Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hawkeye victory recap with LeShun Daniels: Alex Padilla looked good and Tyler Goodson rolls

Episode Date: November 7, 2021

It's been a month since our last Iowa Hawkeye victory but we are back after Iowa's win over Northwestern and we are breaking down everything about the game with former Iowa running back LeShun Daniels Jr. The biggest news from last night's win is Alex Padilla taking over part way through the first quarter and leading the team to a win. He looked good, his throws were crisp, and the team was responding to him. We now have a QB controversy on our hands. The running attack also got moving behind a big day from Tyler Goodson, and freshman wide receivers Keagan Johnson and Arland Bruce IV continue to show their potential. Defensively, the turnover drought is broken after three interceptions from the Iowa defense including two from Dane Belton, and the defensive line was getting pressure all day. We wrap up by looking ahead to Minnesota, a team LeShun really doesn't like.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.PrizePicksDon’t hesitate, check out PrizePicks.com and use promo code: “LOCKEDON” or go to your app store and download the app today. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back Hawkeye Nation to another episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Podcast Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wade. And as we have done every single Iowa game, we are breaking it down with former Iowa running back LaShawn Daniels. Before we get to that, though, I want to thank you all for making this Locked On Hawkeyes podcast

your first listen every single day. You can find the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get podcasts at, and also on YouTube by searching Locked On Hawkeyes. LaShawn, before we get into the fact that we finally get a cover win, I want to ask you, how are you doing today, man? We're good. We're good. We're doing great. You know, the sun is out this morning. You know, we're feeling good, energized, and obviously happy that the Hawks won.

So we're doing great, man. How about yourself? I'm doing well. I woke up at 5 a.m. and was wondering why am I up right now and then realized we had an extra hour of sleep. So that was phenomenal. You have a little girl, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

How is she handling the fallback of time uh i don't think she really notices i mean she's like knocked out most of the time um and then if not like she'll just like be playing in her room um before we'll even come and get her so like she's usually pretty pretty good with the time changes and everything so um yeah it's weird it's definitely a little weird yeah but i'm not complaining yeah you're making parenting sound very easy man you're like oh she's up she just hangs out by herself and we're totally fine yeah no uh yeah she's like everyone who like has ever like watched her is like yeah she's definitely like the easiest like child i've ever had to

watch ever so um i'm not complaining at all yeah Yeah, that's amazing. And also, I can't complain about the fact that for the first time in one month, we get a talk about an Iowa win. And there is a lot to unpack with this game. Spencer Petras, we knew we had some injury potential coming into this game. He didn't look good. Now, to be fair, he hasn't really looked good for about a month and a half now at this point or month. They take him out. They put Alex Padilla in. A very shocking turn of events for Kirk Behrens in this Iowa offense. He gets in and Alex Padilla, he looked pretty good. So we got to talk about that. The defense finally got pressure on the defensive line. Holy crap. It's been a while. But that defensive line was cooking last night in Northwestern.

It did become a close game towards the end. So I want to talk about that as well. But let's start the big thing. Alex Padilla, Spencer Petras, were you shocked to see Kirk turned Alex late in the first quarter? Yeah, because at first I didn't even notice it. I literally didn't even notice it at first because I was actually at the game. Oh, you were at the game? Yeah. So, I mean. I mean, yes, it's in your hometown.

Yeah, you're close to it. Yeah, it's literally like right up the street. It took only minutes to get there. So, I figured I might as well go. Like, I didn't even notice it at first that he was in. But I know that's something that Coach Ferentz very rarely does.

So I figured something had to be up. Obviously, Spencer wasn't able to play at all. Really wasn't able to play at all. I mean, at throws that were in the dirt, just wasn't being to play at all. I mean, at throws that were in the dirt, you know, just wasn't being effective, you know, back there at all.

So, I mean, at least to get some type of jolt to the offense right throughout there just made more sense. So, I was shocked at first because I knew, like, that's something Coach Ferentz doesn't do. And it's like, I see, I knew that's something Coach Ferentz doesn't do. I see that as hurt. But I think Coach Ferentz just realized the situation. You got to get someone else in there because we can't even move the ball. We can't even throw a five-yard out.

We got to have someone else in there to make some plays. Yeah, it was definitely shocking to obviously see Alex come in there. And you don't want to – you want Spencer to be healthy. I want Spencer to be in a good spot. But you've got to look at what Alex Padilla was able to do and be very, very impressed with how he came into that game and was able to quickly pick things up, was able to make several throws. The offense looked like it was humming.

