Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Instant Reaction: Hawkeyes survive Purdue

Starting point is 00:00:00 the Iowa Hawkeye offense, not so good. The defense, they came to play. Special teams, we got questions and answers 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. Hawkeyes your first listen every day we're available wherever you get podcasts you can also find us on YouTube while you're there hit the subscribe button just takes a second and helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans Iowa survives the Purdue Boilermakers the old hated rival from the old leaders and leaders and legends divisions when they tried to shoehorn that

Starting point is 00:01:02 one in we won't see the Boilermakers again until 2026, and that's okay with the future of the schedule. The additions of USC, UCLA, Washington, Oregon coming into the conference next year. Going to be a little bit different, but the here and now means that Iowa has set themselves up for a showdown next week in Wisconsin against the Badgers at Camp Randall.

Starting point is 00:01:26 And we will break that one down, obviously, here throughout the week. But before that, a look back at what we saw today as Iowa. It wasn't pretty many times. And you start with the most important position in all of sport. It is the quarterback position. And Deacon Hill was not ready for primetime. You know, we saw some things a week ago as he came in for the injured Cade McNamara that gave you a little bit of hope, right?

Starting point is 00:01:50 A guy that, though he wasn't fluent, he wasn't a guy that was out there wowing you. There were parts of it that left you excited. And we talked about those throughout the week. And the biggest thing for me was seeing that Iowa was going to have their full complement of their offense, something that they just didn't have under Cade McNamara because of the injury that he sustained back in August. And we were never able to see a healthy Cade McNamara because of that. So much of the playbook was taken away. And you get that with Deacon Hill. But there's a reason Deacon Hill was a scout teamer behind guys like Graham Mertz at Wisconsin. There was a reason that he hill was a scout teamer behind guys like graham mertz at wisconsin there was a reason that he was targeted to go to fordham when he entered the transfer portal before

Starting point is 00:02:31 iowa came calling he's just not very good and it might sound harsh but it is the reality he has a strong arm he can make throws he can throw the ball a country mile he's got that but the the little parts of being a quarterback from accuracy to touch those are things that he just don't have he doesn't have him at this point and he can get better those things can improve and i think they will improve in time but to have any hope that this guy is going to turn into even an above-average Big Ten quarterback, it's just not going to happen. Certainly not in the interim, not throughout the course of the 2023 football season. That's just, that is not reality.

Starting point is 00:03:17 So what you're going to have to do is, well, get what you got going today, and that was an reliance on the run game. From Caleb Johnson early in the football game, running away with the 67-yard touchdown. The Iowa offense in general running the football maybe as well as they have all season long. You're doing it with a banged-up Mason Richmond. A lot of questions coming into the game if he was even going to be able to go.

Starting point is 00:03:38 He gutted it out, and what a performance out of him in a guy that was incredibly limited. You saw it in pregame warmups. You saw it throughout the course of the game, limping over the sidelines at times. Mason Richmond was certainly not at 100%. Connor Colby, who barely practiced the week previous, him working his way back out there.

Starting point is 00:03:56 With the injury to Nick DeYoung, though, they needed somebody else inside. And he was able to step up Colby and help up. They opened up running lanes. And Eric Hall opened up some running lanes too. What he was able to do with the pulling, coming through the hole, basically becoming the old Iowa fullback, if you will, in that tight end H-back role that he had, he was outstanding in this football game. And though there was a drop in there from Eric Hall, he was the leading receiver.

Starting point is 00:04:23 In a day where only six passes were completed, five of them went to Eric Gall, including what proved to be the game winner in the touchdown up the right side. And a beautiful little fake there as he looked like he was blocking and scored it off the back end. And Deacon Hill, well, didn't overthrow him. That was a good thing to see for the touchdown and maybe underthrew that one a little bit, but we're not going to pick nits on that one. Got it done. Iowa gets the victory. So a couple of different directions to go. Running game gets going great. Maybe the biggest part though, and the most exciting part of this is the Iowa defense really came to play. And as we've talked about throughout the course of this season, it's not to say that this Iowa defense isn't good because it is good, but it certainly wasn't special. It wasn't at the elite level that we've seen the last couple of years. And what do you lose

