Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Rapid Reaction: Hawkeyes beat Utah State 24-14

Starting point is 00:00:00 football season is underway. The Iowa Hawkeyes get the win 24, 14, a fast start, a slow end. We break it down. Plus Kate McNamara. How hurt is he after another quad injury today?

Starting point is 00:00:15 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. Come in, I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts.

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Starting point is 00:01:14 The Iowa Hawkeyes started off their season with a win 24-14 over Utah State. Some frustrations, some positives, and we will get into all of that. And, of course, it is hate week here as we get ready for the matchup against Iowa State coming up this week, and we will get a little peek ahead to that one. But let's get into it, and I'll tell you, seven minutes into this football game, it felt like everything was fixed in the world of Hawkeye football. The offense looked sharp after the opening kickoff by Caleb Johnson, gave Iowa a great field position on the second play.

Starting point is 00:01:47 A touchdown pass to the transfer Seth Anderson from Charleston Southern from Cade McNamara. And the Hawkeyes were off and running. They get the football back and another touchdown pass to Eric All. It's 14-0. It is feeling like we got a party happening in Iowa City. And then from there, well, that's when some of the frustrations started to come up. But let's start with the positives here and what we saw. And certainly that first drive, though it was a short field after the big kick return by Caleb Johnson.

Starting point is 00:02:17 Iowa getting a touchdown pass for the first time on their opening drive of the season since 1991. That's right. Matt Rogers to Dayton Hughes. That is the last touchdown pass that they had on their opening possession of the season. And it felt so good being there in Kinnick Stadium. The anticipation for the season that we've talked about so much during the offseason. The expectations are high.

Starting point is 00:02:41 They should be high. And I don't think anything that we saw over the weekend should take away from those expectations. Are there things that need to be fixed? Absolutely. But for a moment, you had those opening drives, how good they look. And Cade McNamara, you can just tell that he is, he's different than what I was had a very long time at the quarterback position.

Starting point is 00:03:00 He is different than certainly the last couple of quarterbacks that have out there. We've talked about his and the intangibles that Cade McNamara has, and those showed up too, I thought, in a big-time way. But what Cade McNamara brings to this team is something that they haven't had, and that's an accurate quarterback. Accuracy is probably his biggest strength, short of those intangibles, and you saw that show up in a big-time way. There were some drops behind him. There were some passes up in a big time way. There were some drops behind him. There were some passes that absolutely should have been caught. There were difficult ones like the one in the end zone to Nico Ragini that he had to go and look basically straight back to try to get that football. And it was going to be a difficult one for him to haul in. Lachey had a

Starting point is 00:03:38 drop in there. He also had Williams that had a drop that would have been a sure touchdown. This offensive system, Cade McInerara ends the game going 17 of 30, 191 yards and two touchdowns. Right, well, football fans, though, boy, I mean, it felt like a breath of fresh air. This felt like we're watching like a Heisman guy out there compared to what we've had to watch the last three seasons and different varying levels also going back to even the three years

Starting point is 00:04:02 of Nate Stanley. It was definitely different out there with McNamara. I thought the offensive line in terms of pass blocking was very, very good. Pass blocking, keeping him clean, understanding this is not a completely healthy Cade McNamara. The quad injury that we've been talking about over basically the last month showed up again, and he had to exit the game after looking like tweaking that quad injury again during the third quarter of the football game but again we're staying with the positives early on and definitely one of the positives of the game was the play of the offensive line in pass blocking

Starting point is 00:04:35 run blocking we will get to that we mentioned Caleb Johnson also had one other big run in there not a whole lot going from there the The tight end position is absolutely stacked. Luke Lachey, even with the drop that he had, he was really, really good. His ability to find space in the middle. And for whatever reason, Iowa does not utilize the middle of the field with their wide receiver. That is something schematically with Brian Ference that we continue to see. They don't like the crossing routes. I mean, we think back to Marvin McDutt and how good he was on those deep crossers and how many yards that he was able to

Starting point is 00:05:08 pick up. Also wide receivers, your ability to get across the middle. That's how you pick up the yak. That's how you get the yards after the catch is on those kinds of plays where you got the run, you get the ball in space, you get it on the run, and then you're able to pick up another five, 10, 15 yards. Not the case in this Iowa offense. We'll talk a little bit more about the system when we get into the run game and some of the negatives, but you have to give credit there. Also the defense, pretty good. You know, you look at the final numbers, they score that touchdown in the fourth quarter against the reserves and it made a 24-6 kind of ho-hum victory a little bit tighter than maybe you wanted it to be the lineup for the

Starting point is 00:05:45 onside but ultimately obviously the the play of this defense sacks getting to the quarterback you want to see more there they were able to run the football i think a little bit better than we anticipated coming in but defense is going to be there jay higgins what a performance out of him 16 tackles a career high and stepping into the role at that middle linebacker spot, I thought he was outstanding. Xavier Wampa gave up a little bit, but had an interception, another beautiful one. And that's one thing that I've talked about with Xavier, watching him going back to his high school days, is his ability to close on the football.