And it just looked very decisive in my opinion yeah um i i agree there um and granted it's not a good northwestern team they're they're bad we should be clear there it's not a good northwestern program yeah it's not like we're last year right you? They had two first-round picks last year, so they're a better team. But, yeah, this is not the team that they had last year. With that being said, the offense needed something, needed some more energy. And having Alex in there provided that. I know we talked about the struggles on the offensive line. And, you know, yesterday they played better than they have the past few weeks.

Again, defense wasn't as good as these other defenses. But, you know, the ability that Alex has to be able to move around in the pocket and be able to do rollouts and throw on the run accurately was really, really, I think, a game changer for the offensive line and, you know, them being able to protect Alex always back there. I mean, for the most part, it seemed like Alex had time to throw, and if he didn't, he was able to move around in the pocket and be able to step up, find at least someone, at least find a receiver and be able to give them a chance to take a play on the football. So, yeah, I know that was something that we talked about last week.

I know how I mentioned that I'm a granddad and I'm a fan of mobile products. I mean, because it just alleviates so much stress off your offensive line, especially the young offensive line that we have and the struggles that we've had. It alleviates that pressure. They can't just put everybody up there and, you know, put their ears back and go rush a passer because we have a mobile quarterback, and then it also helps open things up in the run game,

which we did see a lot of yesterday. We had pretty good success on the ground in comparison to basically what we've had in the past month and a half, right, it feels like. Completely agree. I think when you mentioned being a mobile quarterback, the play that really sticks out in my mind is we're on the goal line. It's late in the first half. Alex Padilla does a rollout. It actually

looks like he could do the rollout, right? I mean, anytime you do a rollout with Spencer Petras, you have to be concerned about the backside defensive end just crashing on him and taking him down. Alex Padilla does a rollout and delivers a beautiful pass to Keegan Johnson on a comeback route. I mean, Alex was able to throw the run. Spencer cannot do that. Spencer cannot get out of the pocket like that and have an actual threat of potentially picking up the first down with your legs or delivering a beautiful pass like that. The other thing you mentioned was being a little bit aggressive, taking a couple shots to Keegan Johnson down the field. We have not seen Spencer Petras be willing to throw those kind of balls.

Now, maybe it's PTSD from last year. Maybe it's coach speak, trying to tell him, you know, be very careful of the ball, but you gotta, you gotta challenge these secondaries and you gotta put the, you know, give your, give your wide receiver some opportunities, which I thought he did that in this game, at least in those first four drives. Anything else you want to add to Alex Padilla before we get into what I think is kind of some interesting play calling in that second half? Yeah, I mean, really, obviously, just give Alex a ton of credit for coming in there and, you know, making plays, obviously, but the offense needed to show.

And obviously, I love seeing him take some shots. Just give the guys a chance, right? I mean, you got good receivers out there, especially Keegan. I think he's really emerging as the best receiver on the team, to be quite honest. And, you know, giving him a chance, a couple deep shots I think was huge. And he also even, you know, drew a PI. Like, I mean, that's going to be wonders for the offense, you know,

moving forward here. And, you know, obviously you still support Spencer. And, you know, I think he's obviously being a great teammate. So, you know, but definitely excited for, you know, Alex's progression that we'll see hopefully for these next few weeks. So, yeah. Do you. So are you falling on the Alex Padilla Express train? Because I am.

I mean, yeah. I mean, if he's in there, I mean, he's clearly – I mean, if you just look at it, I mean, granted, again, it's not like we put up 40 points yesterday. Yeah. But, you know, when he was in the ballgame, it just seemed like the offense just moved just better, just moved better. Granted, Spencer could be hurt. I don't know what's going on.

Again, I don't know what's going on again i don't know what's going on with spencer um you know whatsoever but uh the offense just moved better with alex in and it felt like at least in the first half the play calling opened up a little bit more with alex and as well so i'm full in on it um again i support the staff um 100 but really i think um really at this point, I think it just makes more sense just knowing the struggles that we've had just to have Alex in there and really keep him in there for the rest of the year. Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. I have one other point I want to touch on with Alex Padilla here in a second,

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wherever you get podcasts at and also on YouTube by searching Locked On Hawkeyes. Before we get to Alex Padilla, a couple of things. I'm going to throw you for a loop here for a second, Lashon. First off, I want to say thank you to Arlen Bruce as our first NIL deal. We got in the game. We had Arlen Bruce supporting the show, and then he comes up big and has a touchdown run,

which I want to talk about as well. Also, one of our sponsors is McDonald's. And LaShawn, I have been having a conversation with my buddies, and they don't think I can eat 100 chicken nuggets in two hours. So we're talking a little bit about this. And I mentioned that McDonald's is now sponsoring the lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. And they said, why don't you do a chicken nugget eating contest with the Sean?

