Even though the Iowa defense plays well as a unit, missed tackles continue to be a problem for the defense.
The problem was apparent during a tough 38-28 victory over Rutgers, but the dynamic performance of the offense masked it.
This week, the offense was slow out of the gate, including an opening possession interception by Mark Gronowski, and managed only 13 points.
The offense was humming when Gronowski was in the game, but they failed to convert multiple sustained drives into points. When Gronowski left the game with an injury, the offense was doomed.
With the offense struggling, the defense was called into action early and often, and held its own against a high-powered Indiana offensive attack.
However, the problems that have plagued the Iowa defense all year showed up in a big way during Saturday's 20-15 loss against Indiana.
Iowa missed a whopping 14 tackles in the game, allowing Indiana to sustain drives and keep the Iowa offense off the field.
Kirk Ferentz: We’ve got to get better at tackling. It seems like more on the inexperienced guys.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) September 28, 2025
Says that there have been some bad angles and pointed to a couple plays in the second half.
Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz was asked at length about the poor tackling by the Iowa defense, and he acknowledged that they need to be better in the future.
He pointed to multiple new guys who do not have much game experience, but there is no excuse for missing 14 tackles on any team, especially when you have a chance to upset a ranked team in your own building.
After every game so far this season, Ferentz is adamant that the team had a good week of practice, but the games paint a different picture.
When is a "great week of practice" going to translate into game success?
Iowa has yet to put a complete performance together in all three phases, and if the defense continues to struggle with tackling, the Hawkeyes are in for a long season.
For a Phil Parker-coached defense, all the missed tackles are unacceptable and needs to be corrected during Iowa's bye week this week.