THE GOOD, BAD & UGLY: NEBRASKA

The Good: Offensive Line Play

Here's one:

Here's two:

Notice anything? Pretty sure they were the same exact play. The offensive line did an excellent job of sealing off the edge on those plays and giving Canzeri the time to find his running lane. Also, shout out to Adam Cox and Macon Plewa, who were out there laying wood (sometimes illegally) and meeting Nebraska's linebackers at the LOS.

On a day when throwing the ball was difficult, the line also managed to keep Beathard upright, not allowing a sack. Hell, even the running backs were out there throwing blocks and picking up blitzes. In all, it was a good day for pass protection and run blocking.

The Bad: Punt Game

Marshall Koehn wasn't called into field goal service, nor did he miss a PAT so there are no complaints about the kicking game. The punting game, however, was less than spectacular.

The day started off well when Dillon Kidd dropped a 33-yard punt at Nebraska's 5-yard line, forcing them into conservative calls and eventually giving the ball back around four minutes later. The next punt was less than ideal. Stalling out at their own 30-yard line, Ferentz went with Marshall Koehn's rugby style punt as the wind was howling at Memorial. It seemed like a good idea until Koehn only punted 17 yards and gave the Huskers the ball in plus territory. But then Tommy Armstrong threw a pick so it didn't matter.

The second mishap came when Desmond King muffed a punt return, setting up the Huskers at Iowa's 31-yard line. They'd punch in a touchdown around a minute later, tying the game 7-7.

Later, when Iowa was looking to close out the game up 28-17 in the fourth quarter, Kidd came out once again and was only able to manage punts of 33 and 30 yards from Iowa's 15 and 20, respectively. But then Tommy Armstrong threw a pick so it didn't matter.

It's worth noting that Kidd's poor punts were into the wind, as was Koehn's rugby style punt, though his was a flat-out shank. King's return was also into the wind and he had to run 5-10 yards to even attempt to fair catch the ball. Regardless, Tommy Armstrong threw picks so it didn't matter.

The Ugly: Third Down Conversions

Iowa went an unbelievable 0 for 9 on third down. I think I read that Iowa is one of like five FBS teams to win a game without converting a third down. This is something the Hawkeyes will want to clean up for next week, as they face a Michigan State team that is a (surprisingly) middling 9th in the Big Ten in third-down conversion percentage defense at 36%.