Starting point is 00:05:13 as many NFL players as I would did from a year ago and just solid players, guys that have been around and played a lot of football for you from Jack Campbell. And obviously what he meant, the physical upside of Lucas Van Ness, Kayvon Merriweather steady on the back end of that defense, Riley Moss, a guy maligned early in his career and turned himself into an All-American. You lose those guys. You lose Seth Benson. Of course, Noah Shannon, not with the team, not able to go, at least at this point. We'll get into that a little bit more perhaps later and certainly throughout the course of the week. You lost a lot out of that defense.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Again, playing fine. Better than average. Better than a lot of teams would sign up for the Iowa defense the way that they played this year. But the inability to get to the quarterback, not coming up with the big plays, and the Iowa defense was able to do it again here against Purdue. It's not a great Purdue outfit. This is a team that is still going through a

Starting point is 00:06:11 transition themselves with Ryan Walter in year number one taking over the program the former Illinois defensive coordinator but this defense 12 tackles for loss six sacks Iowa was tied for last in the country in sacks per game coming into this one. And they got going in a big-time way. Credit to all of those guys and what they were able to do and putting it out there in this one. Jay Higgins leads the way with 12 tackles. Had the interception.

Starting point is 00:06:38 And how about Logan Lee? A double-digit tackle game for Logan Lee playing at the defensive tackle position. He had two sacks along with two and a half tackles for a loss in the football game. Joe Evans got to the quarterback. He had six tackles in the game, four tackles for loss for Joe Evans, 13. He was all over the place. Love to see that out of Joey the Bull. A sack apiece for Aaron Graves.

Starting point is 00:07:01 Good to see him get going. He's a guy that I think we can say was a little bit of a disappointment early on this season. Just after the buildup, after all the hype that we heard from Aaron Graves coming in, playing early on as a true freshman, I think we expected more of a jump. Maybe there's a jump there. Y.A. Black, he was running around making plays again, looking to see like it feels like the light bulb is coming on for Y.A. Black. And that is a big time, big time help for this defense. A guy that just physically imposing six, four, three hundred and fifteen pounds. He looks huge out there. He is a monster.

Starting point is 00:07:34 And now he's got the ability. Looks like that is starting to come out there. Deontay Craig got to the quarterback again. That was important. You had Max Llewellyn that got a sack in the game. Kyler Fisher had a tackle for loss just on on and on and on. Cooper DeGene did a great job. That pass interference call in the end zone, I don't think was the right call. The wide receiver from Purdue kind of came back towards him and initiated the contact. That aside though, he was going up against a speedster, a really talented wide receiver in Purdue. And I think as Hawkeye fans

Starting point is 00:08:04 know, wide receivers from Purdue can leave you having some nightmares. But able to get it done in this one, the Iowa defense showed up in a big-time way. Concerns, not just though, with the passing game and Deacon Hill. And some questions. Jacur France gone with the quarterback change. What do they have with Joe Labus? I think it's a question that's certainly pertinent and with the importance of next week's game against Wisconsin. You want to get Deacon Hill as many snaps as possible.

Starting point is 00:08:34 Kirk Ferentz was asked about it. We'll talk about that. And Kirk's decision in the fourth quarter to not go for two, one of the more mind-numbing decisions from Kirk Ferentz. What in the world was Kirk thinking? We'll do that as we continue. This is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Today's episode of Locked On Hawkeyes is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Starting point is 00:09:55 for the Iowa-Wisconsin game. Badgers, a six-and-a-half point favorite over the Hawkeyes with an over-under of 40. Visit FanDuel.com slash lockdown. Kick off the NFL season. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Trent Condit back with you again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Starting point is 00:10:14 Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So we're talking about Kirk, Captain Kirk. I think you guys, if you've been listening for a while, you know the respect that I have for the captain, but there's also things that frustrate me. Plenty of things. That's going to happen in anything.

