One player should not be getting blamed for the widespread dysfunction throughout the program, and I don’t think most people blame Sam for the loss. The interception at the end was the most glaring and obvious candidate for people to jump on, because it was in crunch time, and because it was quite possibly the worst decision I have ever seen an experienced QB make. He stared him down for 3 full seconds, the CB was glued to the inside of the receiver the entire route, and he threw it anyway. No excuse…that one is on Sam. But he is almost putting too much pressure on himself, and that manifests itself as indecision.
The entire second half boils down to the incompetence of Rhoads and his staff to coach during a football game. Iowa made defensive adjustments that our O-line couldn’t handle and it absolutely shut down our running game. In the second half we ran for 5 yards on 11 carries, with a long of 3 yards (sacks count as rush yards). Read that again: a player could fall forward 11 times and make more progress. With no threat of a running game, and our apparent unwillingness to throw farther than 10 yards downfield, how is any QB supposed to be successful? Iowa could play tight coverage with 7 defenders all within 15 yards of the LOS, stop the run/get pressure on an indecisive QB with the front 4, and take away the entire gameplan.
Our defense has improved an unbelievable amount since last year, and was the only reason we were remotely in the game. How much better could they have been if the offense had sustained even 3 drives in the second half? Tie game with 7 minutes left, even with the lack of offense and the huge plays from Iowa (QB runs, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] and 21 conversion, punt return). All is not lost for the rest of the year if the offense can figure something out.
Better questions: What are we doing running three, 3 yard quick outs with two minutes left down by 7? Why do we lack the ability to make any adjustments during the game or at halftime? Why do we see zero improvement in our offensive line? Why can’t our QB throw to an open area and let our WR’s use their athletic ability to go get it? Why does our coaching staff have such little confidence in our running game that we punt on 4[SUP]th[/SUP] and inches, at a time in the game where we were actually moving the ball well? What exactly do we have to lose that would encourage such conservative play calling?
CPR and Mangino need to shoulder every single bit of the blame. Rhoads seems like a great guy, and it would be great for ISU if he could turn this around. But 7 years of poor recruiting and an almost complete lack of player development is to blame for the current state of the program. Sam could be a decent QB behind a good O-line with the threat of a running game; sadly he has neither. He cannot make up for the deficiencies that CPR has brought to the program.
The entire second half boils down to the incompetence of Rhoads and his staff to coach during a football game. Iowa made defensive adjustments that our O-line couldn’t handle and it absolutely shut down our running game. In the second half we ran for 5 yards on 11 carries, with a long of 3 yards (sacks count as rush yards). Read that again: a player could fall forward 11 times and make more progress. With no threat of a running game, and our apparent unwillingness to throw farther than 10 yards downfield, how is any QB supposed to be successful? Iowa could play tight coverage with 7 defenders all within 15 yards of the LOS, stop the run/get pressure on an indecisive QB with the front 4, and take away the entire gameplan.
Our defense has improved an unbelievable amount since last year, and was the only reason we were remotely in the game. How much better could they have been if the offense had sustained even 3 drives in the second half? Tie game with 7 minutes left, even with the lack of offense and the huge plays from Iowa (QB runs, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] and 21 conversion, punt return). All is not lost for the rest of the year if the offense can figure something out.
Better questions: What are we doing running three, 3 yard quick outs with two minutes left down by 7? Why do we lack the ability to make any adjustments during the game or at halftime? Why do we see zero improvement in our offensive line? Why can’t our QB throw to an open area and let our WR’s use their athletic ability to go get it? Why does our coaching staff have such little confidence in our running game that we punt on 4[SUP]th[/SUP] and inches, at a time in the game where we were actually moving the ball well? What exactly do we have to lose that would encourage such conservative play calling?
CPR and Mangino need to shoulder every single bit of the blame. Rhoads seems like a great guy, and it would be great for ISU if he could turn this around. But 7 years of poor recruiting and an almost complete lack of player development is to blame for the current state of the program. Sam could be a decent QB behind a good O-line with the threat of a running game; sadly he has neither. He cannot make up for the deficiencies that CPR has brought to the program.
