Iowa football: Five observations from win over Miami

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- AUGUST 31: Quarterback Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes scrambles on a keeper in the first half past defensive lineman Austin Ertl #92 of the Miami Ohio RedHawks on August 31, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

The read-option is at Iowa

When I saw Nate Stanley tuck the ball and run for a first down, I was honestly in shock. I’m not used to seeing Stanley run like that and most of all, I’m not used to seeing Stanley intentionally run like that. The Iowa football team doesn’t design a lot of quarterback runs. Actually, let me rephrase that, I can’t remember the last time the Iowa football designed a quarterback run other than a QB sneak.

Then as I watched the replay, I realized it was a read option.

Let that sink in.

The Iowa football team ran a read option with a 6’4’’ 240-pound quarterback not known for his legs. And it worked.

The Miami RedHawks were completely caught off guard, and by running that play successfully last night, it added a wrinkle to the Iowa football team’s offense that other teams are going to need to account for going forward.

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