Iowa Football: Three Takeaways From Loss to NDSU

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Three takeaways from the Iowa Hawkeyes loss to North Dakota State

There is always a lot to look at when a team is coming off a loss. For the Iowa Hawkeyes, most of it isn’t good. Neither side of the ball took control or gave momentum to the Hawkeyes all game. There were a couple of times when it seemed like Iowa might be able to get something going, however it never amounted to anything meaningful.

As Iowa starts Big Ten play this coming weekend at Rutgers, they’ll need to refocus quickly so they don’t suffer another detrimental loss. The Big Ten West is still up for grabs and the Hawkeyes season is far from over.

That being said, Kirk Ferentz will need to do what he’s done so well over his coaching career at Iowa, get his team refocused and ready for their upcoming game. In a game where the Hawkeyes knew they couldn’t take North Dakota State lightly, it was disappointing to see their inability to get anything going and the costly penalties that ruined some big plays.

With Iowa now outside the top-25 and trying to claw their way back into the rankings, now is the time to show the nation what they’re made of. Over the coming weeks, their resilience following a loss will be on full display and looked at closely around the nation.

Here are three key takeaways from the Hawkeyes heartbreaking loss to North Dakota State.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive and Defensive Lines Need to be Better

Coming into the game there was a little concern surrounding the Hawkeyes pass rush but none around their run game. The Hawkeyes took advantage of mediocre run defenses by rushing for 410 yards over their first two games. Both Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels Jr also averaged more than seven yards per carry.

Against North Dakota State, a team who held opponents to fewer than five yards per carry during their first two games, Iowa couldn’t establish a run game. Their offensive line was constantly getting pushed back and Wadley and Daniels were met in the backfield. The Bison held the Hawkeyes to a dreadful 1.4 yards per carry.

Not to mention that Iowa gave up four sacks, including a big hit on C.J. Beathard that resulted in a pick-six. While Beathard didn’t get hurt on a sack, it’s evident that the constant pressure and hits he received took a toll on him. For a quarterback that rarely was 100 percent healthy in 2015, Ferentz should have made it a bigger mission to protect his quarterback in this game.

He rarely had George Kittle stay in to block, despite it being clear that Iowa needed an extra blocker. Kittle did get called for holding on a potential 62-yard run by LeShun Daniels Jr, however Ferentz never changed his game plan to try to relieve the pressure the Bison were able to put on Beathard. He kept having Beathard sit in the pocket, or ran up the gut of the defense.

If Ferentz opted towards trying to get to the edge on run plays or quick wide receiver screens, Iowa could have spread the field out more and had more chances on offense. It was clear that they wouldn’t be able to break a big run, yet they continued to run into the heart of the Bison defense, allowing Nick DeLuca to tear through the Hawkeyes offensive line.

Defensively, it wasn’t much better for Iowa. They got pressure on Easton Stick at times but his mobility proved to be a big problem. He scrambled and rushed for 35 yards on the night, despite being sacked a couple of times. Although, his ability to prolong plays and find open receivers hurt the Hawkeyes all game.

Getting pressure on the quarterback hasn’t been an easy take for the Hawkeyes this season. They came into the game with six sacks, however Miami (OH) quarterback Billy Bahl had a lot of time to throw in week one. Iowa put more pressure on Joel Lanning in week two, although North Dakota State manhandled the Hawkeyes line.

In the fourth quarter, King Frazier and Lance Dunn started to run wild. The Bison offensive line pushed the Hawkeyes line around, allowing Frazier and Dunn to get past the line of scrimmage before being touched on most plays. Not only did the Hawkeyes not get into the backfield as often as North Dakota State, they got no pressure on Easton Stick in the fourth quarter and let the Bison take control of the game.

If Iowa wants a chance at winning the Big Ten West they need to be better on both sides of the ball. It’s clear how much their offense struggles when they have no run game, and they’ll face tougher run games in the future.

The Hawkeyes don’t need to dominate in the trenches like they did in the first two weeks, however if they don’t stay respectable they won’t have a chance to win against top competition.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Nate Stanley Looks Like the Future

The Hawkeyes made an interesting decision to not redshirt quarterback Nate Stanley this season. While Stanley played in the Hawkeyes first two wins, it came in garbage time and didn’t seem like enough to warrant not redshirting him. This past week, Stanley got his first meaningful action when C.J. Beathard left in the third quarter after getting hit hard on a first down run.

On the first play, everyone expected the Hawkeyes to run. Beathard’s injury didn’t look serious but he had to be taken out of the game for at least one play since the training staff came onto the field. In one of the few bright spots from Kirk Ferentz on the sideline during Saturday’s loss, he opted towards letting Stanley air it out.

Stanley hit George Kittle for a 37-yard gain, bringing the Hawkeyes to the Bison 22 yard line. A couple of plays later, he connected with Kittle again for an eight yard gain, getting the Hawkeyes inside the 15. Despite Stanley showing great poise and accuracy in his first two throws, Ferentz went back to a run game that didn’t work all afternoon.