By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the media in a post-game press conference following the Hawkeyes’ 28-14 victory over Missouri State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. With the win, Iowa snapped a seven-game losing streak and improves to 1-1 this season.
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa sophomore tight end Jake Duzey finished with three catches for 26 yards receiving in the Hawkeyes’ 28-14 win over Missouri State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa junior wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley finished with three catches for 24 yards receiving and a 10-yard punt return in the Hawkeyes’ 28-14 victory over Missouri State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — As he does every Friday morning before a home football game, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke at the Johnson County I-Club Breakfast inside the Sheraton Hotel. This week, he discussed the Hawkeyes’ upcoming game against Missouri State.
Ferentz was introduced this week by Iowa men’s golf head coach Mark Hankins.
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.
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
Every Thursday during the 2013 football season, HawkeyeDrive.com will feature “Talkin’ Hawks,” a podcast to get you ready for the Hawkeyes’ upcoming game and other college football action.
This week, we preview Iowa’s upcoming game against Missouri State, which takes place Sept. 7 at Kinnick Stadium. Former Iowa defensive back Chris Rowell joins me to provide insight on the Hawkeyes and share his thoughts on all the games featured in this week’s HawkeyeDrive.com Pick ‘Em. Rowell will be a part of the podcast every week all season long.
Joining as a guest this week in the podcast’s middle segment is Lyndal Scranton, who covers Missouri State football for The Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Mo. This week’s edition is approximately 68 minutes long, so enjoy:
Twitter handles:
HawkeyeDrive.com – @HawkeyeDrive
Brendan Stiles – @thebstiles
Chris Rowell – @Crowell34
Lyndal Scranton – @LscrantonNL
*Intro sound byte credit to my former Daily Iowan colleague Ryan Young for putting that together.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz discusses the Hawkeyes’ upcoming game against Missouri State during his weekly press conference held Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at the Hayden Fry Football Complex in Iowa City.
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Last weekend’s season opener against Northern Illinois provided the Iowa Hawkeyes with a mixed bag. The outcome wasn’t what Kirk Ferentz or any of his players desired as Iowa lost 30-27 in heartbreaking fashion to the Huskies and obvious negatives led to that final result, but there were also plenty of things Ferentz felt positive about after watching the tape.
First, there was the play of his first-year starting quarterback, sophomore Jake Rudock. The defining moment of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Rudock threw an out-route to Kevonte Martin-Manley that was jumped by Northern Illinois corner Jimmie Ward and intercepted. That turnover led to the Huskies kicking a game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining. But Rudock also led a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter — both of which came in the red zone — and finished 21-of-37 passing for 256 yards.
“His demeanor on the sideline was good. He was calm and confident,” Ferentz said. “The feedback that we got from him was really accurate.”
As an offense, Iowa amassed 302 total yards in the first half alone and ended up with over 200 yards on the ground. But that total yardage number was nearly cut in half during the final 30 minutes of play and the Hawkeyes could only muster a 44-yard field goal in the second half after holding a 24-17 halftime lead.
Defensively, the game plan was centered around forcing Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch to beat Iowa through the air after he rushed for 100 yards against the Hawkeyes last season. As it had planned, Iowa kept Lynch in check on the ground, as he only rushed for a total of 56 yards on 22 carries. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, he did beat them with his arm as he compiled 275 yards passing off 25 completions and threw three touchdown passes that were all over 20 yards each.
Senior free safety Tanner Miller believed a major reason the Huskies compiled explosive plays wasn’t so much miscommunication within the Iowa secondary, but rather issues with technique, which he added was a major emphasis of discussion by defensive coordinator Phil Parker in the aftermath of Saturday’s loss.
“Anything technique-wise, you can work on and fix,” Miller said. “That’s what we’re going to have to do. We didn’t have a lot of missed tackles, but giving up the big plays, that’s what we’ve got to fix this week.”
