Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Hawkeyes Dominate Illinois State 40-0: Rapid Reaction & Key Takeaways

Starting point is 00:00:00 I will get to win today 40 to nothing over Illinois State. The first half, second half, pretty, pretty good. We break it down today, Locked On Hawkeyes. You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon. This is a Rapid Reaction Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Gonna be a little shorter podcast than normal here this evening. I'll wrap it up by a night and a day in Iowa City. Got back with the family, a great afternoon, a morning into the afternoon at Kinnick Stadium,

Starting point is 00:00:49 and Iowa gets the win 40-0. For some reason, got, I don't know, something going on with my ear. So not up to par 100%. We'll get a relook at things, and we'll have those into your feed bright and early on Monday morning. You'll be ready to go to kick off the week. But let's just react to what we saw at Kinnick Stadium the first half.

Starting point is 00:01:08 It was more than anything. I was mistakes, mistakes in penalties, mistakes in a block here, a block there. Brock's back and company came up, I thought, with a really good game plan in the first half of what they were trying to do, slow down to the offense. Now, as we told you earlier this week here on Locked On Hawkeyes, and we were the first to mention this out there in the media, that Iowa was going to be shorthanded in the backfield as running backs were looking to be out. There was a reason that Caleb Johnson was third on the depth chart.

Starting point is 00:01:36 There was a reason that Jazzyon Patterson's name really hasn't been mentioned at all by Kirk Ferentz. And we saw that play out as it was officially handed down. It was a one- half suspension for Caleb Johnson. Now the good news is it was just a half for Caleb Johnson because he was outstanding. And that is one of the major takeaways I think for this game. Caleb Johnson is a difference maker. Caleb Johnson is the most talented guy in that running back room. Kamari Moulton is going to get there, but you saw at times, he still doesn't quite have the power that you're looking for at that position

Starting point is 00:02:09 with what Iowa wants to do in their blocking scheme. You want to have the power speed combination of Caleb Johnson, and that proved out certainly in the second half of the football game. He's going to be good to go, and hopefully this is what ignites him of doing everything that is asked of him

Starting point is 00:02:22 to be an Iowa football player. Just not be the most talented guy in the room, but do all the little things that go along with it. This could be the wake-up call for him because when he is out there and he is right, he's as good as Iowa certainly has. With that, the story again is the Iowa offense. In a game where they pitch another shutout, we'll get to the defense here a little bit later on. Talk about the offense.

Starting point is 00:02:44 In the first half, you saw Cade McNamara really struggling, struggling with his command, struggling with his mechanics, throwing off his back foot at a touchdown pass. All he had to do was lock the ball into the end zone. It would have been an easy six to Luke Lachey. Instead, he threw it off his back foot and left it short. You saw that multiple times throughout the first half. But in the second half, they picked up the pace. You you saw that at the end of the second quarter, they started to

Starting point is 00:03:08 pick up the pace a little bit more and you could see Cade McNamara getting into the rhythm. And really for the first time in an Iowa Hawkeye uniform, you saw the guy that we saw three years ago at Michigan. We saw the guy with command. We saw the guy with the accuracy late in the first half and throughout the second half. He finishes the second half 13 of 14 throwing three touchdown passes. There's a lot of numbers we're going to get into as well about this game and just how good it turned out to be overall for what we're used to certainly with Iowa offensively. So 13 of 14, the only incompletion in the second half was a drop ball by Jarrett Bowie. That was the only incompletion that he had in the second half.

Starting point is 00:03:49 Just absolutely incredible as he was ripping it. Now he was also helped out. And Reese Van Der Zee was a big part of that. His touchdown grab in the end zone, just going up over everybody and nabbing it out of the air. You can see why this kid is special. And to do this as a true freshman, I absolutely commend him of what he was able to do and what he was able to put together for this Iowa football team. A lot of positives to take away. Mention the defense pitching a shutout, Illinois State. I mean, you could see early on, unless there was something fluky

Starting point is 00:04:19 that was going to happen, Iowa was going to slow down this team and really take them out of anything that they tried to do. There are a couple of plays in particular, I think, that really paint the picture of what you see and what you watch when you're watching a Phil Parker coach defense. It's the little things. The first one is the incompletion by Jamari Harris. And they had run that exact same route concept and that kind of scheme four or five times before the interception.