Starting point is 00:10:31 25 years of somebody, yeah, there's going to be things that annoy you at times, piss you off. And this one, I just, I can't understand it. Iowa early in the fourth quarter gets the touchdown to Eric Hall they're up at the time 13-7 the touchdown makes it 19-7 and Kirk doesn't go for two he just trots out the extra point unit at the time there's 14 minutes left and change in the ball game and the only thing at that point that's going to beat you is two touchdowns, right? The difference between going for two there and getting yourself a 14 point lead if you get the two point conversion or a 19 to seven lead, a 12 point lead, 12 and 13 is negligible. All Purdue has to do is score a touchdown,

Starting point is 00:11:23 kick an extra point, score another touchdown, kick an extra point, and you lose. I just, I don't get it. I don't understand the thought process there. This isn't new analytical thinking. This isn't some new way. This is simple football math. You go for two there. And it very well could have cost Iowa the football game. Luckily, that defense stepped up and got it done. Purdue, after they scored to make it 22-14, got the football back with an opportunity. But the defense clamped down, got a four and out, and got the ball back a couple of knees.

Starting point is 00:11:57 And this thing was over. That one, I just don't get it. The question was asked also to Kirk after the game about the possibility of bringing in another quarterback. Deacon Hill was brutal, and brutal even worse, as brutal as he was throughout the course of the game. The first half was even worse, and the question was asked, did you ever think about inserting Joe Labus into the game? Joe Labus, a guy that was on the field as the quarterback

Starting point is 00:12:21 in the bowl victory against Kentucky a year ago. He was a guy that perfect as a starter, at least in terms of record, but they didn't ask him to do a lot there. Now, did they not ask him to do a lot in Labus because they knew that he's a pretty limited quarterback? I think we can probably come to that equation. Joe Labus has been back practicing since Lake in August. This isn't something where the guy just is a week back from injury and trying to figure it out. He's been back now for over a month. And Kirk said it didn't go through. So two ways you can think of this. Either

Starting point is 00:12:57 Kirk's protecting his guy. He believes that Deacon Hill gives them the best opportunity to win and they're not going to do anything to upset the apple cart. They're not going to do anything to try to turn over who they believe is the guy that's going to give them the best shot. And I'm fine with that. And I'm fine with the response from Kirk Ferentz. But I believe that Deacon Hill is not going to be a difference maker. That Deacon Hill is not going to be able to go in and beat Wisconsin. Now, can he win games in the rest of this crappy schedule? Probably. If he doesn't turn the football over, gets a little bit better with the accuracy, makes the makeables, hits the passes that most college quarterbacks should,

Starting point is 00:13:37 yeah, Iowa easily can go 10-2, which is crazy to think. Iowa has a blueprint like this. The defense plays like it did today. Yeah, Iowa absolutely can go 10-2, but they're not going to think. Iowa has a blueprint like this. The defense plays like it did today. Yeah, Iowa absolutely can go 10-2, but they're not going to Wisconsin and winning. They're not going to win against the Badgers playing this style of football with this kind of limited offense, and certainly in the passing game that is basically non-existent. You have to have Joe Labus ready, because it very well could go in next week against Wisconsin. Bright lights, first road start for Deacon Hill, going up against his former team.

Starting point is 00:14:11 That's a lot to put on a young guy, a young guy that doesn't have a whole lot of experience, a guy that only got three games of starting experience at the high school level his senior year. This is not a guy that has played a ton, doesn't have game reps. And to think that you're just going to shut the door on the possibility of Joe Labus going out there and seeing what he can do. But we go back to last season and really the last couple of seasons and continue to trot Spencer Petras. There's something about quarterbacks that Kirk, he's willing to pull guys at offensive line. He's willing to pull guys at offensive line. He's willing to pull guys at defensive back. He's willing to do those kind of things.

Starting point is 00:14:48 But for whatever reason, the quarterback position, it's just so different. I mean, we went through just the rigmarole, trying to get to C.J. Beathard, right? We could see the skill of C.J. Beathard. We could see that he was a better option for Iowa than Jake Ruddock. And it

Starting point is 00:15:05 took Kirk forever. And go back to Ricky Stanzi and Jake Christensen and that back and forth that we went through. It took a really long time to get to the level that it felt like most everybody can see. Now, this is not to say that Joe Lavis is the answer either. I don't think anything that we saw in that bowl victory would lead you to believe that and that these guys have some kind of vendetta against Joe Lavis or something like that. No, that's not where I'm going at all. Just have to have him ready. And this week, as ugly as it was for Deacon Hill in his first start at home, a lot of people behind him.

