Welcome to the show, Coach Campbell.
Well that was fun, wasn’t it? That was one of the more satisfying victories over the Cyclones in a long time. Yes there was a huge gap in overall talent. Yes Iowa State’s loss to UNI took some of the wind out of their sails. But after an entire offseason of stuff like this...
Besides Ohio state the BigTen is a joke.
— Allen Lazard (@AllenLazard) January 1, 2016
and this..
and this...
A storm is brewing, of this we are certain.
— Iowa State Athletics (@CycloneATH) September 3, 2016
With a new season upon us, it’s time to raise the curtain. pic.twitter.com/9AK611N13J
they deserved a Hayden Fry-like beatdown. And that’s exactly what they got. Iowa thoroughly dismantled their rival and I enjoyed every single second of it. Now, with that out of the way, it’s time to look at what went right (a lot) and what went wrong (not a lot).
What went right?
Pretty much everything, but since I am expected to contribute something meaningful to the Pants, I should try to elaborate.
Beathard-Vandeberg Connection: Step aside, Ed Hinkle. The meerkat is easily CJB’s most valuable and most trusted weapon.
Beathard was killing it with some beautiful passes thrown where only his guy could get it. Vandeberg did his part by making some outstanding catches, including this one...
Vandeberg finished with 129 yards on 7 receptions and the above TD. CJB looked calm, collected, mature, and accurate. He finished 19-28 with 235 yards and 3 TD’s. Great job here.
Running Offense: Once again, total domination from Iowa’s two-headed RB monster. LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley tore apart the Cyclone defense for over 150 yards and 2 TD’s. This was all done behind an offensive line missing its starting center for the whole game and one of its starting guards for the entire second half.
Rushing Defense: Yeah Iowa State went for 126 yards, but they only averaged 3.6 yards per carry. Most importantly, none of the Cyclone running backs got into any rhythm whatsoever. One of the best freshmen running backs from last season, Mike Warren, was held to a whopping 28 yards. Having Josey Jewell back clearly had an impact on the middle of the field, and really made the Cyclones one dimensional.
Kept Allen Lazard in check: Lazard had a respectable line with 111 yards on 7 receptions. But what was important was that the Cyclones were not able to take advantage of his game-breaking ability. Lazard is a terrific receiver and has the speed and size to stretch the field. That never really happened, as Joel Lanning was mostly inaccurate and was getting chased around by the Nelsons, Jaleel Johnson, and Nathan Bazata all night.
What went wrong?
Ummmmmm.....I’m reaching here but....
Joel Lanning running sort of: Lanning found some success at times on deep passes that were covered up and tried to do his best CJB impersonation by scrambling and making something out of nothing. He finished with 27 yards, which he was able to manage after taking a few sacks. There were a few times where the defensive line may have gotten too deep with penetration and let him get away. That could be a problem with speedier QB’s.
5 WR set: The Hawkeyes opened the second half with a series entirely void of a backfield. The 5 WR look was undoubtedly for some practice in case they ever needed it. It was not my favorite look, especially considering how the RB’s looked. Oh well, it gives them another thing to practice before the B1G.
Injuries: Sean Welsh missed basically the whole second half and there’s this thing...
Wadley was limited tonight. Said he did injure his knee. Said he's OK.
— marcmorehouse (@marcmorehouse) September 11, 2016
Stay away he-who-shall-not-be-named...
That’s all I got. That was an ass kicking, folks. Hawkeye football at its finest.