Iowa-Indiana: 10 Key Matchups When the Hawkeyes Meet the Hoosiers
Iowa's all-time record against Indiana is 40-27-4 for a .592 winning percentage. That is actually pretty depressing when you consider that Indiana's all-time football record is 444-610-44. They have the worst all-time record of any current Big Ten football team.
By comparison, Wisconsin—who, historically and in all other ways, is very similar to Iowa—has an all-time record of 36-18-2 against the Hoosiers. In fact, Iowa has the third-worst record against Indiana of all Big Ten teams (Minnesota and Northwestern are the worst).
Even more disturbing is that in Bloomington, Iowa barely has a winning record. They are 18-17-1.
Well, that is primarily a reflection of the Iowa down years, between the Ironmen and Evy or between Evy and Hayden, right?
Nope. Over their last 15 meetings, the Hawks are 8-7 against the Hoosiers. They are also 3-4 in Memorial Stadium.
During that time period, IU has had three winning seasons, been to exactly two bowls, and has gone through four head coaches. Meanwhile, Iowa has had 10 winning seasons, been to 12 bowls, and had only two head coaches.
However, this is a new year, and the 6-2 Hawkeyes will be in Bloomington to take on the 4-4 Hoosiers.
On paper, this one is fairly simple.
The only two Indiana starters who might also start for the Hawks are IU's top two receivers, and even that is debatable.
In short, Iowa should slaughter the Hoosiers, but if the last 15 years have taught us anything, it is that games are not played on paper.
Shaun Prater and Micah Hyde Vs. Demarlo Belcher and Tandon Doss
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The Big Ten features such receiving tandems as OSU's Sanzenbacher and Posey, MSU's Dell and Cunningham, and Iowa's DJK and McNutt.
However, the best pair of receivers in the conference may very well be Indiana's two juniors: Tandon Doss and Damarlo Belcher.
Belcher stands at 6'5" while Doss stands at 6'3". Last year, as sophomores, the two combined for 138 receptions for 1,732 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Thus far this season, they have combined for 83 catches, 1,038 yards, and six touchdowns. Doss missed the first game with an injury.
Needless to say, the two are a handful for any opposing defense.
Iowa's starting cornerbacks are true junior Shaun Prater and true sophomore Micah Hyde.
Phil Steele named Prater to his midseason All-Big Ten team. Since then, Prater had his best game of the year against Michigan State; a game good enough to earn him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
Hyde's season has been up and down. He has gotten beaten deep on more than one occasion. On the other hand, he has been a very sure tackler and has been solid against possession passing teams, which is exactly what Indiana is.
Iowa Vs. The Bend Don't Break
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Although Iowa has been a bit more daring over recent years, for the most part, they run a bend-don't-break defense.
That means that they are giving up underneath passing routes and defending against big plays.
Essentially, Kirk Ferentz and defensive coordinator Norm Parker are betting that most teams do not have patient and efficient quarterbacks and receivers that can consistently drive the field for 10-15 plays over and over again.
More often than not, they have won that bet.
However, some teams are put together in such a way that they feed off of teams that give up underneath passing routes. Northwestern is the best example of that, and for that reason, NU has given Iowa fits throughout the Kirk Ferentz era.
Indiana is also one of those teams.
They are currently third in the conference in terms of time of possession. Typically, when you think of teams that control the clock, you think of running teams like Wisconsin. Nevertheless, IU does the same thing as Wisconsin; they just do it through the air.
Needless to say, this will be frustrating for Iowa's fans to watch, but it is imperative that Iowa stay the course.
A 5-yard pass is not going to kill Iowa. A 50-yard pass might.
Iowa Kickoff Coverage Vs. Tandon Doss
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Last week, Iowa's kickoff coverage looked much better than they have at any point in the season.
In six returns, Michigan State averaged 18.83 yards per return with no returns longer than 20 yards. That is the lowest average Iowa has allowed in any game outside of their contests against Eastern Illinois and Ball State.
While the Hawks deserve credit for the improvement, it must be noted that MSU was without their ace kick returner Keshawn Martin. He sat out the game with a leg injury.
Against Indiana, Iowa will be going against the fourth-best kickoff return team in the conference.
Receiver Tandon Doss is the Hoosiers' primary return specialist. This year, he is averaging 26.05 yards per return.
Unfortunately, the way Iowa's return team has looked for much of the season, this will continue to be an area of great concern until the Hawks perform consistently over multiple games.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
DJK Vs Indiana's Kickoff Return Coverage
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Despite all the talk of how bad Iowa's special teams have been this season, there have been some bright spots.
One of those brights spots has been kickoff returns.
The Hawks are currently the best kickoff return team in the Big Ten—ninth in the entire country—averaging 25.93 yards per return.
Senior Darrell Johnson Koulianos—aka DJK—has been Iowa's primary return man. He has averaged 27.46 yards on 13 returns.
Meanwhile, Indiana's kickoff return coverage, like their defense, has been awful.
They are currently ranked 10th in the Big Ten, and 106th nationally. On 47 kicks, they have had only three touchbacks. Moreover, they have allowed 24.77 yards per return.
The only positive thing that can be said is that they have yet to allow a return go for a touchdown. On the other hand, this season, DJK has yet to run one back for a touchdown.
This could be the week.
Iowa's Offense Vs. Itself
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I'd like to tell go through the matchups one-by-one and say that Ricky Stanzi has to look off Indiana's safeties, the Hawkeyes' offensive line has to win the line of scrimmage, Iowa's receivers have to make plays, etc.
I'd like to do that, and all of that is true, but the fact of the matter is Indiana has a lousy defense. There is not one single matchup where Iowa shouldn't have a decisive advantage.