Starting point is 00:15:39 Purdue, not a team that travels a ton. There was their standard 4,000 or 5,000 people there, but not a big traveling fan base. This is going to be different. You have to have your backup ready to go now when you're walking into the environment that they're going to next week. Three o'clock kickoff on Big Fox is where that one will be again. Iowa, a six and a half point underdog, currently at FanDuel to the Badgers.

Starting point is 00:16:04 A couple other things in the football game. A couple other notes that I wanted to get into here. Let's see. What else do we have? I'll go in up for two. Mention Noah Shannon. And we will get more determination on this front if you missed it late in the week. The NCAA has amended their rule as it pertains to sports gambling. As we know,

Starting point is 00:16:27 Noah Shannon, his career is over. From the NCAA rules after his appeal was heard and denied, his college career was over. A six-year senior came back for another year, coming off a big-time shoulder injury, went through rehab, and we don't know how much work he actually would have been able to get, even if he was eligible starting back in September. Not the case. Well, now with this amended rule, which basically states your first time bet, as long as you're not betting on your football team, your basketball player, your basketball team, your wrestler on the wrestling team, as long as you're not doing that, betting on against Iowa State had one of those your own team you're good you go through some counseling you have to take some classes you have to fill out

Starting point is 00:17:11 some paperwork and probably go in one of those ridiculous PowerPoint presentations and click yes yes yes to everything you know I think we've all done that right in some line of our work at some point in time you're gonna have to go to go through that. But now Noah Shannon, there's a real possibility that he can come back. And now I was looking for guidance from the NCAA. Can he start practicing? What a lift that would be to the football team. Now, the likelihood that he's going to be back for the Wisconsin game does not appear to be very high.

Starting point is 00:17:40 Most people look at it and are targeting perhaps a game in Wrigley against Northwestern coming up on November 4th. Iowa does have one more game before the bye week. After the Wisconsin game, they're back home for Minnesota before the bye week and then that matchup against Northwestern. But getting him for the final four games, what an influx that would be. A guy that has 28 career starts, a guy that's played a ton of football, a guy that's been an impactful player for the football team, an Illinois kid, maybe getting to go home back in Chicagoland and playing in Wrigley Field. How cool that would be. Let's hope that that happens for Iowa and certainly for Noah Shannon as a guy that it just doesn't feel like the punishment fit the crime. He got caught up. He made a bet on the women's basketball team. That's it.

Starting point is 00:18:29 Insider information. I know that there are plenty of things that people can look at and say, you just can't do it. But for your college career to come to a close because of that, it seems like too much. It seems like too much. One other question. The wide receivers didn't have a catch. In fact, the only quote-unquote touch that we got in the football game, outside of some fingertips on footballs, was Seth Anderson, who got a ball on a jet sweep. That's it.

Starting point is 00:19:02 Wide receivers without a catch. Six targets in the football game from Deacon Hill. One of the wide receivers we anticipated we were going to see a whole lot of this season, Caleb Brown wasn't there. What's going on there? We'll talk about that when we come back on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Try kind of back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Hey, hit that subscribe button if you're on YouTube. Greatly appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:19:31 If you're on the audio side on podcasts, hey, just give us a five-star review. Greatly helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. So, Caleb Brown, Ohio State transfer. He was a top 100 player, regardless of position, coming out of high school. Iowa does not have this kind of talent. Not really the only opportunity he's had to catch the football he's dropped. Hasn't been out there a ton, but he's been out there enough. Still learning.

Starting point is 00:19:57 This is a guy that was also a running back in high school. But Iowa has not had this kind of high upside wide receiver with that kind of talent in a really long time. The excitement when he made the announcement that he was leaving Ohio State and very quickly made the commitment to Iowa got us fired up. Had a quarterback we were excited about in McNamara. You add two transfer wide receivers, Seth Anderson on one side and Caleb Brown, along with the veterans coming back in Deontay Vines and Nico Raggini. It really felt like this was going to be a guy that was going to be able to help out. Not that he was going to go out there and even catch 30 balls this year, but 15, 20, something like that. Make a couple of big plays with his speed that he has. That was the hope. It hasn't shown up. Still waiting for that first catch. He's had the ball a couple of

Starting point is 00:20:44 times on jet sweeps. That is it that we've seen from Caleb Brown, and he didn't dress. Kirk Ferentz said after the game, it was for personal reasons, some rumblings about a possibility of maybe things not going very well in a practice room. Got a little tired, if you know what I mean.

