“Certainly is great to be back in Kinnick itself, this is the first time we’ve been there this spring, and even better to be there with fans. It’s great to have live people in the stands,” Kirk Ferentz said. “That provided a little bit of electricity for everybody. I think certainly we’re hopeful it’s a sign we’re moving in the right direction as country.”

The biggest storyline heading into the first of two open practices was the competition at the quarterback spot between Deuce Hogan, Alex Padilla and incumbent starter Spencer Petras. Petras got the run with starters first, throwing a dart of a completion and an interception before tweaking his left knee evading pressure in the pocket. Petras did return a short time later and was highlighted with long completions to Tyrone Tracy under pressure.

Out of the three quarterbacks today however, it appeared Alex Padilla gave the most consistent performance. Seen by many as the third quarterback behind Petras and Hogan, Padilla threw two touchdowns on the day (one was called back due to penalty) and scrambled for another in the controlled scrimmage. Even with the struggles with pass protection from the offensive line, Padilla consistently found receivers in rhythm and ran when necessary.

Deuce Hogan, who has become a fan favorite without ever playing a down of game action, showed flashes of his moxie in the scrimmage portion of today’s practice as well. The freshman made some throws that impressed, with a deep crossing route to Quavon Matthews and an on-the-run throw to his left to Alec Kritta. However, it appeared that Hogan still faces some issues that all young quarterbacks face, making one or two reads then using his legs, touch on passes, and so on.

“Spencer [Petras] still has a clear advantage from experience and he’s doing a nice job. After that, it’s wide open, we’ve rotated pretty liberally and we may talk about that rotation moving forward here,” Ferentz said. “I’d probably say Alex [Padilla] and Deuce [Hogan] are probably the closest to each other at this point. It’s way too early to call it.”

Another area that many have keened in on is the battle for both starting offensive tackles spot. With Alaric Jackson off to the NFL and Mark Kallenberger retired, the competition to protect the edges is the most wide open it’s been in quite sometime under Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes stuck with Pella-native Nick DeJong at right tackle and junior Jack Plumb at right tackle. Others that are expected to compete are Mason Richman, who played at left guard with the starters Saturday morning, and Cody Ince, who is out for the remainder of the spring with a lower leg injury.

Perhaps the unit that played it’s best ball on Saturday morning was the defensive line, especially impressive for a group that is replacing stars such as Davyion Nixon and Chauncey Golston. Earlier in the spring season, defensive coordinator Phil Parker said he believed that Iowa’s defensive line could go 10 deep, and with the play of reserves such as Lukas Van Ness, Jake Karchinski and walk-on Louie Stec, that vision could become a reality.

“Louie is getting work and has been getting work all spring, he’s an extremely tough guy,” Ferentz said. “He’s taken good advantage of the opportunity he’s gotten and he’s working hard, he’s not the tallest guy in the world, but he’s got good leverage and is tough to move.”

Wide receivers have also been a big question mark for Iowa throughout the 2021 spring practices as the Hawkeyes look to replace Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith, a pair of four-year starters who helped reignite the Iowa offense under Brian Ferentz. Tyrone Tracy is the bell cow of the group, but after Nico Ragaini, it’s a rather young group for Iowa.

“After Tracy and Ragaini, it’s really interesting. It’s a land of opportunity for everybody, including the two newcomers,” Ferentz said. “We saw some flashes from guys today, they don’t have that consistency in their play yet, but they’ve shown they’re capable of helping our football team.”

Iowa’s next open spring practice will be on Saturday, May 1st at 9:30 AM, with the gates opening to the public at 8:30 AM.

The post Iowa Spring Practice: QB’s duel, youth arrives, and defense shines appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Wisconsin had beaten Iowa on four straight occasions dating back to 2016, but the Hawkeyes were confident this time would be different. They entered the game ranked 16^th in the nation. After dropping two straight games to Northwestern and Indiana, the College Football Playoff rankings booted the Badgers out of the top 25.

Shortly before the game began, it was announced that Wisconsin would have to play without their leading rusher Jalen Berger, as well as top receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor.

On the Badgers’ first drive, the slick football slipped out of the hands of freshman quarterback Graham Mertz and was quickly pounced on by Iowa linebacker Nick Niemann at the Wisconsin 32 yard line. Unable to take full advantage of the great field position, Iowa trotted Keith Duncan out for a 30-yard field to give the home team a 3-0 lead.

As some Big Ten games do, the battle for the Heartland Trophy quickly turned into a battle of the punters. In the 12 drives following the Duncan field goal, the teams combined for 3 first downs and 12 punts. In the first half alone, the punters combined for 559 punting yards.