Starting point is 00:04:47 And what Phil Parker does is he's going to allow you to have that. And then when you start to make a move, when you start to go downfield, when you continue to go back to the well time and a timeout, he's going to change things up. And he did just that. And the scheme changed. Now, yes, you have to break on the ball to make a play like Jabari Harris. And obviously credit for him and his sixth career interception of getting the INT you got to have a play a player actually making the play and he had that in that one but I think

Starting point is 00:05:14 a huge component to it as well was just what you see with Parker and the way that he dials things up the way it changed there was another play it was I want to say in the second quarter and again I'll re-watch the game on Sunday night we'll get a more in-depth analysis of kind of what we see when we go back and watch a game for the second time but there was a play it was a running game it was a well-blocked third down play kind of a draw play and I thought it was executed beautifully I think that it was the right play call at the time and it's just Iowa's defense And it was one of those plays where Wyatt Black got his arm out, tackled the guy.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Everybody did their job. And when you're playing a team that executes a play, makes a pretty good play call in that situation, has most teams kind of out of sorts, and Iowa's just right there to make the play. Everybody doing those jobs. And that's why when you watch the defensive line drills for Iowa and they're doing the exact same things, right?

Starting point is 00:06:08 They're going up and they're making the punch into the chest and they're doing the same things, time in and time out. It's incredibly boring. It's tedious. But it's what makes Iowa's defense what it was. And I thought those two plays really embodied the Iowa defense throughout this one. Mention some of those numbers.

Starting point is 00:06:23 We'll get into those when we come back here. A rapid reaction, instant podcast here on Locked On Hawkeyes after Iowa gets the win against Illinois State, 40 to zero. Tired after lunch? You're not alone. In fact, research shows that more than 70% of us hit the wall after lunch.

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Starting point is 00:08:23 mention some of the numbers and the first ones that jump off the page, when you take a look at the stat sheet, 492 yards of total offense, nearly 50-50, a passing total of 251, 241 on the ground. Absolutely love to see those numbers. Iowa averaging six yards per carry in the football game. Average yards per play, 6.971 plays run for the Hawkeyes overall. Defense was outstanding as we talk about pitching the shutout

Starting point is 00:08:50 and holding Illinois State to just 189 yards of total offense. Here's a couple of those numbers that I mentioned, though. I thought that were definitely eye-opening in this game. Starting with Cade McNamara. The passing yardage, his career high. Now Cade McNamara, 18-4 as a starting quarterback throughout his career. I mentioned the 13-14 in the second half, what he was able to do in that one after a rough first half of bouncing back in a big-time way. Caleb Johnson, what he was able to do, two touchdowns in the

Starting point is 00:09:23 game, his fifth career 100-yard rushing game and a career- do two touchdowns in the game his fifth career 100 yard rushing game and a career best two touchdown touchdowns in the game now up to 11 in his career Reese Vaderzee finished with five receptions 66 yards and those two touchdowns he is the first Hawkeye true freshman with a receiving touchdown in a season opener since Dominique Douglas against Montana back in 2006 and the first Hawkeye freshman wide receiver to have two receiving touchdowns in a game since Amir Smith-Marset did against Iowa State back in 2017. Luke Lachey led the team with six receptions for 63 yards. As a whole, the tight ends, 10 catches with 119 receiving in that one. Of course, we saw Addison Estrenga out there as good of a

Starting point is 00:10:06 one-two punch as anybody has at the tight end position. And then you throw in Zach Ortworth. He was thrown into the mix a year ago because of all the injuries at the tight end position with Luke Lachey went down when we saw Eric All went down. He went out there, was put in a tough spot in a terrible play call against Wisconsin a year ago, but this dude, he's going to be a good one too. And they just keep coming at that position. Sebastian Castro with a forced fumble, his fifth of his career. And how about Aaron Graves? You know, we were waiting for that next step.