So I wanted to bring that up with you. Would you ever be interested in having a live stream chicken nugget eating contest with me? And do you think you could win? Of course I'm in. I think I'll first off, I think you could win of course i'm i'm in i think first off i think i would win for sure 20 100 nuggets 100 nuggets i think that yeah i could do that i think i could do that for sure in two hours yeah yeah that's more than enough time i thought so too i thought i was like man i could definitely do this but they uh they don't believe me so we'll

have a challenge we'll set it up. We'll figure out some time, see if we can't get that going, maybe get McDonald's to sponsor it even on the show. But I feel like you didn't give me enough credit on how much I can eat, but I'll take your dish and I will raise you and we will see what happens here, man. Anyways, getting back to the show. So Alex Padilla, I wanted to quickly touch on um one other thing so we actually i've actually been in contact with alex padilla's uh quarterback coach back in denver uh tim jenkins awesome guy follow him at jenkins elite uh he's gonna

actually be getting the all 22 of this game and coming on the show to break down everything he saw from alex in this game i did want to point out one thing you mentioned play calling and especially i feel like those four drives, those first four drives Alex Padilla was in, I thought the play calling was really aggressive. And it was also, it was good from a running perspective as well. They weren't just saying, we're going to run the ball right at the middle. We're going to tell you exactly we're running the ball

based off of how we line up and how we have a power on one side. They were doing some misdirection. I mean, that Tyler Goodson 40-yard dash before that second touchdown, I mean, that was misdirection with the tight end then pulling outside. I thought that was awesome. You saw a lot of jet sweep, motion jet sweep even, some play actions with that. I just wanted to basically point out, I thought the play calling was phenomenal.

I also thought they put Alex Padilla in a position to make big plays easy, right? Giving him one-on-one coverage slant to Charlie Jones. I mean, those are things that you take three steps, you fire it in as long as you make the right read. So I guess that's the last thing I wanted to cover on Alex Padilla. Any thoughts on that before we turn our attention to the second half? No, I think that's really pretty much on point, how I felt like the first half went. So, yeah, no, I don't have anything there. All right, so the second half, gosh, I think this is where people get frustrated.

I was telling you before, I'm in an Iowa Hawkeye Twitter DM convo and not a lot of happiness after this game, which we win. I'm happy. It's Northwestern. Anytime we can survive versus Northwestern, I'll take the W. I didn't think it was going to be pretty. It felt like once Iowa got up 17-3, though, and granted, it very easily could have been 21-3.

Keegan Johnson does drop that ball in the end zone. Thought he could have caught that. Thought he should have caught that, I should say. It felt like Iowa took their foot off the pedal and said, you know what? We're just trying to get out of here at the w we're gonna let our defense do do its job which it did but it felt like iowa got incredibly incredibly stale on offense um after that do you feel like that's a product of kirk ferentz and his philosophy and just we do what we need to do to win or do you

feel like the offense really did stall out, Northwestern made adjustments? Just wanted to get your thoughts on all that. I mean, I think it's just a combination of both. Most of the time it is a combination of both. I mean, you know, you get into the second half, you know, you go down, you have the drive, right? You're up 17-3.

I mean, Northwestern hasn't shown us anything that they've been able to move with football whatsoever. So it's like at that point, obviously, you're just trying to keep control of the football, not make any huge mistakes, not have any turnovers or anything like that. So, you know, it's felt like, though, like we were just being way too conservative. And it's almost like we felt like you get into a point where instead of trying to win, you're just trying not to lose, which, you know, I get right. I mean, you haven't had a win in like a month. So you're just you're trying to do whatever you can to not lose. But I mean, also, the other end of that, it's just like, you know, you're not moving the football.

The defense is going to be the defense is going to be out there the entire game. Obviously, you got to give credit to Northwestern. They made some changes. They made some adjustments. You know, they changed up a few looks on the defensive end. But I think it all still ends up coming back to us. And, you know, just felt like, you know, we weren't really just trying to push push the envelope at all i don't feel like we weren't um you know really trying to stretch the field as much obviously there were there were a couple plays in the second half

where we were trying to take some shots we weren't able to hit on them um but you know really just felt like we were just playing not to lose in that second half and you know it didn't and it almost bit us in the butt, right? Because at the end of the game, we ended up getting really close. So it's a big – I know it's a part of the philosophy. It always has been, right? It's never a thing of us just going out there and blowing out every single team every single week.

