The Hawks moved to 7-2 with their 24-10 win over a short-handed Northwestern minus their star QB. This was the Hawks’ fifth straight in the series and the Wildcats’ first loss at beautiful new Ryan Field. Just like against Washington, the Hawks went up big early in the game, then the offense entered the witness protection program. Kirk's same ol’ pattern of playing not to lose will cost the team some style points when it comes to playoff selection season.
- Hank Brown’s 76% Is Fool’s Gold. Brown had another good game percentage wise, going 16 of 21 (76.2%) for just 126 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. While some were quick to pat him on the back, completion percentage is misleading when your QB lives on short, high-percentage throws and looks off open WRs down field to avoid making a mistake. Brown averaged just 6.0 yards per attempt...with most of those yards being RBs and TEs gaining them after catch. By comparison, Northwestern's injured QB averages 9.5 yards per attempt. Guys were open down field but Brown kept taking the safe throws underneath. Want proof that the number is empty? Northwestern’s backup, Marchiol, also completed 75% of his passes, but did so against Iowa's elite defense. He threw for 181 yards compared to Brown's 126 yards. His passer rating was 132.83. Brown’s was 132.78. Yet nobody would say Marchiol had a good game.
- When Brown Threw Down Field, It Was Ugly. Brown completed just 5 passes to WRs. Why? RVZ and Diaz were open. When balls went their way, they often had to slow down and fight for the ball instead of catching it in stride. In the 3rd quarter. after too much randying around at the line of scrimmage, Brown let the play clock expire (a boneheaded mistake you never see at this level) then badly underthrew the next pass to DJV. Obviously Brown has a good arm, as evidenced by his TD pass to Diaz...he's just terrified of making a mistake and aims it rather than leading his receivers.
- Jayden Montgomery Earning that Scholly. For his first 3 years at Iowa, 2 star legacy recruit Montgomery was a nepotism scholarship who didn't belong in D1 football. Undersized and zero stats of any kind. But in year 5 under Phil Parker, he's finally playing like he belongs. 9 tackles, a sack and a TFL vs. a 6-2 Big 10 program. Sure, Cam Buffington led the team with 12 tackles and made a huge 4th-and-1 stop. He's obviously a future superstar. When the offense was playing not to lose and Northwestern had just cut it to 14-3. Montgomery threw a key block on Braeden Jackson’s 96-yard kickoff return. Then, on Northwestern’s next drive, he sacked Marchiol on 4th down, setting up Buhr’s 52-yarder.
- L.J. Phillips: IowaLaw Rests His Case. Six weeks ago, IowaLaw asked why the best back on the team wasn’t getting more carries behind a lesser back in Moulton. Finally, Phillips got 21 carries in a game and rewarded the team with 128 yards (6.1 a carry) and a season-long 45-yarder. His underutilization was apparent, as he came into the game with just 34 carries all year.
- Defense Bails Us Out Again. Northwestern went just 1 for 11 on 3rd down, 1 for 4 on 4th down. They ran for 2.8 yards a carry! That's elite. Why didn't we blow them out, again? Six sacks, and the Wildcats didn’t get inside the Iowa 26 until the 4th quarter. Marchiol still completed 75% of his throws and Northwestern still had 19 first downs to Iowa’s 14. Against better teams, we'll need to clean that up.
- Ball Security and Discipline Becoming Problematic. The Hawks had two big second half turnovers. Phillips also put it on the ground but was fortunate enough to recover it. On the day, the normally disciplined Hawks were minus-2 in turnovers and had 5 penalties for 45 yards, including Drew Campbell's targeting penalty that got him tossed for targeting. You get away with that against a backup QB but not against the Minnesotas of the world.
