Three Keys to Saturdays Game

[hawkfan]

I've already made my prediction: IA gets the win 31-17.

There are three keys that could alter my opinion of that:

#1: ISU's DL play. If the line battle looks anything similar to what it looked like last year, ISU won't be in this game come the fourth quarter. ISU has to do a better job on defense of getting penetration into Iowa's backfield. If Coker gets to the LOS untouched like all of Iowa's RB's last season, this game will be a blowout once again. This issue can't simply be offset by blitzing the hell out of Iowa - if ISU does that, look for McNutt and Herman to gain huge chunks of yards at a time rather than Coker gaining 5-7 at a time. ISU's DL has to play well for ISU to have a chance.

#2: Steele Jantz. I see a lot of talk about Coker's fumbles, and while that is undoubtedly a problem for Iowa to monitor, Jantz threw three picks last week against UNI and will be starting in his first ever game against a BCS caliber defense. If Jantz throws three picks on Saturday it puts ISU's defense, already in a bad position, in a bigger hole. Jantz needs to have a good game Saturday and throw 1 or fewer INT's for ISU to really be in the game IMO.

#3: ISU's rushing attack. If ISU can run the ball and take the pressure off of Jantz, this game could be much closer than I think it will be. Above everything else, ISU has to run the ball successfully on Saturday to have a chance. Throwing the ball has two negatives: 1. It exposes a young QB to potentially making game altering mistakes & 2. It will keep ISU's defense on the field longer. Without any doubt, ISU's biggest key to victory on Saturday is a successful rushing attack. I do think that Iowa's defense will be more susceptible to the run this year than the pass, so ISU needs to take advantage of that. Can they? No one knows. Last week ISU's OL was without their two best players, but there is certainly a cause for concern about the other three starters, who didn't look great.

[isulive2train]

You could be the next Lou Holtz. ZzzzzzZzzzzz

[JY07]

my complicated prediction: the team that doesn't turn the ball over, wins

[Blandboy]

Or, just score the most points.

[isufan]

3 Key for ISU
1. Turnovers
2. O-Line
3. D-Line

[azepp]

I would add that ISU scoring more points than Iowa would also give them a great chance to win.

[isukendall]

I've already made my prediction: IA gets the win 31-17.

There are three keys that could alter my opinion of that:

#1: ISU's DL play. If the line battle looks anything similar to what it looked like last year, ISU won't be in this game come the fourth quarter. ISU has to do a better job on defense of getting penetration into Iowa's backfield. If Coker gets to the LOS untouched like all of Iowa's RB's last season, this game will be a blowout once again. This issue can't simply be offset by blitzing the hell out of Iowa - if ISU does that, look for McNutt and Herman to gain huge chunks of yards at a time rather than Coker gaining 5-7 at a time. ISU's DL has to play well for ISU to have a chance.

#2: Steele Jantz. I see a lot of talk about Coker's fumbles, and while that is undoubtedly a problem for Iowa to monitor, Jantz threw three picks last week against UNI and will be starting in his first ever game against a BCS caliber defense. If Jantz throws three picks on Saturday it puts ISU's defense, already in a bad position, in a bigger hole. Jantz needs to have a good game Saturday and throw 1 or fewer INT's for ISU to really be in the game IMO.

#3: ISU's rushing attack. If ISU can run the ball and take the pressure off of Jantz, this game could be much closer than I think it will be. Above everything else, ISU has to run the ball successfully on Saturday to have a chance. Throwing the ball has two negatives: 1. It exposes a young QB to potentially making game altering mistakes & 2. It will keep ISU's defense on the field longer. Without any doubt, ISU's biggest key to victory on Saturday is a successful rushing attack. I do think that Iowa's defense will be more susceptible to the run this year than the pass, so ISU needs to take advantage of that. Can they? No one knows. Last week ISU's OL was without their two best players, but there is certainly a cause for concern about the other three starters, who didn't look great.

While I appreciate your honest opinion, isn't there anything Iowa can do to affect this game? You make it sound like win or loss, it is all up to what ISU does.

