Thoughts on Michigan Game

The description of this year’s team could be summed up with a new phrase, the “Cardiac Kids.” Despite playing poorly at times and despite playing a slightly above average Michigan team, the Hawkeyes beat the Wolverines for only the eleventh time in school history and are now 6-0 for the first time since 1985. Like Kirk Ferentz said in his post-game interview, they do not award style points in football. Here are my thoughts on the game.

Point of Attack. Although there were several positives to take away from the game, one of the most disappointing points of the game was the way in which Michigan dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. In case you did not notice, Iowa was playing musical chairs on the offensive line. Riley Reiff got the start at left guard, but then was rotating with Dace Richardson and Julian Vandervelde both at left guard and right guard. I tend to think that the coaching staff thinks that Reiff is too good to stay off the field. It will be interesting to see what the offensive line lineup will be against Wisconsin. On the other side of the ball, the always sturdy and solid defensive line had problems shutting down the Michigan running attack giving up 195 yards on the ground. Brandon Minor and Denard Robinson made the Iowa defense look porous most of the night, which is concerning given that John Clay is on deck.

Running Back Tandem. Yes, their numbers were not anything to get excited about on Saturday, but Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher continue to play solid football at the running back position. Wegher is going to be something special before his time at Iowa is done. Robinson continues to impress me each and every week. His ability to gain two to three extra yards is a special intangible that sustains drives. I am worried about how all three (Hampton, Wegher, and Robinson) will share carries next year.

Tony, Where Have you Been? Saturday was a classic example of what Tony Moeaki is capable of doing when healthy. I think that Moeaki actually has better hands than Dallas Clark and is a better blocker. He has a promising NFL career ahead of him if he stays healthy; unfortunately, for whatever reason, he just has that unlucky bug that causes him to be injured. For the time being I hope that he can stay healthy for the rest of the year because he is an unbelievable athlete and helps the Iowa offense in so many ways.

Mistakes. The Hawkeyes have won three games this year decided by three points or fewer. While that is certainly a change from last season—when Iowa lost all four of its game by a total of twelve points—the continuous mistakes will begin to bite and will be magnified on the road. If Iowa is able to limit its mistakes (mainly not allow any pick 6s or turnovers in their own territory), they could easily win these next two games. On the other hand, costly mistakes will most certainly be worse on the road when the Iowa defense cannot rely on the home crowd to help with noise. On the bright side, it is encouraging that Iowa is 6-0 while still playing mistake-laden football.

Enjoy the moment, Iowa fans. The Hawkeyes are 6-0 and ranked 11th in the AP poll. Seasons like this do not come around very often. With that said the next two weeks are going to be as critical of a two game stretch as one could imagine. They could easily win both and could easily lose both. I do not think it is hyperbole to say that these two games will determine whether Iowa wins a Big Ten title or not. Although my prediction will come later this week, I will preliminarily say that I do not have a good feeling about this game. That feeling coupled with the fact that my Mom did not record the Michigan game, which she has done every single Saturday this year, gives me cause for concern. Crazy and superstitious? Yes. Creating a good justification for a loss on Saturday? Absolutely.

Go Hawks!