Insight Bowl: How Will Suspensions and Departures Affect the Iowa Hawkeyes?
Insight Bowl: Iowa will take on Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl tomorrow night, but the Hawkeyes will be a little short-handed.
Iowa's career pass receptions leader Derrell Johnson-Koulianos is done as a Hawkeye after being arrested on seven drug-related charges in his Iowa City home last week.
The Hawkeyes will also be without leading rusher Adam Robinson, who is suspended for the game even though Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz did not give a specific reason for the suspension.
It was also revealed that two other Iowa running backs—Jewel Hampton (who is injured) and Brandon Wegher—will transfer from the university.
With some of the team's biggest offensive weapons gone, it'll be a tough road for the Hawkeyes when they take on the Tigers tomorrow.
So just how exactly will these suspensions and departures affect Iowa?
10. Push Kirk Ferentz Closer to Leaving the School
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Florida has a new coach. So does Miami and most of the other major programs with recent head coaching vacancies.
But Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has been a hot commodity on the coaching market for several years now, and his name will continue to pop up as long as college coaches continue to get fired.
Ferentz has been linked to numerous schools in the past, but he's stayed at Iowa every time...so far.
As we saw with Pete Carroll at USC, college football coaches aren't immune to leaving amidst controversy.
Ferentz may follow suit.
Even though the slim number of appealing job opportunities will likely prevent him from bolting Iowa this year, you have to think Iowa's recent off-the-field problems, coupled with the team's on-field struggles, could push Ferentz closer to another job opening.
9. Improve Team Chemistry
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Take one bad apple out of the bunch, and the rest often seem to get better.
In this case, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Adam Robinson are the bad apples (in much different contexts, obviously), and taking them off Iowa's offense could actually be a blessing in disguise.
Will the Hawkeyes miss their skills on the football field? Yes, without a doubt.
Will the Hawkeyes miss some of the baggage that comes along with them? No, they won't.
Iowa will undoubtedly take a hit to the team's talent level, but that could result in improved team chemistry.
I mean, did anyone watch the Cincinnati Bengals—without Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco—beat down the San Diego Chargers yesterday?
I'm just saying.
8. Put the Team's Hopes on Ricky Stanzi
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Ricky Stanzi has been the backbone of the Hawkeyes in 2010.
The senior quarterback has completed 64.8 percent of his passes, thrown for more than 2,800 yards and accounted for 27 total touchdowns to just four interceptions.
Stanzi's name was even mentioned in early Heisman conversations before Iowa tanked at the end of the season.
He's been Iowa's best player this season, and that'll have to continue for the Hawkeyes to have any chance against Missouri.
Stanzi hasn't had a 300-yard passing game all season, but he might have to if Iowa is going to stay on pace with the Tigers offense.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Destroy Iowa's Image
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Want to tarnish the image of a school that's had a great reputation for years?
The formula is simple.
Throw in several grams of marijuana (allegedly), sprinkle in a little bit of cocaine possession (allegedly), mix with a couple of player transfers/suspensions and then top off with a reported loophole in the drug testing process.
Toss that thing in the oven for 90 minutes, and what do you get?
Iowa football.
The integrity of the Hawkeyes program has taken a huge hit recently—pun intended—and that's an easy way to turn off recruits.
6. Take Away Iowa's Biggest Threat in the Passing Game
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Questionable character aside, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos has played a critical part in Iowa's recent success.
He is the school's all-time leader in receptions with 173, and he has topped 2,600 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns during his career.
During the 2010 season, Johnson-Koulianos had 46 catches for 745 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He had two 100-yard performances and caught three touchdowns against Michigan earlier in the season.
In other words, Johnson-Koulianos was Iowa's best wide receiver.
But he's no longer a Hawkeye, and his production will be hard to replace.
5. It Will Be a Distraction
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I was recently in my university's library studying for grad school finals when a smoking hot brunette girl walked past my table.
She slowly strolled through the library stacks in the jaw-dropping fashion that you only see in movies.
And yeah, my jaw dropped, my studying stopped and I got nothing done the rest of the day.
The image of that gorgeous stranger—who was easily a 9.8 out of 10, by the way—was stuck in my mind, and I couldn't get her out of my head for anything.
My performance on the final subsequently faltered because my thoughts were elsewhere for the next week of my life.
The same will happen to Iowa.
Maybe not quite how I described it, but you get the point: The Hawkeyes will be too distracted in this one.
4. The Hawkeyes Defense Must Continue to Dominate
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Iowa's defense has been the team's biggest strength in 2010.
The Hawkeyes rank 15th in the nation in total yards allowed (317.1 per game) and seventh in points allowed (16.4 per game).
Iowa also ranks sixth in rushing yards allowed (103.5 per game) and is tied for seventh in turnover margin at plus-13.
The Hawkeyes defense has held its opponents to single-digit points five times and has only given up more than 28 points once this year
It truly has been a dominant unit all season, but that's only translated to seven wins.
With the Hawkeyes missing some key offensive pieces, look for Iowa's defense to step up again with another incredible performance.
3. A Bigger Role for Marcus Coker
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With Adam Robinson out and Jewel Hampton and Brandon Wegher headed elsewhere, Iowa's running back duties will fall on Marcus Coker.
The 6'0", 230-pound freshman has seen limited action this season, but he's shown flashes of brilliance when he has been on the field.
Coker racked up 129 yards against Indiana, he rushed for 90 yards against Minnesota and he gained 70 yards on just nine carries against a very good Ohio State defense.
On the season, Coker has rushed for 403 yards on 81 carries and scored one touchdown.
The potential is certainly there, and he's shown he has the ability to compete at the college level.
Expect Coker to be the team's featured back against Missouri.
Expect good things from him too.
2. Limit the Effectiveness of Iowa's Running Game
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Although Marcus Coker is a nice fill-in for Adam Robinson, he isn't a replacement.
Robinson has totaled 941 rushing yards, 290 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns on the season despite missing two games.
In 10 games of action, Robinson has six 100-yard rushing performances and four games with at least two total touchdowns.
He's played a crucial role on Iowa's offense, and his presence in the running game will truly be missed.
Because as good as Coker might be, there's just not enough game experience from him to think he'll replicate Robinson's success on a consistent basis.
1. Put More Pressure on the Offense
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Although Iowa has looked like a top 10 team on both sides of the ball at times, the team's offense has been pretty mediocre overall.
The Hawkeyes rank 45th in passing yards (237.4 per game), 76th in rushing yards (142 per game) and 49th in points scored (29.1 per game).
With Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Adam Robinson gone, it's hard to think the team's offense will improve in their absence, especially considering the opponent.
Missouri has the nation's No. 6 scoring defense, allowing just 15.2 points per game.
If anything, Ricky Stanzi and company will feel the pressure one would expect from a team missing arguably its two biggest weapons.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