Starting point is 00:06:20 It's unlike anything I've ever seen before, certainly at the high school level. Now you've seen that in his two starts with the pick six against Kentucky last year in the bowl game and the interception here. Just even when he makes a misstep, his ability to close either on a ball on the year or even with the ball carrier. He is so, so good at that. And this defense also trying to figure things out. How about Deshaun Lee?

Starting point is 00:06:43 You know, we talked a ton about TJ Hall. He kind of felt like he was going to be the Europe parent and Deshaun Lee was maybe the guy that wasn't remembered at the same kind of level. We knew that there was something happening in the defensive backfield. We've been talking about that for the last three weeks. There are a couple of names that were thrown out there. One of them, Jabari Harris, ultimately proves to be the guy that has the suspension. He's going to sit out two games and he'll be out this week against Iowa State before he's back. But Deshaun Lee went out there. Utah State right away went after him, threw the ball out a couple of times. He was right there, missed one tackle in the game. I thought he was really solid out there. Now it's going to be a

Starting point is 00:07:19 step up. Wide receivers for Iowa State this week going to be a whole lot better than what he saw against Utah State this week. But really good start to the career for Deshaun Lee going out there, getting his first career start. And I think you feel good about what you had there. So positives, there's lots of positives. You want to know. You start with that when you get the win.

Starting point is 00:07:39 There's no such thing as style points with Iowa football. We get that. Didn't get to the 25 points per game. We are going to look at the other side now and some of the frustrations and some of the concerns here with this Iowa football team. Plenty of positives, also plenty of negatives in a victory for the Iowa Hawkeyes. We will continue to talk about that as we go through taking a look at, yes, the negative side when we come back.

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Starting point is 00:10:32 So as we continue the conversation here, we go to the other side and the frustrations that built up. And I think you have to start with the run game. After an off season where offensive line dominated certainly many of the conversations that we had here on Locked on Hawkeyes. You everydayers know the importance to me of having a good offensive line and just how different it is for this Iowa offense. It didn't prove out, at least in the running game. Mentioned the pass blocking was good.

Starting point is 00:11:00 They kept Cade McNamara for the most part upright. They did a good job there. But the running game, it looked broke. And this is a bigger concern than just a game going up against Utah State team that had different fronts, a different defensive coordinator, and you couldn't exactly game plan

Starting point is 00:11:18 with what they were going to do. Kirk Ferentz mentioned after the game, they showed some different fronts and some different things that they were not anticipating. Still, this is concerning. And it's not just concerning not running the football. It's concerning because the thought was with a better offensive line, with better wide

Starting point is 00:11:36 receivers and obviously better quarterback play, that the run game was going to get going. And if you're going to do play action and going to do the things that Brian Ferentz wants to do with this offense, you got to be able to run the football. Now, that's where it starts. And they weren're going to do play action and going to do the things that Brian Ferentz wants to do with this offense, you got to be able to run the football. Now that's where it starts. And they weren't able to do that in a game where they were cruising, they were coasting, they had control of this game throughout. This is one where you want to have that four or five minute drive. You want to put the game away. You want to pick up three, four first downs, move the football, flip the field, whatever it is. And Iowa just never had the ability to do that throughout the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. They just couldn't get to that

Starting point is 00:12:10 level where they were able to move the football. I believe scheme is a big part of it. Now, you're not going to take runs away, but what comes in as the jet sweep, he gets a couple of big carries on those jet sweeps. The other one he's absolutely dismantled. But when you're relying on that, which I'm fine with, I want to see more jet sweep motion. It's not about the motion. It's about the blocking scheme. It's about the system. And it's a system that has not worked at a high level in a really long time. Yes, everybody in the NFL runs zone blocking one way or the other. Now, some teams do not use it exclusively, and Iowa has moved away from using it exclusively. I just think that this running system and the change in the rules

Starting point is 00:12:53 that we've had in college football where cut blocking, for all intents and purposes, is not allowed anymore. You just can't. You can't cut anymore like you once did. It has negated the positives of what the zone blocking scheme can do at the collegiate level. Hell, we saw Navy move away from their traditional triple option because of the rule changes in college football and go to, though they're still running option, they're doing it on shotgun.

