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The Iowa football team lost an absolute heartbreaker on Saturday as they fell at home to rival Iowa State. This one was disappointing for a number of reasons. The Hawkeyes came into the game as the favorite and they were at home, so they definitely had the advantage. After a promising showing from their offense in week one, a lot of people started to look at Iowa as a College Football Playoff contender. That might not be the case anymore.
In week one, the Iowa football team pitched a shutout against Illinois State. The Hawkeyes always have a very good defense, so that part of the game wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the performance of the offense. Yes, it was against a FCS team, but the Hawkeyes scored 40 points. For what their offense was last year, that was a major step in the right direction.
Iowa came into this past weekend's matchup with Iowa State favored by 2.5 points, and after the start that the Hawkeyes had, it looked like they might cruise to a win over their rival.
This game started out how most people thought it would. It was low scoring, and the Iowa defense was punishing, making things incredibly difficult on Iowa State in the first half. The Hawkeyes were able to get into the end zone in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead, and then they added a couple field goals in the second quarter to take a 13-0 lead into halftime. Things were going great for Iowa and it didn't even look like the Cyclones would be able to score 13 more points in the second half to make a comeback based on the way the Iowa defense played.
Iowa State made some good adjustments on offense in the second half and they were able to score a touchdown pretty early in the second half to give themselves some life. However, the Iowa football team had a great response and scored a touchdown of their own after to go up 19-7, and a failed two-point conversion kept the score there. The very first play of Iowa State's next drive: another touchdown.
Not long after that, the Cyclones kicked a field goal to make it 19-17, and things were incredibly sweaty for the Hawkeyes. They just couldn't get anything going on offense, and Iowa State was finding ways to move the ball against their defense. They ended up getting the ball deep enough in Iowa territory to attempt a 54-yard field goal with six seconds left, and Kyle Konrady buried it for the win.
No doubt about it, this was a disappointing loss for Iowa. Heading into the season, we knew that the defense was going to be good enough to take this team far, but the offense was the major question mark. Brian Ferentz, the former Iowa offensive coordinator, was finally fired in the offseason, and that gave Hawkeyes fans some hope that the offense would be better. Week one gave them more hope, but Saturday's loss displayed much of the same struggles that we have seen in previous years.
Saturday's win was ugly, and if Iowa is going to avoid games like that, they need to be better in some areas, and some coaches definitely need to be better as well.
Passing game has to improve
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara struggled on Saturday, and it was unfortunate to see after he had a solid performance in week one. McNamara transferred to the Iowa football team before the 2023 season, but his season was cut short due to an injury last year. He came back for another season, and it was good to see him find a groove in week one against Illinois State. Unfortunately, he struggled against Iowa State.
Cade McNamara finished the game 13-29 through the air for 99 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. He especially struggled in the second half as he threw just three completions in the final two quarters compared to two interceptions. He's gotta be better.
Tim Lester has to be better
At the end of the day, the blame falls on the coaches, and Tim Lester is in charge of having this offense ready to go. Lester is the new offensive coordinator for the Iowa football team, and he is the reason why fans were optimistic about this offense coming into the season. Performances like the one we saw on Saturday are not going to make anyone feel good about the offense going forward. It was only his second game, but Lester has to make sure second halves like that don't happen again.
Kirk Ferentz was out-coached
One of the most important parts of any football game is halftime. That is where coaches get a chance to sit down with their team and adjust their game-plan based on what they saw in the first half. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell did a great job of making adjustments for the second half, and it ultimately won his team the football game. Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz did not. His team looked much worse in the second half, and that's on the coaching staff. Kudos to Campbell and his staff for getting the job done.
It was a disappointing loss for Iowa on Saturday, but there is a lot of season left and there is still a lot of hope for the Hawkeyes this season. They will return to the field this Saturday at home against Troy. This should be a good opportunity for Iowa to regroup and to get their offense some confidence.
