Run with it
Diane Hendrickson - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Teams that pass for 53 yards, while giving up more than 300 through the air don't win ball games. Teams that are outgained by 185 yards don't notch one in the win column. Teams that convert two third downs don't celebrate with faithful fans after the final whistle.
Teams that lose the time of possession battle by 13 minutes don't head to the locker room with a smile.
But most importantly, teams that can't find the end zone, and even struggle to make first downs, don't come back from a 14-point halftime hole.
Any other game this year, and the Hawkeyes get blown out, but this time, they would not be denied.
"I think our players made up their minds [at halftime]," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "They made up their minds they were going to go out and - I'm sure we've looked worse. We could start ranking those things, but … we were getting handled. And Michigan State is a good ball club, don't take that wrong, but we weren't putting up a fight, and that's hard to stomach."
No one will know what happened in that locker room at the intermission; the players and Ferentz weren't talking, but the second half was the most inspired football this team has played all season, after one of its worst.
Just when everyone counted this squad out, after a 31-6 drubbing by Purdue, the season isn't lost just yet.
After Iowa's 10-6 win over a then-ranked Illinois, everyone wondered if the win would turn around this year, an extremely disappointing one thus far. The Hawkeyes answered with another ugly loss.
The stats from the past two weeks look eerily similar, except for one gaping disparity. Against Purdue, Iowa ran 29 times for 77 yards while passing 40 times for 177 yards. One week later, the Hawkeyes ran 44 times for 230 yards but attempted 15 passes for 53 yards.
Granted, Albert Young was injured at Purdue, but it makes you wonder just where this team would be if it hadn't been so quick to abandon the run when trailing. Michigan State knew the run was coming in the second half but didn't have an answer for the determination in Young's eyes.
We'll never know if against Indiana, when Young and Damian Sims were both averaging around six yards per carry, Iowa could have come back from another 14-point deficit. We can only wonder if Penn State's 13-0 lead was really insurmountable.
If the Hawkeyes want to add to their bowl streak and extend their season into December, they need to stick with the run. Clearly, the game can change in an instant. Iowa's first touchdown put it back in the game, and no matter how hard the Spartans tried to battle back, the Hawks owned the momentum and eventually, the game.
So throw out the rest of the stats.
Iowa's 230 yards on the ground, including 179 alone by Young, are really the only numbers that mattered this past weekend, other than the 34-27 final score.
E-mail DI reporter Diane Hendrickson at:
diane-hendrickson@uiowa.edu
Teams that lose the time of possession battle by 13 minutes don't head to the locker room with a smile.
But most importantly, teams that can't find the end zone, and even struggle to make first downs, don't come back from a 14-point halftime hole.
Any other game this year, and the Hawkeyes get blown out, but this time, they would not be denied.
"I think our players made up their minds [at halftime]," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "They made up their minds they were going to go out and - I'm sure we've looked worse. We could start ranking those things, but … we were getting handled. And Michigan State is a good ball club, don't take that wrong, but we weren't putting up a fight, and that's hard to stomach."
No one will know what happened in that locker room at the intermission; the players and Ferentz weren't talking, but the second half was the most inspired football this team has played all season, after one of its worst.
Just when everyone counted this squad out, after a 31-6 drubbing by Purdue, the season isn't lost just yet.
After Iowa's 10-6 win over a then-ranked Illinois, everyone wondered if the win would turn around this year, an extremely disappointing one thus far. The Hawkeyes answered with another ugly loss.
The stats from the past two weeks look eerily similar, except for one gaping disparity. Against Purdue, Iowa ran 29 times for 77 yards while passing 40 times for 177 yards. One week later, the Hawkeyes ran 44 times for 230 yards but attempted 15 passes for 53 yards.
Granted, Albert Young was injured at Purdue, but it makes you wonder just where this team would be if it hadn't been so quick to abandon the run when trailing. Michigan State knew the run was coming in the second half but didn't have an answer for the determination in Young's eyes.
We'll never know if against Indiana, when Young and Damian Sims were both averaging around six yards per carry, Iowa could have come back from another 14-point deficit. We can only wonder if Penn State's 13-0 lead was really insurmountable.
If the Hawkeyes want to add to their bowl streak and extend their season into December, they need to stick with the run. Clearly, the game can change in an instant. Iowa's first touchdown put it back in the game, and no matter how hard the Spartans tried to battle back, the Hawks owned the momentum and eventually, the game.
So throw out the rest of the stats.
Iowa's 230 yards on the ground, including 179 alone by Young, are really the only numbers that mattered this past weekend, other than the 34-27 final score.
E-mail DI reporter Diane Hendrickson at:
diane-hendrickson@uiowa.edu
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