O-Line, quarterback, running backs, receivers, tight ends. Man-for-man, on paper, Iowa's offense is much better than Indiana's defense. There is no getting around that.
Nevertheless, as we know, the game is not played on paper.
Balls can get dropped, players can miss assignments, Ricky Stanzi could have an atavistic flashback to his 2009, four-interception, third-quarter meltdown against IU.
On the other hand, as long as the Hawkeyes play within themselves, and Indiana doesn't miraculously become even an average defensive team, Iowa should score points.
The question is, will they score enough points?
Iowa Vs. Kirk Ferentz's Conservative Tendencies
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Last week, Kirk Ferentz seemingly went against all of his conservative instincts in beating Michigan State.
Up 23-0 with less than two minutes in the half, he went for more points instead of bleeding the rest of the clock.
He left his starters in way past the beginning of garbage time. Up 37-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, his quarterback (ill-advisedly, in my opinion) finished the game.
Up that same 37-6, he even tried a bit of trickeration.
Needless to say, this was very un-Ferentz-like, and I was unquestionably blown away.
Nevertheless, I also think it was appropriate. With an offense hitting on all cylinders, and a quarterback that is playing like an All-American, Kirk Ferentz has to play to his team's strengths.
Right now, its biggest strength might very well be a strong offense, and particularly, an efficient passing game.
Against Indiana, he will be playing the ninth-worst scoring defense in the Big Ten. The points will be there for his offense.
On the other hand, though IU has a pretty lousy defense, they have a potent offense. They are currently averaging 29.38 points per game. This puts them at 51st in the country. Not great, but they are not an offense to be taken lightly.
The question is how many points does Kirk Ferentz feel his team will need before he shuts the offense down, and again, will those points be enough?
Indiana Vs. The Red Zone
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In what is a common theme in Bloomington, red-zone defense is one more defensive category where Indiana is...uhhh...not too good.
They currently rank 10th in the Big Ten in opponents' red-zone conversion percentage.
The Hoosiers' opponents have scored on 22 out of their 24 red-zone opportunities. The two teams that have failed to score in the IU red zone were Ohio State and Michigan. Both teams turned the ball over via an unforced fumble, and, in the case of OSU, a garbage time unforced fumble.
On the other hand, Iowa is fifth in the conference in red-zone offense. Three of their four misses came against Eastern Illinois and Ball State.
Moreover, Iowa is second in the conference in red-zone touchdown percentage.
Ben Chappell Vs. Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood
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Ben Chappell is a good and dangerous quarterback. However, as he heads into the home stretch of his senior year, he is still lacking the degree of consistency and patience you would hope for in a quarterback with his experience.
Although Chappell's overall 2010 numbers are fairly impressive—134.85 efficiency rating along with 18 touchdown passes—those stats lose some of their luster when broken down.
Chappell's numbers against any Big Ten team not named Michigan—i.e. Big Ten defenses with a pulse—include eight interceptions to go with two touchdowns. Against those teams—Ohio State, Illinois and Northwestern—he also has a completion percentage of 54 percent and an efficiency rating of less than 90.
In Iowa, he will be going against the second-best pass defense in the Big Ten, as well as the team with the second most interceptions.
Moreover, despite a somewhat slow start to their season, the Iowa safeties have come on in the last three games. In that time, Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash have picked up a combined four interceptions.
If Chappell gets out of his five-eight yard comfort zone, and if he gets rattled, I wouldn't be surprised if Greenwood and Sash add a few more picks to their yearly totals.
Iowa Vs Yards-After-The-Catch
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As has been previously mentioned, Indiana runs a spread passing attack that is focused on maintaining possession. This is to be differentiated from a passing attack that is focused on making big plays.
The Hoosiers are currently averaging more passing-yards-per-game than any team in the Big Ten, and its not even all that close. They are also averaging the most passing attempts per game.
Despite that—or maybe because of that—they are seventh in yards-per-passing attempt.
Their two top pass catchers—the previously mentioned Demarlo Belcher and Tandon Doss—are the conference's Nos. 1 and 2 in receptions-per-game. They are also ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in yards-per-game.
On the other hand, neither is ranked in the conference's top 20 in yards-per-catch.
In the end, it is very simple. Indiana is going to pass. A lot.
The huge majority of their passes will be short, possession routes. They are going to work the underneath stuff and try to drive down the field.
Much of the key to Iowa's defense—as usual—will be forcing Indiana to play mistake-free football. The priority in doing this will be to not allow any yards after the catch.
This comes down to solid, fundamental tackling.
With potentially every starting linebacker out with injuries, this could be an issue.
Iowa Big Win Hangover Vs. Indiana Playing For The Coach's Job
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Last week, for the third year in a row, Iowa knocked off a Top Five team. Moreover, they did it in impressive fashion.
Before the Iowa game, Michigan State had scored over 30 points per game. Iowa held them to 6. The Spartans had averaged 193.5 yards rushing per game. The Hawks held them to 31.
MSU had let up 17.9 points per game. Iowa scored 30 in the first half.
After a debilitating loss to Wisconsin the previous week, the Hawkeyes were on the ropes and seemingly out of the Big Ten title picture. Now, they are not quite in the driver's seat, but they are very much in the thick of the race.
After such a big win, and before a two-week stretch during which Iowa faces Northwestern and Ohio State, could the Hawks be in for a classic "sandwich" game?
Meanwhile, Indiana is probably playing for its coach's life.
In order for Bill Lynch to remain on the Hoosier sideline in 2011, his team probably needs six wins and bowl eligibility. Right now, they have four wins.
Their remaining schedule has Iowa, a road trip to ninth-ranked Wisconsin, a "home" game in Maryland against Penn State, and the annual battle against Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket.
Get the big upset against the Hawks, and they only have to win one-in-three to save Lynch's job.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