Starting point is 00:10:36 We saw him be a nice rotational piece these last couple of years. Three sacks in the game, four tackles overall. How about Brian Allen getting the quarterback? And that is going to be a necessity this year. We talked a ton in the off season about Brian Allen, his ability to get to the quarterback and what you saw there. Another one, Drew Stevens. He had the only scoring in the first half of the game in that six nothing lead for Iowa with Drew Stevens knocking them through after not gaining the opportunity in the Big Ten championship game against Michigan in the bowl game against Tennessee after the way that the

Starting point is 00:11:11 regular season ended him not getting the opportunity to try to beat Nebraska a year ago as Marshall Meter was the one that came on and kicked what was the game winner in that one to see him bounce back the first one not an easy one from the right hash. Knocked it through. Hits a second field goal. Good to see those good feelings starting to come back, certainly there. Caleb Weijin looks like he is going to be a playmaker in the punt return game. No surprise. LeVar Woods has got the special teams looking to be at a high level.

Starting point is 00:11:40 I have a little bit more concern for Reese Dakin. You know, there's a question in the postgame press conference. I was kind of surprised by it saying, oh man, it looks like you got another one here. I certainly did not see that. First punt went off the side of his foot. The other ones, even the ones that he hit relatively well, not great. Not great there. And the way Iowa plays, how many close games are likely going to play this season,

Starting point is 00:12:03 need to have him improve. And first time out, again, first time playing American football in a real game. how many close games are likely going to play this season. I need to have him improve. And first time out, again, first time playing American football in a real game. So that's something too. He will get better, but I certainly was not enamored with what we saw in that one. Some of the numbers also coming in here. Iowa's offense finished with 492 yards of total offense, 345 in the second half. It's the most in a season opener since 2002. 22 years last time that they had more yards than they did in this one. Also the most yards in a game ever for Iowa over the last five years. You got to go back to the Middle Tennessee game in 2019,

Starting point is 00:12:39 the last time that they did that. The Hawkeye defense forced three turnovers overall and turned it into three points for the 29th consecutive game. Iowa's defense has allowed fewer than 400 yards, the longest active streak in the country. Iowa defense also has held opponents, seven opponents to 200 yards or less since 2022. The numbers, they are amazing.

Starting point is 00:13:03 So we'll wrap things up here. Lockdown Hawkeyes rapid reaction with this. What is more true? The Iowa football team that we saw in the first half or the Iowa football team that we saw in the second half? We know what we want the answer to be. What do we think the answer is? We'll talk about that when we come back. This is Lockdown Hawkeyes. Talk about that when we come back. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Passion, drive, and patience, the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive.

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Starting point is 00:14:28 So what's more true? Was it the team that we saw in the first half of the game struggled? Or the team that we saw in the second half? It should not come as a surprise that Iowa was able to wear down an FCS team. A team that plays with less scholarships. A team that is, for the MV, Missouri Valley, a middle of the road Missouri Valley conference team. Now the Missouri Valley is the best league in the country as it pertains to FCS football, but still, this is not a team that is expected to contend with the South

Starting point is 00:14:56 Dakota States, the North Dakota States of the world. That is not what this team is. Even South Dakota, they're in that next tier of teams with North Dakota, who Iowa State saw this afternoon. They are on that kind of lane, a you and I type of team. So you knew they were going to wear down. They, as mentioned, came up with a good game plan. Brock Spack, such a great defensive coordinator in his years at Purdue, the former Boilermaker himself. You knew that he was going to come in with a good game plan and a scheme. But Iowa, you look at the 6-0 score, and it really doesn't paint the whole picture. We mentioned the struggles. Not a whole lot of running room out there early on because of what they were doing

Starting point is 00:15:34 with their run fits from Illinois State and what they were doing defensively. McNamara struggling early on. But with him getting into that rhythm, with him gaining that confidence, shaking off the rust, playing healthy, all the different things that you saw, I think I was closer to the team that we saw in the second half than the one that we saw in the first half. Some uncharacteristic penalties, shot themselves in the foot a couple of times. I really believe that what we saw in the second half is more reality with this football team. And what they have coming up here over the next couple of weeks.

