Iowa and Illinois are set to kick off at 11 a.m. Football reporters Danny Payne and Ryan Rodriguez give four keys to the Hawkeyes beating the Illini on Oct. 10.
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Win the ground game
Jordan Canzeri is coming off a pair of huge performances against Wisconsin and North Texas, and with halfback LeShun Daniels Jr. out according to Iowa radio, Canzeri should be a huge part of Iowa’s offense today. On top of that, the Illini give up almost 130 rushing yards a game.
Grade: A+. The numbers kind of speak for themselves on this one, but Canzeri was dominant today. The offensive line got better as the day went on, and by the end, it was blowing open holes a mile wide for Cazeri to hit.
Pressure Lunt
Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt has a cannon, but so far he’s shown that his decision-making under pressure leaves a lot to be desired. Getting into the backfield and disrupting Lunt is a good way to try to neutralize Illinois’ biggest offensive weapon.
Grade: B-. Lunt had more than 300 yards through the air, a lot of which could be blamed on bad coverage by the secondary. The D-line brought it at times, but Lunt took advantage of its lulls in pressure. Nevertheless, a more consistent pass rush would serve Iowa well come Northwestern.
Do your job
As our friend Bill says, do your job. There isn’t a reason on earth Iowa should lose this game today. The Hawkeyes have to come out, take care of business, and then turn to Northwestern next week.
Grade: B-. Yes, Iowa won, but some individual performances were not great. On to Northwestern.
Find a Tevaun Smith replacement
It’s tough to say if anyone will be able to replicate Smith’s production for Iowa. Because the Hawks play the ‘Cats next week, finding another good option not named Matt VandeBerg is key. Maybe it’s Jacob Hillyer, maybe it’s Jerminic Smith — we’ll find out. Maybe.
Grade: A. Jerminic Smith, hello. Four catches for 118 yards, and a should-have-been touchdown that Beathard mis-threw. He’ll be just fine.
