Iowa is trending in the wrong direction, and there aren’t any easy solutions.
By Jordan Hansen
It looked as if there was a miracle in the works.
Minutes after Iowa starting quarterback C.J. Beathard launched a 46-yard play-action pass to Jerminic Smith, setting up a touchdown two plays later, the Hawkeyes managed to force a Northwestern three-and-out.
Two Justin Jackson runs and an incomplete Clayton Thorson pass meant Iowa would get the ball back with nearly seven minutes left in the game, down by a touchdown. The whole playbook was open, and the Hawkeyes had all three time-outs.
Then, nothing. Seven plays, a sack, and a punt.
Iowa would force another three-and-out, but got the ball back only to throw an interception. The Wildcats won, 38-31.
“Ultimately, we didn’t play well enough, we didn’t coach well enough, and Northwestern did a better job today,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It’s a fine line between winning and losing typically, and I think a lot of our issues right now are things that we’ve got to try to get cleaned up a little bit.”
With the loss, the Hawkeyes dropped to 3-2 on the season, 1-1 in Big Ten play, 0-1 in their division.
There were certainly good moments — Iowa led 21-17 at halftime — but simply were not able to pull away. Not helping matters were the 198 yards rushing the Hawkeyes gave up and the 6 penalties for 70 yards.
It was a sloppy, wet mess in Kinnick and the team knew exactly what type of hole it put itself in.
“We just have to play team football better as a whole,” Beathard said. “We got to figure out what we’re not doing well.”
Beathard finished the day 19-of-27, throwing for 204 yards, a single touchdown and the late interception. The quarterback was sacked 6 times, hit another, and faced constant pressure.
The running game also was never able to get going, as Iowa managed just 79 yards on 41 carries.
“I’m pissed off; I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now,” running back Akrum Wadley said after the game. “We don’t lose, we’re not losers. It’s always frustrating to lose and the opposing team didn’t beat you, we beat ourselves.”
Wadley went on to give credit to Northwestern, but it was obvious he felt the Hawkeyes should have won the game. His reaction wasn’t much different from that of the rest of the team, the coaches or the Vegas spread, which had Iowa favored by 11.5-13.5 points.
It truly was a disappointing Homecoming, one that quickly turned into a nightmare.
Not helping matters was the injury to wide receiver Matt VandeBerg, who watched the game from the press box and was visibly disappointed after the game. Hanging his head as he waited for the elevator to take him to the field, the disbelief his team lost must have nearly killed his spirits.
In his absence, Riley McCarron managed 8 receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown, but it simply was not enough.
“I didn’t think the sense of urgency was missing today … that falls in the consistency category,” McCarron said. “We can’t have a sense of urgency in one quarter and not the other; we have to have it throughout the game.”
Follow @JordyHansen for Iowa football news, updates and analysis.
