The traditionally stellar Iowa special teams unit struggled in the loss to Iowa State last Saturday.
Head Coach Kirk Ferentz made it a point to address the struggles during his weekly press conference, stating it was uncharacteristic of the special teams unit to be a weak spot.
Whether it was shanked punts or penalties, the Iowa special teams were noticeably absent in the loss over the weekend.
A big part of the Iowa special teams unit is senior return specialist, and Jet Award winner, Kaden Wetjen, who had a rough day on special teams and on offense.
During the opening kickoff, Wetjen was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, costing the Hawkeyes a chance to move the ball down the field on their first drive.
Wetjen was also at the center of an Iowa turnover when he fell down on a sideline route that resulted in quarterback Mark Gronowski throwing an interception.
Iowa State's offense would quickly respond, putting a touchdown on the board the very next drive.
Wetjen acknowledged his struggles, but stated that not everything goes your way all the time in a football game. During media availability, Wetjen discussed the Iowa State game and what the offense is focusing on moving forward.
In a clip of Wetjen's media availability posted by 247 Sports, he stated that Iowa has standards put in place at the beginning of the season, and they have not lived up to them so far.
The Iowa program has a good tradition of responding after a loss, and Wetjen has "no doubt" that they will respond.
No matter who the opponent is, they try to respect them and stick to the standards that they have put in place.
In a full-circle moment for Wetjen against UMass, Wetjen wants to respond in a big way and get back to the standards they set.