Iowa vs. Missouri State (What to expect)
Posted on 06. Sep, 2013 by admin in Iowa Football
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
To get you all ready for Saturday’s game between Iowa and Missouri State, I put together a list of things you ought to know before these two face off at Kinnick Stadium.
At the end, I’ll provide what I think are three keys to an Iowa victory.
Iowa Hawkeyes (0-1) vs. Missouri State Bears (0-1)
Kinnick Stadium; Iowa City, Iowa
Sept. 7, 2013
11 a.m. Central
TV: BTN (Steve Physioc, Danan Hughes)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, Ed Podolak, Rob Brooks)
Weather: 87 degrees; sunny skies; winds from SW around 9-11 MPH
Brendan’s Three Keys to the Game:
1. Make an early statement
This is the kind of game where Iowa needs to exert its strength from the get-go. Last week, it spotted Northern Illinois 10 points in the first quarter before storming back to finish the first half with 24 points of its own. Against an inferior opponent such as Missouri State, the Hawkeyes need to start fast and not allow the Bears to gain any sort of confidence by managing to hang around.
2. Run, run and run some more
This is specifically directed at the offense and even more specifically with the ground game. There’s no reason Iowa can’t pound Missouri State into oblivion with its 1-2 rushing attack of Mark Weisman and Damon Bullock. In fact, both backs should be able to manage 100-plus yards each. This is also the kind of game where Jordan Canzeri could find himself getting reps, as might true freshman running back LeShun Daniels. I would expect all four of these backs to play and for this group to be the ones who set the tone for Iowa on Saturday.
3. Go deep into 2-deep
If there’s any weekend this season where Iowa should be able to go deep into its depth chart, one has to think it’s this weekend, right? Simply put, the longer the first-string guys are all on the field because they’re having a difficult time putting the Bears away, the more troubling everything else is for Iowa going forward. There should be a point in the second half where C.J. Beathard can come in for Rudock, where Daniels can get the bulk of the carries, where younger and more inexperienced players on both sides of the football can gain game experience that Kirk Ferentz always preaches about every offseason and can see where they truly stand among their peers.
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