Iowa football: Five observations in blowout win vs Middle Tennessee State

By Andrew Wade | Sep 28, 2019

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 28: Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes is taken out of bounds during the first half by linebacker Brett Shepherd #43 and corner back Teldrick Ross #19 of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on September 28, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

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AMES, IA – SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive back Anthony Johnson #26 of the Iowa State Cyclones sacks quarterback Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes as he scrambled for yards in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

Clock management was much better

After two weeks in a row of struggling with clock management to close out the first half, the Iowa football did a much better job against Middle Tennessee State.

Credit goes to Brian Ferentz who even noted that they need to improve here.

He had this to say about his Rutgers snafu that cost the Iowa football team a chance a touchdown.

"I think in the Rutgers game, we should have used a time-out. Didn’t manage that well. That falls on my shoulders. That was poor and probably cost an us opportunity to score six points."

He wouldn’t go as far as to say the Iowa State clock management was an issue like we think it was, but this week you could tell the offense was ready for the two-minute drill.

The Iowa football team moved the ball methodically down the field in 1:45 while running 13 plays and gaining 78 yards. While it ultimately resulted in no points (Keith Duncan missed his first field goal of the year), the urgency and execution were there throughout the drive, and that gives me hope going forward.

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