Just as one began to wonder if either team had any interest in scoring, the Hawkeyes offense exploded for a 6 play, 36-yard drive. With less than two minutes in the half, the play was just good enough to get the ball into range for Keith Duncan. The kick clipped the left upright as it went through from 45 yards out.

Going into the half, Iowa led 6-0.

While statkeepers scrambled to dig up the punting records at halftime, both coaching staffs were busy making adjustments in the locker room in hopes that those stats wouldn’t have to be used.

Wisconsin found success on their opening drive taking it into Iowa territory, but Collin Larsh couldn’t connect on a 47-yard field goal to give the Badgers their first points.

On the ensuing Iowa drive, Spencer Petras hit Ihmir-Smith Marsette with a 38-yard bomb to take the ball into Badger territory and then found him again on a 19-yard pass in the corner of the end zone. That, coupled with a successful 2-point conversion, stretched the Hawkeyes’ lead to 14-0.

After holding the Badgers to a 3 and out on the ensuing drive, Iowa punt returner Charlie Jones muffed a bouncing punt at the Iowa 25, and Wisconsin recovered. The Badgers quickly turned the mistake into points, as 3 plays later Nakia Watson punched the ball into the end zone from the 1-yard line.

Little did Wisconsin know, that would be the first and only time they would put points on board.

As the second half wore on, the snow began to fall harder, dancing around the stadium, glistening in the night sky.

After the teams exchanged punts, Spencer Petras launched a 53-yard rainbow to Ihmir Smith-Marsette who caught the ball and flipped into the end zone. Unfortunately, Smith-Marsette didn’t stick the landing and would be sidelined for the rest of the game with an ankle injury. He finished the day with 7 receptions for 140 yards and two scores.

As time began to be a factor, Wisconsin’s next two drives would end on 4^th down in the red zone. On the first 4^th down attempt, Graham Mertz missed a wide-open Jack Dunn galloping across the middle of the field. On the second, Mertz’s pass was intercepted by Jack Campbell in the end zone.

On Iowa’s first play following the interception, Tyler Goodson weaved his way through the tiring Badger defense to score an impressive 80-yard touchdown run with 4:09 remaining, giving Iowa a 28-7 lead. By this time, the Hawkeyes could taste victory.

As the final whistle sounded, several Iowa players fell to the now lightly snow-covered field and made snow angels. At last, the Heartland Trophy would be coming back to Iowa City!

Spencer Petras finished the game 14-25 for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Goodson led the rushing attack with 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 totes. Chauncey Golden shined on defense with 9 tackles including a crucial sack on 3^rd down.

Iowa will wrap up Big Ten play this Saturday at 6 pm, as the Michigan Wolverines come to town.

The post Iowa Outmuscles the Badgers 28-7, Hawkeyes Win Heartland Trophy for the First Time Since 2015 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

No one thought they would see what they saw on the first Saturday of November in Kinnick Stadium.

The Hawkeyes put together a complete performance, reminiscent of an Iowa blowout of a then-#5 Michigan State in Kinnick Stadium back in 2010. It was also Iowa’s first win against the Spartans since 2012. Iowa’s 49 points were the most they had put up in a game at Kinnick Stadium since their 55-24 drubbing of Ohio State four years ago this week.

“I thought we got off to a strong start and then we just kept playing complementary football, it certainly feels good to win today. We needed a win. We needed to play well,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Our guys really responded and did a great job today.”

With the win, Ferentz moved into sole possession of fourth-place in wins in the history of the Big Ten with 163, surpassing long-time Penn State coach Joe Paterno. Other coaches included on the list are Michigan’s Bo Schembechler, Ohio State’s Woody Hayes, and University of Chicago’s Amos Alonzo Stagg.

The day started for Iowa with back-to-back, old-fashioned Iowa drives. The Hawkeyes marched 75 yards in eight plays, punctuated by a three-yard touchdown run by Tyler Goodson. Their second series went 74 yards in 10 plays following a Jack Koerner interception, and was finished with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Petras to Brandon Smith.

“I would like to say, being 0-2 is not a good start. But, this team was very eager to come out and dominate this game. The first drive definitely gave us the confidence to be able to push through the whole game and go drive-for-drive,” Tyler Goodson said.

Goodson was the catalyst for the Iowa run game, leading all rushers with 113 yards on the day, three yards shy of his career-high of 116 yards. Both Goodson and senior Mekhi Sargent scored a pair of touchdowns each, and Iowa rolled up a season-high 226 yards rushing, despite missing Coy Cronk and Kyler Schott on the offensive line.

