Iowa Turns A Corner Before A Make-Or-Break Stretch
By Kyle Kensing
Sep 28, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view of the line of scrimmage during a game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Iowa Hawkeyes at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa was never in danger of surrendering the Floyd of Rosedale to rival Minnesota. The Hawkeyes quickly built a three-score lead en route to handing the Golden Gophers their first loss of the season.
Iowa, in turn, won its fourth consecutive game to match its win total from the entire 2012 season. The Hawkeyes seemingly turned an important corner on the offensive end, rolling off 464 yards against the Golden Gophers, pounding Minnesota with a steady and multidimensional running attack to then set up quarterback Jake Rudock to attack with the pass.
Offensive coordinator Greg Davis’ oft maligned play-calling was more representative of classic Hawkeye football. Mark Weisman’s 147 yards rushing set the tone for a 36:01 time of possession advantage, which completely deflated the Golden Gophers.
This strategy was the perfect complement to a dominating defensive effort. Minnesota accrued just 165 yards of offense, just 30 of which came on the ground. The Golden Gophers were averaging 282.5 rushing yards per game coming in.
The Hawkeyes’ dismantling of rival Minnesota is indeed a positive opening to the Big Ten slate, but Iowa did the same to Minnesota last year. Whether Saturday’s win was truly indicative of a turnaround will be revealed in an upcoming, four-game stretch.
Iowa begins next week at home against Michigan State, a similarly constructed team. Following the bye week, are back-to-back uptempo opponents Ohio State and Northwestern, and the run concludes Nov. 2 against three-time defending conference champion Wisconsin.
Realistically, Iowa’s docket the rest of the way doesn’t feature much in the way of off-weeks. Struggling Purdue is sandwiched between the forthcoming four-game run and season-ending dates with Michigan and Nebraska.
Ferentz’s future will be defined in these coming weeks. Iowa could emerge as a conference championship contender. The Hawkeyes could again find themselves out of the postseason.