Hawks won again on Saturday up in Minneapolis at Kinnick North. The game was very ugly. I couldn’t believe how easily Minnesota ran the ball on us. But their QB couldn’t complete a pass except to Iowa DBs. The defense made some huge plays, especially at the end of the game. Minnesota was driving into field goal range and they were pushed out of their kicker’s range by a couple tackles for loss. Iowa managed to get 4 turnovers while giving up none.
ESPN recap
Yahoo recap
SI.com recap
Next Saturday has Wisconsin visiting Iowa City. Wisconsin’s offense is a lot like Minnesota. They have a good tailback and a weak QB. Wisconsin’s defense is much better than Minnesota. Even though it is in Iowa City, I don’t like the Hawks’ chances. It won’t matter too much. The Hawks are pretty much guaranteed of getting a Florida bowl. If they win it will be the Capital One Bowl, if they lose it will be the Outback Bowl. I am very happy to see them return to Florida for another bowl.
I do not think this is a great Hawkeye team. Their offense is one dimensional. Drew Tate has become a great QB, but if they play a team with a decent secondary, Iowa will pay for not having a run attack. The defense is exceptional. There has been only one game where the D didn’t show up, Arizona St. I am a little worried that our bowl will be a repeat of the ASU game, but we’ll have to see who our opponent is.
