The Iowa Hawkeyes fell to their rival Iowa State 10-7 this past weekend, a low-scoring match that found lackluster offensive production on both sides of the field. This comes after six straight wins in the rivalry for the Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes have struggled up to this point in their season, scoring just one touchdown in their first two games and 14 points in total across the two.
Some blame has been put on the quarterback situation in Iowa, as Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz seemed unsure of who would be the starting quarterback moving forward in his post-game press conference and spoke on the poor play that the offense had as a whole.
“We’re going to have to score points to be successful. That’s where our focus goes,” Ferentz said.
After all, Spencer Petras, Iowa’s starting quarterback against Iowa State, threw for just 92 yards on 26 attempts, throwing an interception in the process.
Things were not much better on the ground for Iowa, as their lead back managed just 34 yards on 14 carries and the offense only managed 58 rushing yards altogether.
In total, the Hawkeyes offense garnered just 150 yards offensively. Unfortunately, this should not come as too much of a surprise given the seven points the Hawkeyes scored in their opener against South Dakota came in the form of a field goal and two safeties. This scoring method worked against a South Dakota team that managed just three points in that game.
On the flip side of the ball, the Cyclones failed to produce many points, but found much more rhythm offensively than the Hawkeyes ever did. With over 300 yards of total offense, 10 points is a bit disappointing, but the game-winning 99-yard touchdown drive that the Cyclones completed for their single touchdown was enough to be excited about for the Cyclones.
Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell spoke on the ugly win, pointing towards imperfection as being a staple of modern football.
“Not a very pretty football game, either which way, but at the end of the day that’s football,” said Campbell.
Xavier Hutchinson, the star senior wide receiver for the Cyclones managed to haul in 11 receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown this past weekend.
There is undoubtedly work to be done with the young Cyclones’ roster, but there were some exciting bright spots for the team outside of their brilliant defensive performance.