Starting point is 00:13:19 And a big reason for that is what we see. So it's frustrating when you see that this could be something that is just never going to work again at the level. You're rotating guards in. We saw Rusty Feth. We talked about how Rusty Feth was better, at least according to the numbers from Pro Football Focus, early in his career than he was last season. He certainly did not look the part as a player that's going to come in and help negate

Starting point is 00:13:45 some of the issues that were out there. I thought Jennings Dunker had good moments, but there were a few times also that he was left pushing air. And we saw a ton of that too. Yes, early in the season, when you're trying to find the right fit, something that Kirk seemingly does every single year, finding those right guys, the right combination, there's going to be growing pains. And a lot of times when you see this offensive line, what they are in September, it's different by the time we get into October, November. We got to hope that's the case because this wasn't good enough. There's no two ways about it. The running backs are talented enough. I don't believe it's a running back situation. I was a little bit disappointed in Caleb Johnson. I thought he was

Starting point is 00:14:24 going to be able to bust out a little bit more. He was able little bit disappointed in Caleb Johnson. I thought he was going to be able to bust out a little bit more, but he was able to run the ball pretty effectively last year behind that porous offensive line. But the concerns are real, not just in terms of talent. And I think that's a problem, but also coupled with in terms of what they're trying to do in the run game. I don't know if it could come back. It's not 2002 anymore. Hell, it's not 2012 anymore. Today's college football is a whole lot different than when we saw Iowa's offense run at a high level and be able to run the football at a high level. And there's been talented guys that have come through here, from Trista Wirfs to Aleric Jackson, Tyler Linderbaum. We've had dudes

Starting point is 00:15:01 recently, but we haven't had a good offensive line all the way through, one through five. We just have not had that since 2015, 2010. I mean, we're going back a ways. So the last time that we've had a really good offensive line with your top five guys, and I think the scheme is a big part of that. A couple other things. I mentioned the injury to Cade McNamara, dealing with the quad injury, he went out there. You could tell he was not 100%. It's something that very well could linger throughout the course of the season.

Starting point is 00:15:32 You wonder about that. Even if they get to the bye week and he's still upright, what is he going to be in terms of effectiveness? He exits the game. Deacon Hill's able to come in and get a couple of reps, has a couple of throws, gets a completion there. Throws a pass for the first time in his collegiate career. Still, if we have to go with Deacon Hill as a starter for any number of games, probably outside

Starting point is 00:15:54 of the Western Michigan one, I don't think that's going to be very pretty. And that's also concerning with some of the issues we talked about with the offensive line. Speaking of wide receivers, we're excited about it. Flipper's kid, Lil Flip, he gets it done. Seth Anderson with the touchdown. He's got a couple of grabs. Just four catches, though, out of the wide receivers. A goose egg from Deontay Vines. That surprised me.

Starting point is 00:16:15 Caleb Brown was out there. He got over 20 snaps in the game. No catches from him. Just four overall from the wide receiver position. That's going to get better. They're going to rely on tight ends. I get that. We're going to see a ton of 12 personnel with the two tight ends out there

Starting point is 00:16:29 and even 13 or even 14, as we saw, I believe, one time with four tight ends out there on the field. You're going to see that. That is Iowa's strength. Still got to get more out of this wide receiver group, and I think we are going to still see that. I'm not too concerned about the talent, and I think Deontay Vines is going to be a guy that steps forward.

Starting point is 00:16:46 Nick Jackson, I was a little bit disappointed. I expected to see more out of the Virginia transfer. Again, he's also going through the process. He was not here early on, not a guy that went through spring, so he's still learning the ropes of what he's doing outside. But in the middle, Jay Higgins was excellent. And then the backups, and really the defensive line as a whole. We thought this defensive line was going to come in and dominate.

Starting point is 00:17:08 That was not the case. That was not the case at all. I thought it was a really impressive job out of Utah State. Credit to them for what the Aggies were able to do. I thought they came in with a good scheme, a good game plan, and if Iowa didn't jump out 14-0, could this game have been different? We can argue, I think, both sides of that. The drops got to get better. Game one, hot day. All right, let's move on. We'll be okay on that front. Just can't have drop passes though. This offense is not in a spot

Starting point is 00:17:35 where they can give up plays where the play is there. They just can't. It's as simple as that with the limitations that they have offensively. So there's a couple on the negative side of things, some of the frustrations that definitely bubbled up here. And now we await what is the latest, and we will get into that when we come back. It's hate week here. Iowa State coming up, and it's a road trip to Ames. Is this team ready to go? Iowa State, an impressive win in their own right as they beat UNI 32-9. We'll get our first

