- We are in year 3 of a 5 year Build. There just isn’t enough talent to compete with the best of the Big Ten. Year in and Year out, Iowa has shown itself to be one of the Big Tens most consistent programs.
- Calls for the OCs dismissal are premature because there aren’t enough weapons at his disposal.
- Our best OL are being redshirted but will be ready to go next year
- The offensive line did reasonably well, showing improvement in pass protection and allowing our quarterback to throw for 300 yards. I thought Willie Tyler improved a lot from the Temple game. It’s the Big Ten, so the OL is going to be beaten from time to time, unless you’re Ohio State or Michigan with monster lines. Our defense got 3 sacks while Iowas got 2.
- Our WRs are still developing their technique. This is the first time Youngblood is seeing action as a starter and he will get better. On the first interception, he was running stride for stride with Cooper Dejean, and had an equal opportunity for the ball. Dejean outstretches his arms and catches the ball, while Youngblood falls down, and is no longer a factor in the play. On plays like that, if Youngblood can’t make the play, he needs to either break up the interception, or make the tackle. I feel like Taj Harris makes that catch. On Youngbloods fumble, he simply got tattooed by the defender. If Taj Harris catches that ball, he’s not coughing it up. Our WRs have to be able to withstand tough hits. Youngbloods lack of experience and technique showed in these two instances.
- It’s clear to me that there isn’t a receiver better than Taj Harris on the roster, so it’s difficult for me to understand why he wasn’t playing more vs Boston College. If Taj Harris gets 5 balls in the first half at BC, he’s still on the roster. That he only got 1 ball is a joke. That’s the only reason why he isn’t on the roster, imo. Taj felt disrespected, and when he let Schiano know of his displeasure, he wasn’t satisfied with the answer. That’s when I knew he would never play another down for Rutgers. Would you stick around, if people who were worse than you were playing ahead of you?
- This was a developmental game for Evan Simon. He threw for 300 yards, but he has a penchant for throwing into double coverage., sometimes leading to turnovers. He got away with it, completing a long pass to Shameen Jones on the first drive, but generally throwing into double coverage is not a good decision choice. He will watch film this week, and review his throws. We don’t recruit good quarterbacks, we develop them, and it’s going to take time for Simon and Wimsatt to develop into a good quarterbacks. We will just have to learn to live with their mistakes , if Vedral is out for an extended period of time.
- Defense played lights out, and held Iowa to 13 points generated by their offense. Izien, Powell, and Jennings stood out, with Izien getting the Gameball
from me for his 16 tackles and a terrific sack
- Special teams was solid, save for one long return in the first quarter
- For the second straight game, Longerbeam dropped a pick 6. That’s probably why he’s playing DB lol
- Sam Brown led Rutgers rushers with a 5.7 upcoming average and wore #27, which I was excited to see. Looks like he might be our feature back going forward, as it’s the second straight game where he tied for the most carries, and had the best ypc
- The interior of the defensive line was manhandled at times, but thankfully never completely broke down, which I was afraid of. Iowa outscored us only 10-7 in the 2nd half.
- I liked our aggressiveness in going for it on fourth down. This should help the team develop the confidence to handle similar situations in future games
- The only objective for the Ohio State game is to get out with minimal injuries.
- Lastly, We cut down our penalties significantly to 5 or 6, so that was good to see.
- We are in year 3 of a 5 year Build. There just isn’t enough talent to compete with the best of the Big Ten. Year in and Year out, Iowa has shown itself to be one of the Big Tens most consistent programs.