The Iowa defense has played lights out for the first two weeks of the 2025-2026 season.
During Iowa's Week One game against Albany, the staunch Iowa defense held Albany to 177 total yards of offense, nine first downs, and only seven points in the game.
Week Two had similar results, holding a much better Iowa State team to 238 yards of total offense and 16 points.
You would think limiting a team to 16 points would be enough to win, right?
Sadly, the Iowa offense, especially the passing attack, struggled in the pivotal Cy-Hawk rivalry game against Iowa State. The Hawkeyes could muster only 83 passing yards, bringing their total in two games to 131.
The Iowa defense did all it could, but the Hawkeyes dropped their second consecutive game against Iowa State, leaving the Iowa program with more questions than answers.
The Iowa defense has never been a problem with Phil Parker at the helm, but defensive back Zach Lutmer and the defense left the game feeling like they let this one slip away.
In a brief clip of Lutmer's postgame interview, which was posted by "The Hawkeye Report," Lutmer repeated multiple times that Iowa State made a few more plays than they did to seal their victory.
He noted that anytime the defensive unit cannot get the ball back to the offense, "it hurts," as they failed to stop Iowa State's momentum on their last drive that produced the game-winning field goal.
Lutmer noted that the defense was confident throughout the game, but they didn't make enough plays when it mattered.
It is hard to put any blame at the feet of the defense as the offense continues to struggle, and in typical Iowa fashion, it is trending towards the defense being called into action early an often again this season.