It's just not how it's done in Iowa football. But sometimes I do wish we would do it like that and just go out there and just keep, you know, keep the foot on the gas and just keep, you know, doing the things that we were having success with and keep trying to stretch the field and just, you know, make the defenses, make the opposing defense, you know, have to struggle to continue

to defend us and obviously give our defense a huge break. Obviously, I know that we've been relying on defense a lot this year. And, you know, again, the defense has been doing a great job. But, you know, as an offensive guy myself, I would love for us to just, you know, continue to be aggressive and continue doing things to create big plays and create explosive plays you know so we don't have to be in these this many close games so I completely agree as the great Herm Edwards says you play to win the game and I feel like we get in the second half and like you said we're playing not to lose the game which 90% of the time actually works out for Iowa I mean their defense is good it It worked out last night.

But I think Iowa fans across the board would say, we just want to be comfortable. I was at a comedy show, so I watched the first half on my phone. I was at a comedy show for the second half for a buddy's birthday, so I was, like, checking the updates. And then when I got home, I finally watched the rest of the second half on the TV and whatnot. But I was checking, like, oh, my gosh, what is going on?

Like, am I going to sit here and all of a sudden be so pissed off while I'm watching a comedian? Like, that could very well be happening here. But it also puts Iowa in a bad situation that they're playing so conservative. But if they do make a mistake, there's not a lot of wiggle room for that mistake. The blocked punt is a great example that Iowa's defense holds strong. But what if they don't? That blocked punt could have been a huge shift there. And Iowa doesn't have a lot of room to really take that on the chin and say,

you know what, that happened. Fine, we get seven. Let's go on and let's continue playing offense. It's frustrating to watch it, but it is what it is. And I don't think it's going to change. It's been that way ever since Kirk has been here, really. I mean, that's just – that is the philosophy. It is what it is, and I don't think it's going to change. It's been that way ever since Kirk has been here, really. I mean, that's just – that is the philosophy. It is what it is at this point.

I would like to see us take a bit more shots, though. Northwestern is not a very good rushing defense team. They're one of the worst rush defenses in the entire country. Before the show, before this week, I actually predicted, you know, Tyler could maybe go 150. I thought Gavin could maybe go 50. It's actually pretty close on that Tyler went 140 Gavin went 40 wanted to get your thoughts on Gavin running the football though really our first extended time of seeing Gavin with the ball in his hands yeah um you know it's always uh fun when young

guys get in there and um you know have extended uh playing time and you know i thought he did i did a pretty good job again i was i i didn't have like an end zone view so i couldn't see um you know like the holes and everything but i mean for the most part it seemed like he was making the right reads um you know most of the time was running with good pad level uh so you know it's exciting to see young guys get in there and you know have a have a good day me averaging over four yards of carry is is again that's that's big uh for your football team um so he's definitely has definitely has some ability um for sure um so i'm excited to see him you know continue to grow and get better and better each week. And obviously just yesterday was obviously a start to that.

So I'm really excited for his development because obviously he seems like a good player. The coaches trust him to be out there, which is another huge factor. I mean, to be a young guy and be able to be out there and, you know, have the coaches have that trust in you is huge. Absolutely. Yeah, I thought he played pretty well. The moment was not too big for him. And Tyler Good. I mean, you know, this better than anyone running backs have such a short shelf life. There's only so many opportunities you have. Tyler Goodson could very well be looking at the NFL this year. Maybe not as much. I know his, his drafts that I think has dropped a little bit for better or for worse from an Iowa perspective.

So he may be coming back. But if he doesn't, I would say we're in good hands with Gavin. LaShawn Williams behind him is a guy to also watch out for as well. He's a guy who I think has a lot of potential. Ivory Kelly Martin could also be coming back for what would be, it feels like he's been there for a decade at this point. I mean, he's basically our version of Muhammad Ibrahim back in Minnesota. But the running game I feel like is in good hands, even after Tyler Goodson leaves.

I'm kind of getting back to some of the more traditional one cut, pound the hole, find the hole, that kind of stuff. I want to talk more about that. And some of our younger guys as well, you mentioned Keegan Johnson maybe is the best wide receiver we have right now. But I do want to tell you all about Bilt Bar. Bilt Bar is the best tasting protein bar on the market today. If you haven't tried a Bilt Bar by now, why not? You are missing out. Please let me know. DM me. Let me know why you aren't trying a Bilt Bar, and I will personally send you a box of Bilt Bars. I sent them over to LaShawn. LaShawn, you seem to like them. I personally love them. I eat them all the freaking time. The USA track and field team eats them, so clearly they're pretty good, and they're also so good for you. They have so many flavors. They're also low carb, low calorie, low fat, low sugar, and high in protein. So all the healthy benefits on top of just being purely

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And you'll get 15% off your order. Use the promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at built.com. So I want to talk about the defense a little bit. But first, the younger guys, we mentioned Keegan Johnson might be one of the best wide receivers on this team. I would argue maybe, like you said, maybe the best wide receiver on this team.

