Arizona will bring a different look to the game tomorrow than Iowa's first two opponents. They like to run a variety of different formations and we will see some spread, some power I, and somethings in-between. This team actually huddles though, so none of that stand there for a while then turn to look at the coach garbage.
Running Game: Rushing the ball has been the strength of the Wildcat offense thus far this season. It’s not secret that running back NicGrigsby will be getting the ball a lot via a variety of formations (they like to mix it up with the I-formation and spread formations not unlike Penn State). He’s currently the second leading rusher in the nation, trailing only Purdue’s Bolden, averaging 162.5 yards per game and 8.6 yards per carry (he had a 94 yard run against Northern Arizona that kind of pads those stats though, still impressive though). He is a quick, shifty little back at 5’10” 190 lbs, and has the ability to break the long one. He had fumble problems a year ago (4 fumbles in the first half of the season), but seems to have righted that ship. His backup, KeolaAntolin, is no slouch either. He has 97 yards and 19 carries and a touchdown.
Another big part of the Arizona running game is with quarterback Matt Scott. He has averaged over 8 yards on his 16 carries thus far. He’ll have his name called on a few designed runs, and he’s not afraid to tuck it and take off if he can’t find anyone open.
The offensive line is a big reason why Arizona has been able to run the ball so effectively (obviously). The two tackles are seniors and the center, Colin Baxter, is a third year starter. The unit is big as well, averaging over 320 pounds.
Passing Game: The passing numbers for QBs Scott and Nick Foles don’t look bad (completing 67% of their passes, averaging about 7 yards per attempt, and have a 2:2 TD:Int ration), however, neither has been particularly impressive. Scott has taken most of the snaps thus far and most of his stats come from short passes (only 4 passes have been for more than 20 yards).
The wide receivers have been okay for the Wildcats this year. They have some returning talent from last year, most notably in Terrell Turner. For his career he has 105 catches for 1,263 yards and 6 touchdowns. Delashaun Dean has been bugged by a hamstring injury thus far and has seen limited action, but he also bring a lot of experience to the table.
Arizona also like to utilize its tight ends and its TE/HB hybrids in the pass game as well, but will be without superstar Rob Gronkowski. His older, and less talented brother Chris has caught a couple passes as the TE/HB and A.J. Simmons has done okay filling in.
Overall Thoughts:
Iowa’s stats against the run have been less than impressive this year, but they should be able to focus more on the run this week. The linebackers won’t need to be used as much in coverage and can key on the talented running backs
With a running QB (Scott) much like Arnaud and Grace, my thought is that containment will be the name of the game again. Probably not too many sacks, but not many QB rushing yards either.
Arizona has struggled to put the ball in the endzone the first 2 games. The loss of Gronkowski has really hurt, as last year they were able to just toss the ball up once they got past the 20, and he would do the rest.
Saturday's game against Arizona is probably the only one I'll make it to this year, unless Iowa shocks the world and makes it to the BCS Championship game or plays Auburn in on of those Florida bowls (my wife went to Auburn. War Eagle!) I have my tickets taped to the door so I don't forget them (last year for the Penn State game we got about 20 minutes down the interstate before my wife asked if I remembered the tickets...yeah, I'm kind of forgetful).
Anyway, the week has been kind of busy thus far preparing for the road trip to Iowa City (that would explain the lack of posts...though I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to get some good content out tomorrow before we hit the road). I just live in Ankeny so it's only a 2 hour drive, but when you have a 1 year old, just going to the store can be a whole production.
So anyway, I probably won't be updating at all on Saturday unless I'm wide awake when I get back home. More likely I'll be typing away on Sunday. See you at Kinnick!
Rumors have been flying around, Kirk Ferentz had his weekly presser, the new depth chart is out, the very thought of playing the mighty Hawkeyes has a certain AD shaking in his shoe...it's been an interesting couple of days to start the week.
Injuries: First off, it makes me sick to my stomach to think Tony Moeaki is hurt again. He sprained his ankle against UNI and played through it last Saturday. Rumor has it that his ankle swelled up after that game and he's been nursing it this week. I really, really hope this is not a nagging injury all season long.
Bulaga and Castillo, who both did not play in Ames, are still "day-to-day" per Kirk Ferentz's presser. They are both on the depth chart, so that is at least hopeful.
Depth Chart: Speaking of the death chart...here it is. As noted, Bulaga and Castillo are listed. Other news is that Wegher is now #2 at running back, and Prater coming off of suspension is listed behind Willie Lowe (who looked pretty good against ISU). Yes, DJK is still behind McNutt, but as we saw on Saturday, the depth chart for receivers doesn't matter much. They all saw time and when KOK is flashing 5 wide, there's the potential for them all to play a lot. The only other change I see is that Chaney has taken Spievey's spot as the top returned (kickoffs and punts). I think that's probably a good choice as Chaney is the fastest guy on the team and has looked much better this year.
(No) Ball(s) State: Iowa and Ball State are scheduled to play September 25th, 2010. The Athletic Director at Ball State however, is too scared to play back-to-back games against the Big Ten (the Cardinals have Purdue the week before). The last time the two schools met Iowa won 56-0, so yeah, maybe they should be scared.
This is just a reminder that Blackout Saturday is this weekend for the Arizona game. I'll be there in my black IOWA t-shirt. My wife just bought a new black Hawkeye shirt too.
