The Hawkeyes moved to 3-0 with a 18-17 victory in the Cy-Hawk battle. Weather conditions really made it tough for defensive playmakers to shine and as a result, A.J. Epenesa was held to mere mortal stats of one tackle and one quarterback hurry. I would tend to believe that Epenesa had many more unofficial “hurries” but I’m just giving you the stats. Epenesa himself won’t blame the conditions as he mentions in the following link.
Iowa State was obviously smart enough to realize that they needed to offer their tackle help in blocking Epenesa and he had to work through double teams and chips all day/evening on his way to the quarterback. Unfortunately Iowa wasn’t able to really take advantage of the solo blocking across the rest of the line either to disrupt ISU QB Brock Purdy. But aside from a couple coverage breakdowns, the defense was solid once again.
Above, Epenesa avoids the chip and forces Purdy to take off where he is eventually chased down before he could reach the first down marker. Without the wet conditions, Epenesa could have potentially made the play for a ten yard loss.
Here Epenesa is show recording his only tackle and it’s apparent that he has run down ISU running back Kene Nwangwu. The ability to make this kind of tackle downfield is what will separate Epenesa from other potential draft picks come April.
Finally, Epenesa always has a way of showing up late in this rivalry. Last year it was a strip sack under two minutes and here it was a critical third down that forced the Cyclones to kick the field goal rather than going up by six or seven points.
2018 Annihilations: 10.5
2019 Annihilations: 1
This Week Last Year: Iowa 17, Wisconsin 28
Who can forget the fourth game of the season last year as the Hawkeyes dropped a home game to the Badgers after starting the season off at 3-0. It was the first indication that eight or nine wins was the limit for 2018. Epenesa was quiet in the game with just one assisted tackle.
Up Next: Bye
For fun, let’s make a list of what A.J. may do during the bye week. I’ll start.
1. He and Chris Pratt (I mean Peter Quill) will ensure that the galaxy remains safe from the likes of Ronan.
2. Work on the choreography for his first NFL sack.
3. Go home and visit the family and immediately triple the grocery bill for the week.
What do you think Epenesa will be up to this week?