Starting point is 00:16:06 Iowa State didn't look great today. Weren't able to run the football. They're banged up on the offensive line. They thought they had their left tackle in Jalen Travis, who was coming in from Princeton. That fell by the wayside as he is injured. He's got a stress fracture in his leg, and it sounds like he's going to be out a couple of weeks.

Starting point is 00:16:23 They weren't able to run the football. Rocco Beck's a really good quarterback. is he's a good quarterback and he's going to be a lot different than the guy that we saw last September when he trots out to Kinnick Stadium coming up on Saturday but I'll tell you watching the Iowa State game listening to what about the first quarter on the call a radio call on the way home and then watching the rest of the game on the TV this afternoon not overly impressed by Iowa State Don't read too much into that either, though, because Iowa State, and we'll talk about this a lot, I know in the coming week, Iowa State, it doesn't matter what they look like in that first game. We've seen this team look absolutely brutal and then come back and look like a completely different team against Iowa at

Starting point is 00:17:02 different times. So back to the Hawkeyes. And the reality is this team is going to be able to run the football. Caleb Johnson, hopefully this will entrench him as the number one. You see LaShawn Williams out there. You can tell this is a guy that missed a lot of camp, working his way back off of injury, and he's certainly not close to 100%. Caleb Johnson is a superior guy. He needs to be getting those carries. And as we've talked

Starting point is 00:17:25 about doing everything necessary to stay in the good graces of the coaching staff and the leadership committee as well with the football program and doing those things because he's just too talented be over on the sidelines for Iowa. Not only that, Iowa will get back Caleb Brown this week. That will be a help. We'll see if Seth Anderson is able to go. He sat out this game because of injury. This Iowa football team, they're deep, they're talented. This is the year. This is the year to make a run. 11 more to go here in the regular season.

Starting point is 00:17:55 Has a chance, I think, to be a really special one. The team we saw out there in the second half, I think, is closer to reality than some of the issues that we saw in the first half. We are with you each and every day throughout the course of the week. Your team every day. That's what we do on the Lockdown Network. We will have as we do during football season. If you're joining us this football season for the first time,

Starting point is 00:18:15 this is what we do. Sunday night, I rewatched the game, watched the plays multiple times, go back, got the clicker in my hand, rewinding, going through, really taking a deep dive and a deep look into what we're seeing what it means and what it means for this Iowa football team and dive deep into that so when we dive deeper into things that will be into your podcast feed for Monday morning and then we'll continue to break things down we got to give Biz another call still working on another element and a possible new guest host that's going to be joining us this season.

Starting point is 00:18:46 Still working on some details on that front. Hopefully we'll have a pretty big name making their way there as well. We'll make our picks on Friday and do a whole lot more. A lot of fun here each and every day breaking things down. We got the Kirk Ferentz and the Players Press Conference on Tuesday. A lot of reaction to that. And it's CyHawk week. That's right.

Starting point is 00:19:04 Iowa, Iowa State this week. I know it's big for where I am in central Iowa. Some of you other people in different pockets of the state doesn't have the same kind of meaning, but this is still our state's biggest game. A lot of eyeballs will be there. National television, everything comes along with it. And we will break that thing down very, very deep coming up throughout the course of the week. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Appreciate you all. If you're with us, of course, hit that subscribe button. If you're watching on YouTube, you're seeing me feeling a little bit under the weather here with some kind of earache, but we'll be all

Starting point is 00:19:38 right. We'll be ready to go get a little medicine into me and I'll be all right and fired up for Sunday night. But we'll get back at it. Hit subscribe. You'll get us each and every day in your feed on YouTube. If you're listening on the audio side, five-star reviews, it helps get us in front of more Hawkeye fans. Appreciate each and every one of you being with us on this rapid reaction. Great start to the season. Iowa is 1-0. We'll talk to you again on Monday. Go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Hawkeyes Dominate Illinois State 40-0: Rapid Reaction & Key Takeaways

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