Gopher Football
Iowa Backfield vs. Minnesota Linebackers
At the beginning of the season, if someone would have told me that Iowa would lose their top 3 running backs to injuries, I would have said they will finish no better than 6-5. The Hawkeyes are now 7-2, not because any certain running back has stepped up, but because new starting quarterback Drew Tate has taken control of this offense. Tate is throwing a lot of passes, something which one doesn’t expect from Iowa. Last week against Purdue, he finished 24-45 for 270 yards. In addition to taking a great deal of passes, Tate is avoiding mistakes. So far this season, he has completed over 62% of his passes and has an efficiency rating of 130.44. Fortunately for Minnesota, Tate isn’t much of a threat to run the ball, so unlike games against Michigan State and Wisconsin, the Gophers shouldn’t have to worry about the quarterback breaking off a big third down run when everyone is back in coverage.
At running back, the Hawkeyes are hurting. Their leading rusher, sophomore Sam Brownlee, is averaging a mere 2.4 yards per carry and has scored no touchdowns in 6 games. Against Purdue last week, Brownlee carried the ball 25 times for just 52 yards. How he performs against a porous Gopher defense has yet to be seen, but don’t be surprised if his inability to break the big play continues. He is smaller (5’10″, 200 pounds) and should be easy for the Minnesota linebackers to contain.
The key here is “˜should’. The Gopher linebackers should have been able to keep Wisconsin’s John Stocco at bay last week, but he still ended up with over 25 yards rushing on just 7 attempts. They need to play their best game of the season to help contain Tate and prevent him from finding the underneath receiver, and to stop the Iowa backfield from breaking open big plays. Dominique Sims had a reasonable game last week, putting up 2 sacks, and will have to do the same this week. Kyle McKenzie, just two games removed from what I called “˜his best game of his career’, will need to put out another great performance in this one.
Summary:
This is probably one of the more intriguing match-ups in this game; the Iowa backfield, so banged up from injuries yet managing to rally behind their signal caller, versus the Minnesota linebackers, fighting off criticism and poor play the past two weeks to try and regain an ounce of respect from fans and coaches. If the bounces go Minnesota’s way, I’ll take the Gophers in this match-up. However, you can’t rely on bounces to win games.
Advantage: Iowa
Iowa O-Line vs. Minnesota D-Line
You don’t lose an All-American tackle and second overall draft pick off your offensive line and hope to return the same prowess as the year before. That is exactly the case this season, as the departure of Robert Gallery has the Hawkeyes yearning for better days. Not everything that has gone wrong with the running game can be blamed on the line; injuries have taken their toll in the backfield. However, for a line to go from allowing 24 sacks and 96 tackles for loss in 13 games last season to giving up 29 sacks and 66 tackles for loss in 9 games so far this year has to be disheartening. This match-up will still be interesting, however, as it is still Iowa and still a Kirk Ferentz coached line. Their ability to open holes against the Gopher front could be the determining factor in this close contest.
Minnesota’s Darrell Reid has been making headlines in the Twin Cities this week with his comments regarding the coaching staff and their ability to win games. He will be looking to back up his talk this weekend with a solid performance. Tackle Anthony Montgomery, who will be battling with the inside men on the Hawkeye line, will have a tough time penetrating because of their size: the Iowa guards are all over 300 pounds. Montgomery, along with Reid, will need to have huge days against a huge line, but should be able to put some pressure on the backfield.
Summary:
The fire of the defense has been coming from the defensive line in the form of Darrell Reid’s words; whether or not it will give the Gophers enough of a spark to overpower Iowa has yet to been seen. If, and that’s a big if, Minnesota plays every single down with intensity from the starting gate, they could have an advantage here. This is one area where I think they will take advantage of the situation and play up to their ability level.
Advantage: Minnesota
Iowa Receivers vs. Minnesota Secondary
Iowa’s receivers have seen a lot more passes coming their way this year than in years past; some of that has to do with Drew Tate, some of it has to do with the lack of a running game, but some of it also has to do with their talent. Ed Hinkel, who missed much of last season because of a groin injury, leads the Hawkeyes in receptions with 43. He is certainly not the biggest receiver out there; he weighs only 188 pounds. Still, he makes up for his lack of size with his speed and knack for finding the end zone, something he has accomplished 7 times this season. Hinkel may be leading the team in receptions and touchdowns, but it is junior Clinton Solomon who leads the Hawkeyes in receiving yards with 567. Standing at an amazing 6’7″, sophomore Scott Chandler also figures into the mix with his ability to simply reach over defenders who are often 7 or 8 inches shorter than he is.
Minnesota’s secondary had yet another let down last week against Wisconsin, making the Badger passing game look, at times, like Texas Tech’s. Safety John Pawielski, seemingly the only member of the Gopher secondary that has gone injury free this season, will look to close out the season strong and complete what has been, in my opinion, an excellent season. Trumaine Banks saw his return to action this past week and will need to cut down on costly interference penalties, something which has plagued him throughout his two years at the U. The Gophers also welcomed back team captain Justin Fraley last week from injury, and he’ll need to make sure that Hinkel and Solomon do not get any easy passes downfield.
Summary:
For Minnesota’s secondary, it’s about gaining some measure of respect back in their last game of the regular season. They will need to defend downfield well, or else they will be burnt time and time again by these experienced Hawkeye receivers. Drew Tate has the talent to get the ball in the vicinity of the receiver and will rarely make poor decisions, therefore the Gophers need to capitalize on any and all mistakes these wideouts and Tate make. They could come up with an interception, but I don’t think it will be enough to stop Iowa from having a great day throwing the ball.
Advantage: Iowa