I hope the turn out is good...I know it hasn't been in the past. Yes, the athletic department could do a better job of advertising the colored themed games, but part of it is on the fans too. I'm tired of the nonconformist elitist fans that think they're too cool to oblige the isochromatic request of the athletic department (that's a lot of big words to say those guys are dumb). Others think that every one should wear gold to every game and that a blackout is unimpressive. If everybody does it, then it will look good. Go back to that dreaded Michigan game that we lost in overtime a few years ago. The stands looked fantastic in all black. I remember my dad went all out for that game with black pants, black shoes, black shirt, black jacket...if only all fans had that kind of dedication.
The theme of the week was close games and strange endings. There were 8 of 11 games decided by a touchdown or less...and many were decided in the final minutes of the game. The only problem is that most of the opponents were not good, and the Big Ten lost 3 games it shouldn't have. (OSU, MSU, Purdue...I'm talking to you, but not so much Purdue, nice try there)
Indiana 23 - Western Michigan 19 Indiana narrowly escaped against a lesser foe for the second week in a row. The Hoosier did everything they could in the fourth quarter to blow the lead (had a 22 yard field goal blocked, let the Broncos drive down to the 5, and after a fumble recovery took a safety with 17 seconds left). Indiana definitely ran the ball better out off the Pistol offense, but still have a ways to go if they want to win any games in the Big Ten.
Michigan State 27 - Central Michigan 29 I didn't expect MSU to lose this game, but I didn't buy that they were a contender for a second and to those who were saying the Spartans are better than Iowa, you were and still are just plain wrong. Anyway, the Spartans blew this one big time giving up 16 4th quarter points. The Chippewas drove down the field and scored a touchdown with 32 seconds to play. Instead of kicking a game tying PAT, CMU opted to go for the win and were thwarted on their 2-point conversion attempt. CMU then kicked and converted one of the most perfect onside kicks I've ever seen. They got in field goal range and with 8 seconds to go attempted a 42 yard field goal for the win. Miss...but wait, MSU is dumb enough to line up off sides! Now 3 seconds left, and the kicker put it right through.
Prediction: Very wrong (Michigan State wins by a couple of scores)
Northwestern 27 - Eastern Michigan 24 Another nail biter against a much lesser foe. Northwestern blew a 21 point lead and needed a last second field goal to down the Eagles. The Wildcats had a little bit of the turnover bug (1 interception and 2 lost fumbles) that kept the Eagles in the game late.
Prediction: Kind of correct (Northwestern wins easy for the second week in a row)
Penn State 28 - Syracuse 7 Penn State beats another mediocre team...same old story. Penn State wasn't exactly an offensive juggernaut in this game only gaining 318 yards, but the defense completely shut down the Orange. Syracuse on gain 200 yards all day and only 65 on the ground.
Prediction: Correct (Penn State rolls again)
Wisconsin 34 - Fresno State 31 (2OT) Another game that came down to the wire as Wisconsin needed to come from 14 down to tie it and take it to 2 overtimes to put away the Bulldogs. It finally ended when safety Chris Maragos intercepted a Fresno State pass in the second OT.
Prediction: Sort of correct (Wisconsin pulls away in the second half)
Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 34 I'll give credit to Michigan for that game winning 4th quarter drive. That was impressive. But both the defenses were not very good this game. The Michigan secondary had an absolutely terrible performance. I still can't figure out if Michigan is good or if Notre Dame is just that bad. We'll find out soon enough, I guess, and I was happy to see Notre Dame lose.
Prediction: Correct! (Michigan capitalizes on its home-field and wins in a close game)
Illinois 45 - Illinois State 17 Juice was squeezed a little to tight (sorry) and backup QB Eddie McGee led the Illini to an easy win over FCS foe, Illinois State. The outcome of the game was never in question as Illinois was up 24-0 at half time.
Prediction: Correct (Illinois takes its frustration out and wins big)
Minnesota 20 - Air Force 13 Minnesota had a somewhat shaky day in the debut of TCF Bank. The defense did well against the Air Force's crazy rushing attack, but the offense needed 17 4th quarter points to pull away for the win. Eric Decker had a big day with 10 catches for 113 yards.
Prediction: Sort of correct (Minnesota holds off a comeback by Air Force to win)
Ohio State 15 - Southern California 18 Ugh. I really thought OSU would pull this game out. You can blame Tressel's decision making or Terrelle Pryor's complete lack of QB mechanics, but plain and simple OSU just can't win the big games lately. The defense played outstanding completely shutting down the USC offense for about 53 minutes. I'm already sick of the Matt Barkley coverage. The kid was equally as a bad as Prior. He finished completing less than 50% of his pass and had a QB rating of less than 100, and yet he is the next great quarterback? Ugh.
Prediction: Close but no cigar (Ohio State wins in a close game)
Purdue 36 - Oregon 38 I stayed up late for this game!...only to be disappointed. Purdue's offense has been very good the first two weeks, and if you haven't heard of Ralph Bolden yet, you will. He's only leading the country with 357 rushing yards. Anyway, Purdue gave this game away having an interception and fumble returned for touchdowns against them. Also, a missed PAT led to a needed and failed 2-point conversion to tie the game in the closing minutes.
Prediction: Shoot out yes, Purdue no (Purdue wins in a shoot out)