Then there was the fake punt. Iowa was lined up in punt safe and sensed Northern Illinois looking to run a fake when it did late in the third quarter. Both Ferentz and his players described what happened as nothing more than “a mental error” after correctly diagnosing the fake.
“We have the right people out and we have the miscommunication on one thing that took place and that opened the door,” Ferentz said. “Just makes it tough.”
Lowery, Lomax looking to return this week
Iowa saw both of its starting corners leave last weekend’s game against Northern Illinois with injuries, but for now at least, the plan is for both senior B.J. Lowery and sophomore Jordan Lomax to be back with the first-string secondary unit Saturday when the Hawkeyes face Missouri State.
Lomax left the game during the second half after he said he felt a tweak in his left hamstring and didn’t return after having tape wrapped around his leg by trainers. On Tuesday, Lomax said he tried to rest it as much as possible and would return to the practice field whenever trainers gave him the O.K. to do so. He was replaced in the game by true freshman cornerback Desmond King.
“It’s starting to feel better,” Lomax said. “I’m just doing rehab now, taking it day by day.”
As for Lowery, his issue was cramps-related. He actually returned to the field after dealing with cramps in one calf before his other calf cramped up on the play Northern Illinois scored its third touchdown of the afternoon on to tie the game at 27-27 apiece in the fourth quarter.
“When I was pressed against No. 85, as he went to do the slant-and-go, I kind of looked inside at the quarterback and that’s something I shouldn’t have did,” Lowery said. “I was trying to get a pick and he just didn’t run the route I expected. He went vertical.
“I was trying to get the ball at its highest point. I guess I didn’t.”
Hitchens leaving biggest impression yet
Ferentz was asked during his press conference Tuesday about the progress made by his senior kicker, Mike Meyer. His response not only mentioned Meyer, but other players he thought performed well last weekend. The one comment that stood out were his remarks about senior linebacker Anthony Hitchens, who recorded 13 tackles against Northern Illinois.
“That’s the best I’ve seen Hitchens play, ever,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz elaborated by saying Hitchens looked more decisive and credited that to experience being a second-year starter at the WILL linebacker spot. Fellow senior linebacker James Morris said he wasn’t surprised to hear Ferentz say that in light of the improvement he believes Hitchens has made mentally as a player.
The third senior linebacker of the trio, Christian Kirksey, made a similar remark about the mental side of Hitchens’ game improving.
“Hitch is playing very fast,” Kirksey said. “You know, he’s seeing a lot of stuff, especially watching more film. He’s playing fast and just talking with him, he’s seeing stuff quicker.”
Using Alston as a pass rusher
Iowa introduced a new defensive wrinkle last weekend during its contest against Northern Illinois. While it was well-known that sophomore linebacker Nate Meier would be used a pass-rush specialist on third downs, the Hawkeyes not only used him at an end spot, but junior linebacker Quinton Alston as well.
While Iowa wasn’t able to record any sacks of Huskie quarterback Jordan Lynch, there were instances where the Hawkeyes were able to pressure him and part of the reason was using Alston and Meier as pass-rush specialists when Northern Illinois faced third-and-long as opposed to running more nickel and dime packages defensively.
“As a defense, our coaches are trying to present different looks for offenses, looks that are going to challenge them,” Morris said. “So obviously, a linebacker coming off the edge is a lot faster than a 280-pound D-lineman.
“We’re trying to get the right personnel out there for us that’s going to be able to challenge the offense and also make plays for us on defense.”
Ferentz said Tuesday that the use of Alston along the front four wasn’t used solely for last weekend’s contest, but rather an experiment that the defense will continue using as part of its defensive line rotations.
“We’ll fool around with that on the obvious passing downs,” Ferentz said. “Just hoping to get a little bit more change of tempo out there.”
Scouting Missouri State
Saturday’s contest against Missouri State marks the sixth time in as many seasons Iowa has played against an FCS opponent and the Bears are the fifth FCS opponent during this stretch to make a visit to Kinnick Stadium.