And it's not like it's a lacking talent wide receiver room, right? Charlie Jones is a good wide receiver. Nico Regani has had his spurts. Tyrone Tracy had an unbelievable redshirt freshman season with Amir Smith-Marset and Brandon Smith. We've seen this happen in recent history. Amir Smith-Marset and Brandon Smith both played as true freshmen,

but it feels like, and maybe this is just recency bias, Keegan Johnson looks more mature, more prepared, and is at a higher level than where we had Amir Smith-Marset and Brandon Smith at as true freshmen. What are your thoughts on that? And also maybe even Arlen Bruce I would throw in there. Looks like he could at least be right in line with those guys, both NFL players at this point.

What are your thoughts on all that? Yeah. I mean, Keegan is, I mean, he really is a phenomenal player. I think, doesn't he have like a brother, like I said, in the NFL, I think? Yeah, he's playing South Dakota State, and now, yeah, brother like it's in the nfl i think yeah he's uh yeah he's out of state and now yeah he's uh i think he's on the practice squad maybe yeah yeah so you know obviously he's coming from a football family and you know when i look at him out there i mean again he's out there making contested catches right he's winning one-on-ones he's

breaking tackles um you know he's doing everything um from a receiver standpoint that you want from you know a big time uh receiver and then some right i think a lot of things that we've kind of touched on you know in past weeks it's just his ability um to run after the catch and how he's basically like a running back when he has the football in his hands um which again it's a huge weapon because um when you have superstar receivers those are things that they can do right when they can catch the football and do something after they catch it so um really keegan has put together the entire package i think at this point obviously he's had drops right he had the big drop in the end zone um yesterday and he had no he had to drop for sure against wisconsin but again those those come with with young guys right but you know i love his ability that he has when he does catch the

football or even when he's given a chance just because i mean he is with his speed and his strength um and it's basically just his athleticism in general is really really huge um and it's something that you know hopefully we will continue to take advantage of um because of that really ability that he has and he has that that game-breaking ability which something you know as far as a receiver position is something that we really need um to really help help our success and and then obviously you gotta give credit to arlen bruce as well another young guy who does great things with the ball in his hands um it's almost like you know they're trying to use him as almost like a hybrid like running back receiver type type guy and um he has that sort of build and does a great job again breaking tackles um you know using his speed and agility to be able to get the

edge and um you know create mismatches so uh i love the future when it comes to you know those two two guys in the receiver position and you know hopefully you know we can continue to get more guys like that so yeah couldn't agree more um i want to highlight arlen uh on that end around he's first of all montyty Potterbaum had a phenomenal block. I mean, he was just owning the heck out of his guy. Keegan Johnson also had a nice little block as well. But there were two guys closing in on Arlen, and he set them up. I mean, he kind of went inside just for a little bit

and made them try to go get him. And he actually then went around Monty, and they couldn't get to him. That's why he was able to break that tackle, because they weren't able to get a clean shot on him. And then also his ability to stay up, low center of gravity, putting his hand on the ground to keep his balance and then getting into the end zone.

I mean, these are not true freshman plays. I mean, and Iowa doesn't like to rely on true freshmen, but there was a lot of times in that game where we had two wide receivers in, two wide receiver sets running, you know, 21 personnel. And we had Keegan and Arlen as the wide receivers. So, I mean, clearly the staff is really starting to rely on them. They are gaining the trust of that team.

And it's also worth noting that Alex Padilla has taken most of his snaps with those two guys because those were the second string guys. So expect them to get more playing time and also have more opportunities as the season progresses, especially if we stick with Alex Padilla. Now I mentioned the tackling was not very good on Arlen Bruce, mostly because he set them up for that. Iowa's tackling was also subpar at best in this game. I mean, there were several times where Iowa could have stopped

Northwestern on a third down and they made some good plays that Evan hole touchdown. Uh, I mean, this, when you think of Iowa, you think of, you don't think of explosion. You don't think of explosive offenses. You don't think of putting up 45 points a game. You think of fundamentals, you think of, we're going to run the ball. We're going to play sound defense. We're going to play great special teams. And when you think of fundamentals, you think of tackling. What is going – I mean, it's been kind of an issue this year, I feel like. They have struggled against shifty running backs, decent running backs.

