometimes, it’s important to get back to the basics and not get too cute with your plays.

This loss stings but next week is another week and the Hawks still have a chance at a fantastic season if they can finish strong.