Iowa’s defense also saw a return to form on Saturday as they made life a living hell in the pocket for Michigan State quarterback and former West Des Moines Valley prep Rocky Lombardi. The junior quarterback from Clive finished the game 17-of-37, for 227 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions. The last of these was returned 54 yards for a touchdown by Iowa corner and former CIML rival, Riley Moss.

“We were in cover two, one disappeared and two was vertical so I sank, and it was a perfect throw to me, and I just took it back,” Moss said, who picked off the final pass of Lombardi’s high school career. Safety Jack Koerner and linebacker Barrington Wade, who each got their respective second interceptions of the season.

Lombardi’s counterpart, Spencer Petras, had a much less stressful day in the pocket. The redshirt sophomore bounced back from a disastrous second half against Northwestern with an efficient performance: 15-for-27, 167 yards and the touchdown pass to Brandon Smith in the first quarter, as well as no interceptions.

“[Playing spotless football] was a point of emphasis this whole week. We’ve seen the last two weeks how we can play turnover-free, as well as penalty-free. That starts with me,” Petras said. “Last week we had three turnovers from myself, so it was a point of emphasis to play clean football and I think we did that today.”

Perhaps the player that stole the show in Iowa’s thrashing of the Spartans was true freshman punter, Tory Taylor. Taylor, a 23-year old Australian who hails from Melbourne, gave the limited crowd of friends and family a punting exhibition. An average 45.9 yards per punt on the day and Taylor punted for more total yards than Michigan State gained on offense for the entire game.

Another player who made his mark on special teams on the day was junior walk-on receiver Charlie Jones. The one-time Buffalo transfer averaged 21 yards per return on punts, including a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown to give Iowa a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.

“The call was actually a ‘return middle’, I took that first step and saw the left side was wide open. There was great blocking on the left so I quickly went left with it,” Jones said. His punt return for a touchdown was the first for Iowa since Kyle Groenenweg returned a punt 61-yards for a touchdown against Illinois back in 2018 in a similarly decisive game.

With the Hawkeyes moving to 1-2, it sets up an interesting showdown on Friday night against Minnesota, who also holds a similar 1-2 record after beating Illinois on Saturday. Iowa has won the last five matchups in the battle for The Floyd of Rosedale, including a 23-19 upset over the eighth-ranked Gophers in 2019, which ended Minnesota’s perfect season.

The post Hawkeyes Vent Frustrations Against Michigan State, 49-7 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa amassed a 17-0 lead early in the first quarter. A muffed punt and fumble recovery gave Iowa two quick opportunities to score. A seven-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Smith and a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Tyler Goodson got the Hawkeyes out in front early.

From the second quarter on, Northwestern controlled the game. Northwestern scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. Iowa made one field goal, but with time expiring in the first half, Caleb Shudack missed a 52-yard field goal attempt as the ball hit the upright.

Northwestern would go on to score halfway through the third quarter and take a 21-20 lead. Neither team scored for the rest of the game.

 Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Hawkeyes. Instead of fumbles, interceptions plagued the Hawkeyes. Spencer Petras threw three interceptions, all in the second half. Two of those interceptions halted drives in Purdue territory. The third interception sealed the victory for Northwestern within the last minute of the game. Petras seemed to struggle in the second half of the game after getting off to a hot start in the first quarter.  

“These games are really close, but we just need better execution,” said Petras. Petras finished with a line of 26 completions on 50 attempts for 216 yards and one touchdown and three interceptions.

While Iowa as a team struggled, junior defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon cemented himself as a playmaker on the Hawkeye defensive line. Nixon finished the game with one forced fumble, one-and-a-half sacks, three tackles for losses, and 11 total tackles. Nixon encouraged his teammates throughout the entire game.

“We got to finish. It’s a family thing and if we all come out there together, on the sideline, we got to stay together as a unit and stay together as a team and finish. I need everyone participating. I need everyone hyped up… We came out there for a reason and that’s to get the job done,” said Nixon.

Iowa seemed to give up on their run game late into the game. They rushed the ball 23 times throughout the game and passed the ball 51 times. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said that Iowa did not run the ball effectively.

“Historically, if you look at those numbers it means the outcome wasn’t good… That’s something we are going to want to address because we don’t want to play that way. I’ll go on record saying that we don’t want to play that way, we’re looking for a lot more balance,” said Ferentz. 

In a normal season fans would expect to pack Kinnick Stadium on the home-opener. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fans were not permitted to attend the game. Only family of players from Iowa and Northwestern could attend. The official attendance of the game was 1432.