Evan Hull is a good running back. Let's give him his credit where it's due. But Iowa struggled mightily tackling, especially in that second half. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely but iowa struggled mightily tackling especially in that second half yeah i mean it's definitely a little frustrating um to see because i mean i know we've had there was a couple games right this year we've had trouble tackling like the colorado state game comes to mind immediately um and then you know obviously the purdue and wisconsin And then, you know, this week as well, it almost feels like the, almost like the defense kind of lost their swag after during, and really during that Purdue game,

if we're being quite honest, it just feels like they just haven't been able to get back to it. Right. I mean, again, yesterday we made a whole bunch of plays on defense, right. Three interceptions. You know that's huge um from you know a team perspective anytime you can

turn over the football no matter where it's at it's big time um but it feels like you know kind of like that swag and that juice has kind of faded away a little bit and um you know the defense is just almost it is they just haven't felt like how they felt like an earlier in the season um and you know i don't know what needs to be done to kind of get that get that back um hopefully you know creating all these turnovers yesterday is going to help um you know jolt them a little bit um But yeah, it just really feels like, you know, tackling has just not been something that, you know,

we've been really too detailed on lately. And, you know, there's a lot of broken tackles. Like the one I'm thinking of specifically was when they, it was like the fourth and one where first off the guy was short, but yeah, whatever the guy was short,

but they had him like tackled like three yards in the backfield. Right. There's like two guys that had him like tackle three yards in the backfield, breaks both those tackles. And then I used to give credit to that kid. Right. For, you know, his effort and keep his legs moving, keep his legs moving. But still. Right. I mean, you got a guy, you know, dead to rights. And, you know, he breaks through those tackles, is able to push forward and get a first down. And that's just something that I just can't I just can't think of you know i was doing right i mean there's there's few times where i've seen it um where things like that have happened like right the big 10

championship game is the one that immediately comes to mind yeah every single time every time i see a play like that i'm like that's the big 10 championship play. Every single time. That play scars me. I can only imagine how much it scars you. It's literally like replays in my mind. Like, my position, people be on the sideline. I'm just like, oh, my God. But that aside, right, I mean, that's literally, you know, what I saw at that play.

And it's happened, you know, multiple times throughout this year where, again, teams have created big plays from, you know, us just not finishing the tackles. Right. You have the opportunity there. So I don't know what we got to be able to do. Always got to do on the defensive side. Again, I'm not a defensive coach. I didn't play defense at the division one level. at the Division I level. But, you know, figuring out, you know, what we got to do on that side is we've got to make a change to make sure that we are making these tackles and arguing guys to the ground.

Because, again, we got three teams left on the schedule who, you know, have won some big-time ballgames and have good players on the offensive end. So it's only going to be more and more important that we focus on that and really have that want to and of going in there and wanting to make this tackle and secure tackles. Because again, not every play on defense is going to be a huge turnover play. So if we can keep our fundamentals up and make the routine plays, again, it's going to help us in these last three games.

Absolutely. Especially, so that fourth and one play those are i mean i don't think people realize like how big of a momentum changer that almost seems to be right if you stop him in the backfield not even i mean if he gets down at the fourth one we he whatever fine but if you stop him in the back the backfield three yards deep i mean that is a play that gets people pumped up it gets people ready to roll and on the flip side of that when he breaks those tackles gets that first down that is a play that gets people pumped up. It gets people ready to roll. And on the flip side of that, when he breaks those tackles, gets that first down, that is a huge momentum swing in the opposite direction for Northwestern.

It's just tough to deal with. I would agree with you. I feel like the last three weeks. So we're finally, it feels like we kind of got some of it back, maybe against Northwestern. I'll grant to Northwestern, a very bad pass blocking team.

Andrew Marty is only his second time of really playing extended snaps for Northwestern, granted Northwestern, a very bad pass blocking team. Andrew Marty is only his second time of really playing extended snaps for Northwestern. He's probably their best quarterback, but still the only second time. Northwestern just not a good offense overall. But it felt like we got a little bit back, but you're absolutely right. It doesn't feel like – it feels like we're forcing things right now. Really, we're pressing on the defensive side of the football. It'll be great to see what happens when Riley Moss comes back. I felt like Jamari Harris had a pretty good game overall, but Riley Moss is

Riley Moss. There's a reason why he has been projected as a late second round draft pick to this point by some NFL draft scouts. It'll be great to get him back in that starting lineup. I'm really excited about that. I do want to note, you know, this Northwestern team came in very good running attack. That's the only thing they really had going as a bright spot. Iowa held Evan Hull to 41 yards, a 3.7-yard per carry average. So overall, pretty good there in the rushing defense department. You mentioned the upcoming games. This is a weird slate of three games.