Starting point is 00:18:07 peek ahead to Cy Hawk Week and Iowa State. We'll do that as we continue here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. As always, thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. College football season, well, as you know, it is here. And this season, Locked On is kicking up our coverage with Locked On College Football live. Each Friday, Locked On's going to go live from 11 to 1 Eastern Time. That's 10 to noon Central Time on every Locked On College YouTube channel. College Football Kickoff Live will cover everything from the playoffs, rivalry games, and we'll go in-depth like only Locked On can,

Starting point is 00:18:44 including insight and analysis from our stable of Lockdown hosts covering their team every day. Find Lockdown College Football kickoff live every Friday from 10 to noon Central Time on any Lockdown YouTube channel. You're not going to want to miss this. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Get ready for the NFL season with incredible

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Starting point is 00:20:00 And you know, this game against Iowa State every single year, it's just different. You know, we've seen plenty of times where teams will look terrible in week one, come back in week two and look completely different. We've seen Iowa State do that, lose games in the opener and come back and beat Iowa in week number two. We've seen it go both ways. You know, there's a part of this where Iowa didn't play their best football game on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:20:25 And I don't think that's a bad thing for this matchup. It's also so odd being where I am, being here in central Iowa. Grew up in North Iowa back in the 80s. There weren't many Cyclone fans. We were a farming community up in Osage. There were a lot of farmers up there, people that had Iowa State connections, but really nobody was a Cyclone fan. And that's different now, and that has changed,

Starting point is 00:20:48 and it's been what the football program certainly has done since Dan McCartney took over in the 90s and what they turned into in becoming at least a bowl team every once in a while, ending the 15-game losing streak against Iowa. That was a part of it here. But here in Central Iowa, it's different. I argue with my radio partner, Ken Miller, all about this he just continues to harp on the biggest game in the state and this is our state Super Bowl not and I say this in Des Moines in central Iowa but

Starting point is 00:21:15 it's different for you people that are in Dubuque in the Quad Cities in Iowa City in Cedar Rapids and even Sioux City where I was over the weekend and apologies we're getting this to you a little bit late because after the game my wife hopped in the driver's seat and you might have saw the little instant reaction, one minute clip that we had after the game, driving to Sioux City afterwards, but wasn't able to get the full podcast up to you. And it's different.

Starting point is 00:21:38 The rivalry is different here. And this rivalry, there's been wild moments, there's been goofy ones. I haven't gone back yet. And that is on my to-do list for tomorrow as I'll go back and re-watch the Iowa State game against UNI. We'll get a little more insight.

Starting point is 00:21:53 Got the pick six early, really changed that game. A big punt return made it, gave them a two score lead. And then they just cruised from that point. You look at the final score. I think it's a little bit more impressive than what I've seen. But like I said, I'll go back and watch that also. Go back and re-watch the Iowa game and probably get a little more insight for you guys for tomorrow's podcast. LaShawn Daniels is going to join us. And yes, as for everybody wondering, Jace, he had work last

Starting point is 00:22:17 week and wasn't able to get on the podcast. He guaranteed me he will be back for his debut for the 2023 season. And Jace will be back with us later here this week. But we will break things down. I would say on the surface, I was favored in this game by four at FanDuel. Currently, opening line was at 3-3.5 range, moved up to four. The over-under, it's going to be one of the lowest in college football again this year. In fact, I saw at Circa when they released their lines on Sunday, it got as low as 33 and a half before the buyback happened and put it back up to 35 and a half,

Starting point is 00:22:50 but it's going to be a low number. I think that's a good way to look at this. There's going to be a low scoring slugfest. Hopefully we get a little bit more offense than we did a year ago in the 10-7 game, but we will break things down and get ready for hate week. And for you people that are online, that are on social media, go back and forth. You got family members. You got people that you work with in the office, whatever it may be that are Cyclone fans. It's a different week.

Starting point is 00:23:14 Let's have fun and let's end it in a positive note with a big win against Cyclones on the road. It's going to take some work and we'll talk about that in the days to come. As always, thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Thanks for joining us here today as we wrap up a week one victory against Utah State 24-14. Some positives, plenty of negatives. And Iowa does not get to 25 points in the first game. 24, all they get now working a little bit behind as they strive to get to that 25 points per game throughout the

Starting point is 00:23:46 course of the season for the Brian Ferentz contract. I know that will continue to be a big conversation, not just here in the state, but this is a big conversation nationwide. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Rapid Reaction: Hawkeyes beat Utah State 24-14

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