“It was a little weird feeling, but that doesn’t matter. We got to go out there and play the game. Fans help. They help a lot with their energy, but we don’t have that right now, so we got to play off our own energy,” said senior wide-receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Starting the season 0-2 was not what many had expected at the start. This loss leaves Iowa as a long shot in the Big 10 West race. This is only the second time the Hawkeyes have started a season 0-2 with Kirk Ferentz as head coach.

The Hawkeyes look to get their first win of the season at home against Michigan State on November 7. Iowa will have one less day to prepare as the team will not have practice on November 3, the day of the upcoming election. Michigan State is fresh off an upset win over in-state rival Michigan. The game starts at 11:00 AM.

The post Hawks lose home-opener to Northwestern, fall to 0-2 to start season appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa has always hung its hat on attention to detail, and that attention seemed short in Iowa’s 24-20 loss to the Boilermakers, their third loss in four years to Purdue. Iowa fumbled the ball three times and lost two of them. Both lost fumbles happened deep in Purdue territory.

Sophomore running back Tyler Goodson fell victim to one of those fumbles. This fumble was actually self-inflicted, as senior guard Cole Banwart knocked the ball out of Goodson’s hands in an attempt to push him forward.

“Ball security is emphasized in practice daily, we take it day-by-day. But, it’s been awhile since last August, but that’s no excuse for fumbling the ball. We’ll go into next week and keep working on ball security,” said Goodson.

Critical fumbles were signs of impending doom for Iowa last season. Mekhi Sargent fumbled on the opening play of the game against Michigan in 2019 and three fumbles against Penn State also doomed the Hawkeyes in Kinnick.

Penalties were also a critical problem for Iowa, as the Hawkeyes were flagged ten times for 100 yards in penalties. A majority of the penalties were of the personal variety: holdings, personal fouls, etc. Many of these penalties stalled out promising Iowa drives.

“False Starts are only five-yard penalties, but they’re really momentum killers. It just makes it tougher to sustain rhythm offensively and it makes the hill that much taller to climb,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said.

“The ten-yard plus penalties, obviously they affect the game a great deal, including that last one, the hands-to-the-face, that got them 15 yards closer to the goal line. All those little things add up in the course of the game, we typically have done a good job with that, but the lack of live work probably hurt us.”

Iowa did not have a game of 100+ yards of penalties in 2019, the highest yardage being 60 yards in penalties against Michigan…and Purdue.

In the 2019 game against the Boilermakers, freshman receiver and one-time Iowa recruiting target David Bell had a breakout performance against the Hawkeyes. In 2020, Bell followed up with another monster performance against Phil Parker’s defense.

With Purdue’s superstar receiver Rondale Moore out of action on Saturday, Bell finished the game with 13 receptions for 121 yards and all three Purdue touchdowns and was targeted 21 times. The only other Boilermaker receiver targeted double-digit times was Milton Wright with ten targets.

“We weren’t real focused on the defensive side, we needed better communication,” said senior cornerback Matt Hankins on the defenses lack of containment on Bell.

Iowa’s defense also struggled to contain Purdue running back Zander Hovarth, who was filling in for an absent King Doerue. Hovarth wore down the Iowa defense in the second half as the Mike Alstott look-alike rushed for nearly 100 yards in the half, and 136 yards in the game overall.

Offensively, Iowa still moved the football better than most Hawkeye teams have in season-openers in recent memory. The Hawkeyes offense totaled 460 yards of offense, with 195 yards rushing and 265 yards passing.

Tyler Goodson looked quicker, stronger, and more decisive in his first game of his sophomore campaign. Saturday saw Goodson rushing for a team-high 78 yards, averaging just under 5 yards per carry. Senior halfback Mekhi Sargent finished with 71 yards on 11 carries as well. Iowa’s offensive line looked like it was in harmony for most of the game as well.

The rhythm of the Iowa offense was impressive at times, especially when you consider that it was still breaking in new starting quarterback Spencer Petras. After a shaky start, Petras begin throwing the ball with confidence. While he still finished 22-for-39 passing, Petras maintained a command of the Iowa offense that matched his predecessor, Nate Stanley.

“I was definitely nervous to begin the game, but we were able to get in a rhythm, we were able to run the ball effectively, and that makes it easy,” Petras said. “We can get the ball to our playmakers, it makes my job easy. We were getting good protection too, it really helped me settle down.”

For all that went wrong, there as still a lot of good Iowa could take away from their season-opener. However, no college football program praises moral wins, and especially not in a program with such sustained success as Iowa.

Whether it’s a refocusing of goals and of what’s important, or simply following the “one game at a time mindset”, Kirk Ferentz would tell you they’re focused on Northwestern, and that his players have shifted their focus to the Wildcats as well.

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