Minnesota, I can't tell what's going on with Minnesota. I don't know how you go to Illinois and lose, and then we get Illinois after that. Illinois is really, really confusing me. It seems like when they have won, what they've done is they just say, you know what? We're rushing the football down your throat every

single play with Chase Brown. Have fun. Try to stop us. If it works, we're going to win this game. If it doesn't, we're screwed. And it's worked against Minnesota. It worked against Penn State. So that scares me a little bit for Iowa. And then Nebraska might legitimately be the best

three-win team I've ever seen. I mean, by every advanced metric, they should be 7-2, 6-3. I mean, like, Nebraska's a scary team. So what are your thoughts on the remaining schedule?

And also, how much do you hate Minnesota? You know, I really can't stand them. And, like, they have their all, like, the we hate Iowa thing. And it's just – and it's annoying. And, like, first off, they'll, like, blast that, like, throughout the locker room the entire week. And it just drives me nuts. Like, by the time you get to the end of the week, you're just, like –

you're just so tired of hearing it. And then, like, every single year, you're always hearing about, oh, is this, like, you know, like the best Minnesota team and this and that and all this stuff. And really just can't stand it. Can't stand them. So that's always the game. Do they really blast We Hate Iowa in the Iowa locker room? They'll do their little, what year?

I think it might have been 2015 and maybe 2016. They were playing their... what year i think it might have been 2015 and maybe 2016 um like they had like they were like they were like playing like they're like a little hype video or whatever um throughout the locker room um and all this stuff and it was driving me nuts driving me insane um because you remember like in 2015 like the year before they beat us by like 50 um so like uh they do whatever basically whatever you can like for really any rivalry week but especially like the minnesota and i know like the staff can't stand minnesota either uh so um basically do whatever they can to get us uh up and ready for that one for sure um so yeah how pissed off are you by the end of the week like are you like i'm gonna kill every minnesota player on this team like let's roll yeah well you're like by the time you know uh

practice is over at wednesday you're just like okay like we gotta get to saturday like like now um so you're yeah so we're always sick of minnesota um you know we can't stand those guys so granted we've been beating them um you know we haven't lost to them since what 2014 so yeah um you know obviously gotta keep that streak going uh but yeah i mean these are good football teams that we have in front of us obviously minnesota has great wins then they have terrible losses like the one yesterday and bowling green like awful losses um but you know again they have a good football team so we're obviously gonna have to have a great week of great week of practice and show up on saturday ready to roll because they're gonna be ready to roll because again i think this is gonna be like what uh second or probably third

class that hasn't beaten iowa yet so like they're gonna be they're gonna be you know juiced up and ready to go um and try to come in the kinnick and, you know, get a huge win after dropping this one against Illinois yesterday. So, but yeah, we, we, we can't stay in Minnesota at all. I love that. Is Kirk as salty as he seems about PJ Flex? I mean, last year had some, some drama, figured we'd leave the timeouts here and take, take the pig with us. So is he as salty as it seems about Minnesota?

I mean, it feels like he also doesn't like Minnesota and also maybe hates P.J. Fleck. Yeah, so I don't really know as much about the P.J. Fleck, but I guess how he feels to him as much. So I don't want to say, I don't even know if P.J. Fleck, was he there when? I don't think he was there when you he there when i don't think he was there i don't think it was it was probably the year after right 2017 was his first year there um i think i think so but you know all i know that he just he can't stand minnesota every every single

time we play minnesota you know we have our team meet in um our team meetings like before like at the beginning of the week and all this stuff. And he'll go on tangents about, you know, Minnesota and all this stuff. And then like, you know, we always, you always like play like highlight tapes or like clips from like old years

of us playing Minnesota. It was like, you know, this is what I will football looks like. And this and that, when we play, we play Minnesota and all this stuff. So yeah,

he's definitely a guy who doesn't like Minnesota and really none of the staff does. Obviously, I know Coach Bryant doesn't like Minnesota at all because, again, same household, so it kind of carries through. And I think it permeates through the rest of the coaching staff as well. So, yeah, yeah, it's always a good one. I'm kind of getting off subject here, but do you feel like having so many people on this staff that understand the iowa and played for iowa and have been a part of this program for so long also helps even more so make these rivalries rivalries even more

important i mean like you look at uh lavar you look at brian fair i mean like there's a lot of guys on the staff who have been a part of this team for a long time. Do you feel like that helps as well? Yeah, yeah. Because, I mean, I feel like it's just, like, easier for them to speak, you know, to the players and speak to the guys. Like, hey, like, when I was playing, you know, which wasn't too long ago You know, you know, 15, 20 years ago, like, like it was still the same, like we still couldn't stand these guys. Um, you know, this was always a game that we were always ready for, always really excited for anytime you have

a rivalry game and you have a trophy, um, to be able to go and win is always a huge opportunity. And, you know, when the coaches can speak from their own experience and being in these rivalry games against a specific team, playing for the team that you're playing for, it definitely helps, I feel like, a little bit. I love it, man. That's super cool. So final, I got way off topic on everything here.

