Iowa football: Five observations from loss to Penn State

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 12: Wide receiver K.J. Hamler #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs up the field in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes, on October 12, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Welcome back 4-2-5

Well, it only took KJ Hamler torching Nick Niemann several times before Phil Parker brought back the 4-2-5.

For some reason, the Iowa football team thought it would be possible to stop one of the most athletic players in the Big Ten with an outside linebacker. Needless to say, Penn State took advantage of this.

Hamler had over half of Sean Clifford’s total passing yards as he brought in 7 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Was it his best performance? No, but it could have been worse if Parker put in the 4-2-5 and used his now-healthy defensive backs to shut him down instead of a linebacker.

That being said, this formation is finally back as all defensive backs appear to be healthy (save for Julius Brents) and the Iowa football team has a Purdue offense that loves to spread the ball around.

Next. Hawks drop home game against Penn State. dark

As we’ve seen in Iowa’s three closest games this season, it is typically one big play that burns them. Iowa State had two of them, Michigan had that 51-yard catch to Nico Collins and last night it was the 22-yard touchdown catch by Hamler that likely could have been stopped if the 4-2-5 personnel was in place.

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