{"id":45898,"date":"2022-09-11T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=45898"},"modified":"2022-09-11T09:01:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-11T13:01:35","slug":"iowa-state-wins-cyhawk-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2022\/09\/11\/iowa-state-wins-cyhawk-trophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa State Leaves Kinnick Stadium With CyHawk Trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iowa State Leaves Kinnick Stadium with the CyHawk Trophy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Two blocked punts put Iowa\u2019s offense inside its opponent\u2019s 20-yard line. Two interceptions and a fumble recovery from the defense added to the performance of Iowa\u2019s special teams. Ideally, a victory would be included in a box score with those numbers. However, the offense was only able to supplement those stats with 150 total yards and just a single touchdown. Iowa State leaves Kinnick Stadium with the CyHawk Trophy and a 10-7 victory in Matt Campbell<\/strong>\u2019s first victory against his in-state rival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The massive discrepancy between the dominance of the Hawkeye defense and its stagnant offense allows for a very limited margin of error. Last week\u2019s 7-3 win<\/a> was essentially the same performance, but the Hawkeyes squeaked by with a win. For the Cyclones, it just took just one touchdown to get the victory, and it was enough to let the margins swing in their favor. This kind of football is nothing new for the Hawkeyes. They have played this way for much of Kirk Ferentz\u2019s<\/strong> tenure in Iowa City. Iowa plays an opportunistic game, letting its opponent make the mistakes to give the advantage. This is successful when your own mistakes are limited. This year\u2019s offense hasn\u2019t been able to move the ball and limit mistakes to be successful in that brand of football.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Offensive Struggles Continue<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The game started fast, with an early blocked punt by Lukas Van Ness<\/a> that put Iowa inside the Cyclone red zone. It set up a Leshon Williams<\/a> touchdown to take a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game. It would be the game\u2019s only touchdown until the fourth quarter. The remainder of the first half revealed a similar look to the struggles of last week\u2019s effort offensively. Spencer Petras<\/a> went five for 11 for 33 yards with a fumble, and an interception in the first half, taking the Hawkeyes to the locker room with a 7-3 lead. The 86 total yards of offense and three yards per play on average surely warranted consideration of change at the quarterback position. The defense was continuing to hum, but the offense clearly needed some sort of spark to get things moving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Entering the third quarter, it was reported that there was \u201cno consideration\u201d in replacing Petras with Alex Padilla<\/strong> at quarterback. The resistance to change at that position from the staff reveals more than just a commitment to their starter. Either the coaching staff doesn\u2019t want to change their offensive game plan, or there\u2019s a general lack of trust in Padilla. It\u2019s difficult to believe the latter, with him having gone 3-0 as a starter last season. At this point, the push to replace Petras at quarterback is not just a \u201cfan reaction\u201d to a bad performance. The offense is in desperate need of ignition. The unit has just 316 total yards of offense this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The game progressed, and the offense set up more roll-out passes to target receivers on the outside. One of the issues with the passing game is the lack of protection in the pocket. Getting Petras outside gave him a clearer window to target his wide receivers. The problem was that on those mid-range outside passes, Petras was five for 12 with 45 yards. The misses came mostly as the overthrow variety, continuing the inability to move the ball. Iowa averaged just under three yards per play on the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defense Defense Defense<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Although it\u2019s difficult to look past the static offense, the performances from the defense and special teams against Iowa State were considerably dominant. Van Ness finished his day with two blocked punts, both giving the offense great field position. Cooper DeJean<\/a> made a handful of great plays including a touchdown-saving interception. The pick immediately followed an Iowa interception that gave the Cyclones the ball inside the 20-yard line. The defense recorded 89 tackles, compared to Iowa State\u2019s 42 total. Phil Parker<\/strong>\u2019s unit was on the field for 38:14 and gave up just 10 points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The lone Iowa State touchdown came on what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown drive. A drive that began in the third quarter. It lasted 21 plays, stretched 99 yards, and took nearly 12 minutes off of the clock. For the Hawkeye defense to be on the field for that long and allow just the 10 total points is quite impressive.\u00a0<\/span>
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>