Last question for you, and then I want to see if you have anything to say about the game. Ryan Field, do you have any horror stories about how bad Ryan Field is? And also, what was the percentage of fans yesterday, Iowa versus Northwestern? Because, I mean, there are a lot of Iowa fans that live in Chicago. Northwestern doesn't have a big fan base. What are your thoughts on all that? I'll answer that one first.

First, it was like 70- iowa fans it was ridiculous i don't know how they have how they even host home games like it's literally the entire uh you know opposing team like every single time and yeah most of the people they arrive with fans um and then i don't have any horror stories i only played there once and technically i didn't even play because i was back in 2015, and I was still dealing with a high ankle sprain. I dressed, but I didn't play, and that was the game where Jordan got injured early in the game, and then Akram and D. Mitch went off that Saturday. So I don't have any horror stories from that field, really. I mean, the grass is weird. The grass is high. It's not low-cut, and it's just – I don't have any horror stories from that field, really. I mean, the grass is weird. The grass is high.

It's not low-cut. And it's just, I don't know. It's almost reminding me of a high school stadium, really. I don't know. It's weird. It's a weird place. Small locker room. I don't really have anything positive to honestly say about there.

There and Purdue are probably the worst, hands down like the worst stadiums in the big 10. They're both terrible. Um, the fields are both bad. Um, but no, I don't have any horror stories. I mean, the one time we did play there, we won by like 30. So like, I don't have any complaints about there at all. So love it, man. Um, and any final thoughts?

I, I, we, I digressed us significantly. Any final thoughts on the Iowa Northwesternorthwester game before we wrap up? No. I mean, you know, I think obviously on the defensive side of the football, we've got to get some of our swagger back. You know, hopefully that, you know, after our performance yesterday is going to help us get that back and help us carry it for the last three weeks. I know special teams- wise, you know,

coach was is probably given the punt team, you know, an earful today about having that block point. So I know that that's going to be shared up away. And then, you know, I'm just anxious to see what we're going to do on the offensive end. I think Spencer had to have been hurt in dealing with stuff. So it's looking like it's probably going to be Alex's show, you know, for the rest of the year. So I'm anxious to see how does that change our play calling?

How does that change, you know, us getting our skill guys involved in the football game outside of Tyler? So I'm really anxious to see that moving forward. But, you know, that's, that's really all I got. So I was excited for this next week, you know, rivalry week, always huge. So hopefully we'll come out, you know, rocking and rolling and, you know, as always go Hawks. Hell yeah, man. Couldn't agree more. It'll be very interesting to see what happens throughout this week.

Kirk already said, he's going to look back at the tape, see what he wants to see in terms of Alex versus Spencer. I don't know how you don't make the choice to at least try Alex and you can put it under the guise of Spencer being injured. He is injured, but you can say maybe a little bit more banged up, give Alex a chance. So that way you're not putting as much pressure on Spencer there. Regardless, anyone out there listening to this, don't be hating on Spencer. He has sat back in the pocket and gotten just the living hell beaten out of him this entire year, and he's stood up against the media and is talking and been honestly incredibly mature in his approach throughout the last two years, and he's led Iowa to a lot of great wins.

So even if we are excited about Alex, which I think we both are, we're excited about what the potential is for the Iowa offense, there's no reason to hate on Spencer Petras. He's still a young adult playing college football at a high level. So anyways, that is my rant for the day. LaShawn, as always, it is a pleasure talking about Iowa football. Apologies for digressing us significantly, but I enjoyed how much you hate Minnesota. That gets me pumped up for this game as well. And as always, Hawkeye Nation, make sure to tune into the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast

Monday through Friday. You can also get more Big Ten news by tuning into the Lockdown Big Ten podcast with Nate Dickinson. He brings on guests every single day, so you can find that wherever you get our podcast at as well. Have a fantastic Sunday, and even better rest of your weekend in the week upcoming.

And as always, let's go Hawks.