Tuesdays with Torbee

If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell might be Kirk Ferentz’ biggest fan.

Once again, the head Cyclone tried to best the Hawkeyes with their own strategy – a stifling defense, solid special teams and just enough hyper-conservative offense to prevail. For the sixth out of seventh time, his clones once again failed to deliver.

It’s nice that Campbell recognizes that boa constrictor football can still win games in 2023. But if I were an Iowa State fan (shudder), I’d be extremely frustrated that my coach insists on trying to be the pupil that bests the master rather than charting his own course.

Iowa under Ferentz is going to drag you down into the muck of an ugly game and frustrate you. And you aren’t going to win many mud wrestling contests against the undisputed mud-wrestling champion of the world.

Bless Coach Campbell for trying, though.

Almost as interesting as Campbell’s infatuation with the Hawkeye style is the Iowa fan base’s fatigue with the same thing. Much like last week, conversation on social media centered on an offense that came out of the gates strong, then did virtually nothing for two-and-a-half quarters. Offensive Coordinator Brian Ferentz’ offense once again failing to eclipse the magical 25-point mark was once again a central talking point of the muttering masses.

Here is the thing, though; Iowa is built to win games this way. Although commentator Brock Huard annoyed me for much of the broadcast, he was exactly spot on in this assessment he made halfway through the third quarter, when Iowa’s offense looked stuck in the mud:

“You get a couple big explosives early, and then you can take the air out of it late,” he said, as Iowa tried another unsuccessful run up the middle. “Brian Ferentz doesn’t care about 25 points. Protect the football, get the win, move on.”

Fans may not like that, but it’s a winning formula. A graphic flashed during the broadcast drove home that fact even more clearly. When it has an eight point or greater lead – at any point of the game – Iowa has won 97% of the time. That is a truly staggering stat, and one the fans who pine for more aggressive offense late in games need to keep in mind. I try to think of Iowa’s strategy in boxing terms. Get in a few strong, early body blows and get your opponent off balance. Then go into defensive mode with a few counterpunches while keeping the other fighter at bay. You can see that Brian Ferentz dialed up a couple attempted knockout punches in the second half. Unfortunately, they didn’t land for one reason or another (tight ends running into each other, a blown pass interference call on a deep bomb that ended

up in a bogus interception, Cade McNamara being just a touch off on what would have been a 90-yard touchdown pass, etc.)

The glimmers of a functional offense were on display Saturday. The hope is as McNamara gets more reps and his mobility improves as his injury heals, a few of those will land and Iowa fans won’t have to white knuckle their way through every fourth quarter.

Here are a few other random observations from my two watches of this year’s CyHawk game:

• I mentioned being annoyed at Brock Huard. Specifically, his lamenting why Iowa State “refused” to try to take deep shots. Well, Brock, it’s because they simply didn’t have time. Iowa’s defensive line was credited with only one sack and a couple hurries Saturday, which has some worried they aren’t as dominant as they’ve been in the past. However, I think the reason for that is the opponent knows they have to get the ball out in three seconds or less, forcing them to dink and dunk only. It’s kind of like having a shutdown cornerback – he may not put up gaudy interception or pass break up numbers but he’s still influencing the game because the other team just won’t go there.
• Iowa State’s defense is legitimately good, particularly its secondary. They made it tough for Iowa to run the ball and were able to generate some pressure on McNamara. That said, how refreshing is it to have a quarterback that stands in the pocket and accepts pressure, moves subtly and goes through his progressions, doesn’t panic and gets the ball out? That can only pay dividends down the road.
• Nickname suggestion: Cooper DeJean the Tackling Machine. The dude was everywhere, quickly, on Saturday. Between he and Schulte, you could see several times Iowa State receivers alligator armed catchable balls because they were thinking about the big hit to come. More of this, please.
• Through the first two games of 2022, the Iowa offense mustered 10 points. Through the first two games of 2023 – one of them a P5 road game – the offense has scored 37. That’s not a great number, but it’s nearly three-times better than last year! That, my friends, is progress.

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