Iowa Takes Care of Business

A 45-17 beatdown is exactly what Hawkeye fans expected to see Saturday at Kinnick. However, there were a few surprises.The offense came out in no huddle and marched down the field to score on the opening drive. Kevonte Martin-Manley proved that he will be a steady contributor, catching 6 balls for 82 yards. The coaching staff also began to experiment with personnel in the backfield, giving carries to Damon Bullock, Jordan Canzeri, and Jason White. Thomas Nardo was a force on the D line, earning B1G defensive player of the week honors by recording 12 tackles, 6 of those solo.
Of course, there were the expected results as well. Marvin McNutt again proved why he is a top receiver in the country, racking up 100 yards receiving and 2 TDs with ease. Marcus Coker pounded the defense on the ground as usual. Vandenberg looked solid, continuing his progression into the top tier of Big Ten QBs. The game may have been one-sided, but it was just what the Hawkeyes needed- more experience.

Lets look at some revealing statistics...

James Vandenberg is seriously turning into an elite passer in the Big Ten. Look at statistical leaders of QBs in the conference

PASSING AVG/GAME		Cl	G	Comp-Att-Int	Pct.	Yards	TD	Long	Avg/G
1.	Wilson, Russell-WIS	SR	4	69 - 91 - 1	75.8	1136	11	63	284.0
2.	Vandenberg, J.-IOWA	JR	4	81 - 129 - 1	62.8	1095	10	88	273.8
3.	Cousins, Kirk-MSU	SR	4	81 - 117 - 2	69.2	947	5	55	236.8
4.	Wright-Baker, E-IND	SO	4	80 - 129 - 2	62.0	925	4	65	231.2
5.	TerBush, Caleb-PUR	JR	3	51 - 81 - 1	63.0	546	3	35	182.0
6.	Martinez, T.-NEB	SO	4	43 - 85 - 2	50.6	647	4	53	161.8
7.	Scheelhaase, N-ILL	SO	4	47 - 66 - 2	71.2	637	4	72	159.2
8.	Robinson, D.-MICH	JR	4	35 - 72 - 6	48.6	624	6	77	156.0
9.	Gray, MarQueis-MINN	JR	4	39 - 77 - 3	50.6	521	3	59	130.2
10.	Colter, Kain-NU	SO	3	39 - 60 - 1	65.0	390	1	27	130.

Vandenberg is outperforming the much hyped Kirk Cousins, and is a very close second to Russell Wilson. It's still early, but Vandenberg could end up being a top Big Ten QB as a junior.

Marcus Coker rushed for 100 yards again on Saturday, which is somewhat surprising to those who watched the game. Coker doesn't always seem to have as much big play potential as other top backs, but he consistently pounds out yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry and 95 yards per game. He currently ranks 4th in the Big Ten in rushing, although I expect his workload to lessen judging by the coaching staff's decision to include Damon Bullock and Jordan Canzeri in the offense on Saturday.

RUSHING		Cl	G	Att.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long	Avg/G
1.	Robinson, D.-MICH	JR	4	71	552	7.8	5	53	138.0
2.	Martinez, T.-NEB	SO	4	63	421	6.7	7	57	105.2
3.	Burkhead, Rex-NEB	JR	4	63	420	6.7	7	52	105.0
4.	Coker, Marcus-IOWA	SO	4	87	380	4.4	4	26	95.0
5.	Ball, Montee-WIS	JR	4	63	360	5.7	9	25	90.0

Who would have thought that Iowa's offense would have been so productive, while their defense would struggle so greatly? Typically it's the other way around, but this year has already proven itself to be unique (complete with a stadium flooding downpour, a triple OT loss, and the biggest comeback in school history). Here are the rankings in the B1G of Iowa's offense and defense:

TOTAL OFFENSE		G	Rush	Pass	Plays	Yards	Avg/P	TD	Avg/G
1.	Wisconsin	4	982	1147	269	2129	7.9	27	532.2
2.	Purdue	3	776	637	231	1413	6.1	13	471.0
3.	Nebraska	4	1090	666	270	1756	6.5	20	439.0
4.	Illinois	4	967	728	281	1695	6.0	15	423.8
5.	Iowa	4	562	1125	279	1687	6.0	17	421.8
6.	Michigan State	4	573	1096	295	1669	5.7	14	417.2
7.	Indiana	4	558	1097	306	1655	5.4	12	413.8
8.	Michigan	4	1000	624	219	1624	7.4	16	406.0
9.	Northwestern	3	662	508	218	1170	5.4	11	390.0
10.	Minnesota	4	695	717	264	1412	5.3	10	353.0
11.	Penn State	4	548	838	270	1386	5.1	12	346.5
12.	Ohio State	4	736	627	260	1363	5.2	13	340.8

TOTAL DEFENSE		G	Rush	Pass	Plays	Yards	Avg/P	TD	Avg/G
1.	Michigan State	4	285	404	211	689	3.3	5	172.2
2.	Wisconsin	4	357	629	236	986	4.2	4	246.5
3.	Penn State	4	403	593	257	996	3.9	5	249.0
4.	Ohio State	4	397	708	238	1105	4.6	8	276.2
5.	Illinois	4	226	923	258	1149	4.5	5	287.2
6.	Purdue	3	327	638	220	965	4.4	6	321.7
7.	Nebraska	4	533	866	281	1399	5.0	10	349.8
8.	Michigan	4	624	780	257	1404	5.5	6	351.0
9.	Minnesota	4	419	1114	259	1533	5.9	13	383.2
10.	Iowa	4	530	1013	308	1543	5.0	12	385.8
11.	Indiana	4	759	788	281	1547	5.5	12	386.8
12.	Northwestern	3	617	566	207	1183	5.7	8	394.3

Iowa also ranks 3rd in the Big Ten in scoring offense.

Quick Hits:
*Green for Greenwood was a success, with supporters wearing green being visible throughout the stadium.

  

 * As mentioned earlier, Thomas Nardo was awarded Big Ten defensive player of the week.
*With the bye week coming up, Iowa has 2 weeks to prepare for their away trip to Beaver Stadium to face Penn State

GO HAWKS!

-IS