Starting point is 00:21:03 Again, just rumblings out there. Nothing definitive on that front we'll see look guys miss time guys miss games guys make mistakes they can come back from it we'll see if that's the case with caleb brown wisconsin on tap next that defense has got to show up in a big-time way. Special teams. Now, we talked throughout this year. Though the defense wasn't quite as good as it was a year ago,

Starting point is 00:21:33 the special teams were on point. Drew Stevens had a field goal blocked, a 49-yarder. Missed another field goal late in the game that could have salted it away. And Iowa can't afford that. With their limited offense, they just can't afford things like that. Even Torrey Taylor, that overall the numbers were excellent. He flipped the field a couple of times as we're just so used to. And maybe it's our expectations for Torrey Taylor are so high, but had the line drive kick, that was a return on the punt return for a big return. Again, can't have it. If I was going to win this game coming up this week against

Starting point is 00:22:07 the Badgers, they have to be elite defensively. They have to be elite on special teams and they have to be able to figure something out offensively. Keep that run game going and keep being able to grind out those yards. Pick up the big plays. Probably going to need a couple of those again from Caleb Johnson. The return of Caleb Johnson, it can't be overstated. Sean Williams is a nice running back. He's a nice running back. Moulton, maybe he's going to turn into something. Dude looks like he's 14 years old and he's listed at 180. There's no way that dude's 180 pounds. They need Caleb Johnson. The combination of size and speed that Caleb Johnson has. They just don't have a running back like him on the roster. And now he looks healthy. I wonder a little bit if he was on a bit of a pitch count here coming off of that injury. This is probably going to have to be a

Starting point is 00:22:55 game though next week against Wisconsin where Caleb Johnson is going to need to touch the football certainly north of 20 times. Probably in the 25 carry type of range and carries and returns and those kinds of things. And of course, catches throw it all together, but you need to be approaching 25 carries. That needs to be part of your blueprint and your game plan for Iowa. That's what you need to do. That's how they're going to be able to hang around. We'll see.

Starting point is 00:23:20 We'll continue to break things down as we do each and every day here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your team every to break things down as we do each and every day here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Your team every day. That's what we do. We'll be back with you on Monday as we will take one look back at it. Now, it's going to be a little bit more difficult on the Peacock rewatch. Rewatching that thing on the cock. It's going to be a little bit more

Starting point is 00:23:37 difficult. Fast forward button. A little finicky, but we'll get things figured out. We'll rewatch the game. Go through that. See if anything pops out from the football game, and then start to dive into Wisconsin. Look, this is for the division championship. There's no doubt about it. Illinois was out of the top two. Coming into the year, it was Iowa-Wisconsin. Everybody thought the top two teams in the division. I liked Illinois coming into the year. I thought with that defensive line that they were going to be good.

Starting point is 00:24:05 Yuck. They're terrible. Luke Altmyer, that guy's brutal. The whole mistransfer at the quarterback position. And that defense has been a huge disappointment with the loss of Ryan Walters. Purdue's not there yet. Hudson Card is okay. They got some dudes out there, but it's just not a very good team.

Starting point is 00:24:22 They're okay at best. Minnesota, you saw what happened to them when they stepped up in competition tonight, and they have been incredibly up and down throughout the course of this season. Who else? Nebraska, I don't see it. They have their own limitations on the offensive side. Can they beat an Iowa or Wisconsin? Maybe, but consistently, are they going to be able to do enough to win the division? No, I think Iowa and Wisconsin have separated themselves. Badgers have separated themselves even more at the top, but now you get your shot. You get your opportunity against the big dog and you win this football game.

Starting point is 00:24:56 Not just the tiebreaker, but just every, all the goodwill that can be created. It doesn't matter how it goes. I don't care if it's nine, six. I don't care if it's three, two, just find a way. It's going to be difficult. We will talk about it here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Of course, we'll have Jace. He'll be stopping by. My buddy will talk with him a little bit, get his perspective from the game as he was in Kinnick Stadium for that one. And of course, former Hawkeye running back LaShawn Daniels will join us as he does each and every week. Your team every day on the Locked On Network.

Starting point is 00:25:28 That's what we do. Thanks as always for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again on Monday. Go Hawks. You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Instant Reaction: Hawkeyes survive Purdue

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