Coming from the Missouri Valley Conference, Missouri State enters this game with an identical 0-1 record after losing 23-17 at home to Northwestern State on Aug. 29. The Bears are coached by Iowa City native Terry Allen, who was a candidate to replace Hayden Fry at Iowa following 1998 before the job was ultimately given to Ferentz.
As far as Missouri State’s offense is concerned, a few Iowa players noted similarities in the Bears’ style of play to that of Northern Illinois’ in terms of having a mobile quarterback and running an up-tempo offense. Defensively, the Bears are one of just a handful of teams Iowa will face this season that run a 3-4 defense as its base.
As of now, each of the next three seasons feature Iowa playing an FCS opponent, with two of those teams being among the seven to beat FBS programs last weekend. Northern Iowa, who makes a fourth visit in 10 years to Kinnick Stadium in 2014, left Jack Trice Stadium in Ames with a 28-20 win over Iowa State on Saturday. One night earlier, North Dakota State — a team that has won the last two national championships at the FCS level and will visit Iowa City in 2016 — upset defending Big 12 champion Kansas State, 24-21.
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — On Tuesday, 12 members of the Iowa football team spoke with the media to discuss the Hawkeyes’ upcoming game on Sept. 7 against Missouri State at Kinnick Stadium.
Below is audio from each of the following players — sophomore cornerback Jordan Lomax, sophomore right guard Jordan Walsh, senior linebacker James Morris, senior cornerback B.J. Lowery, junior defensive tackle Carl Davis, senior defensive end Dominic Alvis, sophomore wide receiver Tevaun Smith, senior free safety Tanner Miller, senior tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, senior linebacker Christian Kirksey, junior running back Damon Bullock and sophomore quarterback Jake Rudock:
Jordan Lomax, Sept. 3, 2013
Jordan Walsh, Sept. 3, 2013
James Morris, Sept. 3, 2013
B.J. Lowery, Sept. 3, 2013
Carl Davis, Sept. 3, 2013
Dominic Alvis, Sept. 3, 2013
Tevaun Smith, Sept. 3, 2013
Tanner Miller, Sept. 3, 2013
C.J. Fiedorowicz, Sept. 3, 2013
Christian Kirksey, Sept. 3, 2013
Damon Bullock, Sept. 3, 2013
Jake Rudock, Sept. 3, 2013
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
Below is a PDF from the Iowa sports information department featuring the complete transcript from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s press conference on Tuesday in Iowa City:
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
Below is a written transcript of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s teleconference on Tuesday with the Big Ten media:
Ferentz’s opening statement:
“I thought, first of all, our crowd was tremendous. They were certainly ready to go on Saturday and I appreciate the great turnout and the enthusiasm there. It was a tough, hard-fought game. Northern [Illinois] has got a very nice team and we knew that coming in, so it was disappointing not to come out on top. But we’ll go back to work and do our best to get ready for this Saturday.”
On linebacker Christian Kirksey’s performance against Northern Illinois:
“Yeah, we have three senior linebackers — Christian, Anthony Hitchens and James Morris. Certainly, we’re counting on all three of those guys to play well and Christian certainly did that. All three guys did, I thought. But he played well the entire game and that was a huge play.
“We were kind of spinning our tires a little bit at that point and boy, that was just a heads-up play — a great tackle and then great awareness to pick up the ball and then finish it off with a touchdown. That kind of ignited our team and got the crowd fired up. It was just an outstanding play by a top-quality senior.”
On his philosophy when it comes to playing FCS programs such as Missouri State:
“Well, I don’t think they’re going to fit in so much in our conference. I think we’re moving away from them, at least that’s the last understanding I have. Scheduling’s an issue, certainly. But I think most teams, at least I think a lot of teams, are doing it right now and as we learned last weekend, there’s no guarantees, period, any time you play against anybody with the FCS teams winning.
“But you know, scheduling has been a challenge and I think everybody is looking for the best possible way to do their scheduling and you know, that has been one route that a lot of people have taken.”
