Iowa football: Five observations in win over Rutgers
By Andrew Wade
The Iowa football dominated Rutgers from start to finish. Here are my five observations from the 30-0 victory over the Scarlet Knights.
It was the earliest in the season the Iowa football team has ever played a Big Ten Conference opponent, but fortunately, all of the rust appeared to be shaken off last week in their victory over the Miami RedHawks.
Against Rutgers, the Iowa football team looked hungry, motivated, and for the most, they were firing on all cylinders.
Was it a perfect game? Absolutely not. But considering how long it can sometimes take teams to build an identity and establish a presence, I am pretty happy with the results.
The Hawks dealt with the injuries, including a late one this week that sidelined Kaevon Merriweather, in stride, and they continued to work the ball around the offense, successfully feeding most of their playmakers.
Defensively, the unit looked stout, but it also helped that Rutgers’ quarterback play was mostly inept, and the special teams’ units had a great day (save for some boneheaded fair catch interference plays by Iowa’s starting defensive backs).
There is a lot to unpack from this game, and I am going to be rewatching the game tomorrow to get a finer look at what went down in the game, but here are my five observations from the win over Rutgers.