Thoughts on Tennessee Tech Game

Well that game was quite the glorified scrimmage.  Yes, Tennessee Tech played a spread offense that may be helpful in preparation for Iowa State, but other than that pseudo benefit, Iowa would have been better off playing a scrimmage between the ones on both sides of the ball.  Here are my thoughts.

Running Back.  Seriously, for the love of all that is holy, AIRBHG, please go away.  For those of you who are uninitiated to the satirical, comedic Hawkeye website of Black Heart Gold Pants, which I recommend for good analysis and good laughs, AIRBHG stands for Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God, a the devil incarnate who seeks to destroy the Iowa ground game one running back at a time.  Unfortunately, Mika’il McCall was the victim this year after impressively running for sixty one yards on nine carries.  After Marcus Coker’s less than impressive performance, Iowa fans have to be scratching their heads wondering what the depth at the running back position will look like for the remainder of the season.  While Coker will perform much better than he did last Saturday, the stable of running backs consists of walk-on junior Jason White, untried redshirt freshman Deandre Johnson and true freshman Damon Bullock, who was slated to move to wide receiver.  The Iowa coaching staff has always been able to come up with an answer after prior AIRBHG attacks, including in 2004 when AIRBHG struck down Albert Young, Marcus Schnoor, Champ Davis, Jermelle Lewis, and Marques Simmons, but one has to wonder if Iowa will have to completely change its offensive strategy, like it did in 2004.

Defense.  Certain units of the Iowa defense looked very good on Saturday, including the linebackers and defensive backs.  Micah Hyde looked good at times, but it was clear on Tennessee Tech’s long pass play in the second quarter that he was out of position.  Jordan Bernstine’s performance certainly gave the Iowa coaches a reason to elevate him to starting strong safety this week against Iowa State.  The defensive line was salty, but their inability to complete a sack after getting into the backfield was certainly disconcerting.  Again, it was difficult to walk away with much from this game, so I think it is clear that Iowa fans will have a better idea about the defensive line after this Saturday’s game.

Kickoff Coverage.  After a less than stellar season of kickoff coverage last year, things did not improve against Tennessee Tech allowing an average of 22 yards per return.  Additionally, Mike Meyers was unable to put the ball deep enough in the end zone for a touchback, which may have been due in part to a wet, heavy ball, but the young kickoff coverage team could use all the help they can get. 

Similar to my entry prior to the Tennessee Tech game stating that there was not much to be said heading into the season, I do not think we know very much about this team after one game.  Iowa fans should be cautious about placing on bets on the intrastate rivalry matchup this Saturday against Iowa State.  As you all know, better Iowa teams than this one have gone into Jack Trice Stadium and lost to bad Iowa State teams.  The old adage about turnovers and penalties certainly will apply on Saturday and it will more likely be a one score game than the blowouts that Iowa fans have experienced the past two years.