Advertisement

Mark Gronowski and the Iowa offense will look to take more deep shots this week

Gronowski stated they believe they will have big-play opportunities against UMass
Jordan Underwood
Jordan Underwood

Dear Old Gold

Iowa v Iowa State / David K Purdy/GettyImages

After last Saturday's loss in the annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game in Ames, starting quarterback Mark Gronowski set a record you never want to set as a college quarterback.

Gronowski set the mark for the lowest passing yards through the first two games in college football history with 127, shattering the old record of 177 that Northwestern's Kain Colter set.

There is something off about the Iowa passing attack, and no one can pinpoint what it is. Gronowski and the coaching staff have been adamant that practices have gone smoothly and they are exceptionally prepared for the upcoming game.

Whether it's Gronowski's unfamiliarity with the new offense, receivers failing to get open, or everyone not following the game plan, something has to change for the Hawkeyes to have success this season.

Before Iowa takes the field against UMass on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, Gronowski spoke to the media about his preparation and the emphasis for the game.

During a portion of his media interviews, which 247 Sports posted, Gronowski described the preparation for this week and how they are going to attack the UMass defense.

UMass's head coach, Joe Harasymiak, was the defensive coordinator for Rutgers before joining UMass, which gives the Hawkeye offense more tape.

UMass runs a similar defensive scheme to Rutgers, which includes a lot of man-to-man coverage.

Gronowski is confident that if they execute the game plan properly, there will be plenty of opportunities for deep shots down the field.

After last week's offensive game plan incorporated a lot of run-pass options (RPO), Gronowski stated that they will continue to run them to mix up the speeds.

New Iowa senior football analyst Warren Ruggiero ran a lot of RPO with Wake Forest and has helped the Hawkeye offense work it into the game plan.

Time will tell if the Iowa passing attack can get back on track, and with a weaker UMass squad coming into Kinnick Stadium, it will be a good reset game for the Hawkeyes.

More Hawkeyes News:

Jordan Underwood

Jordan Underwood

Jordan is the Site Expert for Dear Old Gold, which focuses on University of Iowa athletics. He has 10 years in the broadcast media industry covering a wide variety of topics including sports, news, local weather and politics. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and a die-hard Hawkeyes fan. That means he has witnessed very few titles, and knows how much pain Hawkeyes' fans endure on a daily basis. His hobbies include watching/covering sports, video games, comic book collecting and spending time with his wife Rosane and dog Wrigley. Go Hawks!