[M6WS6]

My 3 keys to the game:

#1: ISU needs to play better Offense than Iowa and score more points (Iowa has to play worse Offense than ISU and score less points than ISU)

#2: ISU needs to play better Deffense than Iowa and prevent them from scoring points (Iowa has to play worse on Defense than ISU, and allow ISU to score points)

#3: ISU needs to play better Special teams, scoring more and giving up less return yards (Iowa has to play worse on Special Teams than ISU, giving us lots of return yards and points, and punting and kicking horribly)

I think I covered all aspects, what ISU can and can't do, and what Iowa can and can't do

[hawkfan]

While I appreciate your honest opinion, isn't there anything Iowa can do to affect this game? You make it sound like win or loss, it is all up to what ISU does.

I guess I've taken the approach that the underdog in a game is typically the one who needs to dot their i's and cross their t's to get the victory.

If Iowa avoids turnovers and can stop the ISU run game, I say Iowa wins easily....so those would be my two keys for Iowa - stopping ISU's run game will go a LONG way toward an Iowa victory. If ISU can run the ball successfully on Iowa, I think Iowa could be in a nail biter.

[Delgman]

I think rather than look at the negatives of our game against UNI you should look at the positive, we were pushed, we were tested to the last seconds, and Iowa was not. Our inexperienced quarterback saw plenty of pressure, made mistakes, but kept his head and battled back. The Iowa starters barely played after the rain delay, they were not tested, everything came easy. They say the most improvement comes between week 1 and week 2 and I feel we are more battle tested / prepared for battle, as I hope the game this Saturday will be.

[CloneIce]

ISU OL play needs to be alot better. We also really need to get our OL and DL who missed all or part of the UNI game back and playing at an effective level.

[edr247]

My three keys to the game?

1) The offense must play perfectly and score more points than the opposing offense
2) The defense must play perfectly and score more points than the opposing defense (and/or prevent more points from being scored by the opposing offense)
3) The special teams must play perfectly and must score more points than the opposing special teams (and/or prevent the opposing special teams from scoring)

The team that does this will, in my honest and expert opinion, win.

[theyork]

I've already made my prediction: IA gets the win 31-17.

There are three keys that could alter my opinion of that:

#1: ISU's DL play. If the line battle looks anything similar to what it looked like last year, ISU won't be in this game come the fourth quarter. ISU has to do a better job on defense of getting penetration into Iowa's backfield. If Coker gets to the LOS untouched like all of Iowa's RB's last season, this game will be a blowout once again. This issue can't simply be offset by blitzing the hell out of Iowa - if ISU does that, look for McNutt and Herman to gain huge chunks of yards at a time rather than Coker gaining 5-7 at a time. ISU's DL has to play well for ISU to have a chance.

#2: Steele Jantz. I see a lot of talk about Coker's fumbles, and while that is undoubtedly a problem for Iowa to monitor, Jantz threw three picks last week against UNI and will be starting in his first ever game against a BCS caliber defense. If Jantz throws three picks on Saturday it puts ISU's defense, already in a bad position, in a bigger hole. Jantz needs to have a good game Saturday and throw 1 or fewer INT's for ISU to really be in the game IMO.

#3: ISU's rushing attack. If ISU can run the ball and take the pressure off of Jantz, this game could be much closer than I think it will be. Above everything else, ISU has to run the ball successfully on Saturday to have a chance. Throwing the ball has two negatives: 1. It exposes a young QB to potentially making game altering mistakes & 2. It will keep ISU's defense on the field longer. Without any doubt, ISU's biggest key to victory on Saturday is a successful rushing attack. I do think that Iowa's defense will be more susceptible to the run this year than the pass, so ISU needs to take advantage of that. Can they? No one knows. Last week ISU's OL was without their two best players, but there is certainly a cause for concern about the other three starters, who didn't look great.

im just hoping for a fluke ala 2007. otherwise, iowa looks better across the board.

[jburke]

Or, just score the most points.

John Madden quote....

[CRAZYGREG]

1. Luck (Nebraska 09)
2. Iowa has a VERY down year (Texas 10)
3. Steele pulls his head out of his butt