On if not being allowed to have FCS schools on the schedule with nine conference games compounds issues with scheduling:
“You know, I think for the teams that are available, that’s probably a good thing for them in contrast to market up a little bit. I think our intentions were probably to help, but then they make things a little bit more costly.”
On what he believed happened on the second interception thrown by Jake Rudock late in the fourth quarter:
“Yeah, I think that was probably more about ball placement. Maybe as a decision, you’d like to take that back in terms of where he decided to go with the football. But you know, it was probably more ball placement. He threw it behind our guy and it would’ve been a tight throw. If you miss a throw, you want to make sure you miss away from the defenders, certainly.
“But that’s part of being a first-year player, a first-time player. But I thought he did an awful lot of good things out there and we’re awfully encouraged by what we saw. I’m really confident he’s just going to keep growing.”
On if he’s referring to things like demeanor when saying Rudock did a lot of things well:
“Yeah, when I said there was an awful lot of good things, that is a big part of the equation. I thought his demeanor on the field was excellent. His feedback, his information, his conversations with Greg Davis were all good and his awareness was really good. So that was great. And then on the touchdown pass he threw, he got a mouthful of the defender as he released the ball. That’s something you like to see.
“And then later on, he pulled one down and made a nice run. He didn’t just get the first down, but he got the ball in the end zone. So I thought he did a lot of really good things and we’re really encouraged by that. We felt good about him going into the game and we feel good about our other two quarterbacks as well.”
On whether he has ever felt tempted to incorporate more of a spread attack into Iowa’s offense:
“Yeah, I guess I’m a little fuzzy on what spread means exactly. But there’s all kinds of ways to move the ball, but at some point, you have to execute and you got to block at least a minimal amount to get the ball. You know, at the end of the day, I guess you do what you feel fits your personnel the best way and there are a lot of different ways to be successful.
“You know, I can think of a team in the Big 12 last year at about the midway point was on its way to the national championship and they hit some hard times and they’re a ‘spread team.’ In our conference, we’ve had two Big Ten championship teams that weren’t spread teams and came out victorious in both of those, so you know, it’s what you do.
“First of all, I think any coach is doing what they do best with their personnel. To me, at the end of the day, the teams that are the best are the teams that execute the best, whether it’s spread or conventional or whatever term you want to throw at it.”
On if he believes the game is played more in space now than it used to be:
“Uh, you know, it depends who you are. Yeah, there’s no question we’re seeing more up-tempo stuff and we’re seeing perhaps more 4-wide stuff, but that’s not like it’s all new and throwing the ball’s not new, either. I remember Illinois with Mike White, I think they threw the ball 70 times here in 1982, in Kinnick Stadium, and set a passing record that day. They scored 10 points, I believe. But they set a record, a stadium passing record.
“So you know, it’s not … I don’t think it’s new to football, but there’s a lot of people throwing it around and there’s some option football stuff. That has always kind of been the way football is, at least college football.”
On the performance of the offensive line against Northern Illinois:
“Well, we were all aware of the fact that we were having a new quarterback no matter who won the race, so that’s certainly something we were hoping — that we could run the ball a little bit and that our line could do a good job and when I say our line, our tight ends included because we are a little bit more veteran up there. Overall, the guys performed pretty well.
“We’re not maybe as veteran as we look. Both of our guards I think have maybe started 2-3 games career-wise, so far. We also had a new center for the first time in three years. Austin Blythe slid over and Austin had his ups-and-downs as a redshirt freshman, but I thought for his first time out as the center, he did a really nice job. So there were some things that we were really encouraged by and hopefully we can continue to play a little bit more proficiently as we move forward.”
On the statuses of starting corners Jordan Lomax and B.J. Lowery for Saturday’s game against Missouri State:
“Uh, you know, we’ll find out. We had some heat issues. Those guys played a lot of defensive snaps and then also played a lot of special teams plays as well, too. So I think that’s something probably most coaches — at least in the Midwest — are concerned about, just with how much gas is out of the tank with all of our guys. But we think both of them should be back. Hopefully, they will be. We’ll just see how it goes.”