subject: Men Against Boys, Iowa Over St, 35-7 [print this page] CollegeFootballBreakdown.com CollegeFootballBreakdown.com
Iowa City-The good news for the Iowa State Cyclones is that after 17 consecutive quarters of not scoring a touchdown against Iowa, they finally scored one. The bad news is that it came with less than two minutes left in the 4th quarter against backups while trailing 35-0.
Stevie Wonder could have seen the physical mismatch of this game. On offense, the Hawkeyes offensive line pushed a smaller Cyclone DL backwards and Iowa running backs broke tackle after tackle rushing for 275 yards on 50 carries. When Iowa QB Stanzi did throw, it was for big yardage. He finished 11 for 18, 204 yards and two touchdowns. When Iowa State had the ball, their offensive line could not hold the line of scrimmage against the bull rushing Iowa DL led by DE Clayborne. Numerous QB pressures after pressures without any blitzes made it difficult for Cyclone QB Arnaud to find any open receivers resulting in 3 picks. Iowas experienced secondary is a perfect compliment to the outstanding defensive line. It was a very, very long day for Iowa State.
Key Points:
Iowa: Although not playing against the most stoutest of defensive lines, Iowas offensive line continues to impress even with missing a few key players. The defensive line is good as advertised. QB Stanzi can get the ball down field accurately. The special teams are solid in coverage and return. Iowa is looking like a National Championship Candidate. Going on the road next week against Arizona will be their first test.
Iowa State: This teams needs to build offensive and defensive line strength. The starting middle linebacker left with an injury in the first quarter.
CollegeFootballBreakdown.com-Big Ten Analyst-John Jacobson
