Iowa football: Three biggest disappointments against Northwestern

3 of 4

IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 10: Wide receiver Nick Easley #84 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field during the first half against defensive back Cameron Ruiz #18 of the Northwestern Wildcats on November 10, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Horizontal play-calling

I don’t fancy myself an expert play caller or by any means even close to as good at reading a situation as the Iowa football staff, but it’s frustrating to continually watch the Iowa offense move horizontally, intentionally. The Northwestern defense was missing their top three corners for most of the game, and yet, Iowa failed to attack deep consistently.

It’s one thing to not have those weapons, but Iowa has a speedy Ihmir Smith-Marsette, a prototypical seam-stretching tight end in TJ Hockenson, and an athletic freak in Noah Fant, who is likely going to be a top-15 pick in the NFL draft because he such a mismatch. How are we not attacking the weak spot of this defense then?

Instead, we saw an onslaught of bubble screens and swing passes (that appeared to be the first read). Thankfully Nick Easley (who is typically the main recipient of the bubble screens has the speed, agility and football smarts to get positive yardage despite being met with defenders typically behind the line of scrimmage. He managed to average 6.6 yards on eight catches.

I’m not sure if there is more to Nate Stanley’s thumb than we realize, but if not, than I have no idea what is going on. What happened to the Iowa offense from the first half of the season?

Furthermore, where is Noah Fant at? I do not blame Fant when he decides to inevitably leave at the end of the season for the NFL. If he was considering the potential of staying, why would he now? He is an afterthought in a disappointing offense. After scoring six touchdowns in the first six games, he hasn’t reached the end zone in the last four (three of which were losses).

I am truly flabbergasted. This guy is bigger than defensive backs and faster than most of them too. We should be spoon-feeding the ball to him. Kirk left a bit more to be desired in his post-game press conference.

Kirk Ferentz on Noah Fant's usage: “We try to feature our guys that are doing the best, whether it’s T.J., Noah, our receivers. We’re calling the game as we call the game.”

Later: “We’re playing the best guys that we feel are best for the situation that’s given.”
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) November 11, 2018

Iowa need to involve arguably their most gifted player in order to win the next two games.

Home/Iowa Football