The Iowa Hawkeyes need to improve in these four areas after a disappointing 0-2 start to the 2020 season.
The Iowa Hawkeyes entered the 2020 college football season with several question marks. After a devastating 0-2 start to the year (first time since 2000), many of the same concerns remain for Kirk Ferentz’s team.
Obviously, the Hawkeyes are lucky to even be playing football after the Big Ten initially cancelled the 2020 season. The lack of practice time this summer appears to have had a major impact in Iowa’s first two games. The Hawks were sloppy in both contests thus far, which has ultimately led to their demise.
Quarterback Spencer Petras made his debut as the team’s starter against Purdue last Saturday. So far, Petras has failed to live up to expectations. He’s completed just 53.9 percent of his passes and has just 481 yards through the air (5.4 yards per attempt).
While Petras may not have been the sole reason Iowa has lost both of their opening games, he certainly didn’t contribute enough to swing either game in their favor. The redshirt sophomore has played the role of game manager while letting the ancillary pieces do all the leg work – which is fine – but eventually Petras will need to make a play or two on his own.
On defense, Iowa has struggled to halt the run. Purdue backup running back Zander Horvath ran for 129 yards. Isaiah Bowser of Northwestern ran for 85 yards. The Hawks are simply getting outflanked and outworked down in and down out.
But fear not, after two games, not all hope is lost. The Hawkeyes have plenty of time to turn things around and contend in the Big Ten West especially in the current times. With that said, here are four things they’ll need to improve on moving forward.