Iowa Hawkeye Football: The Hawks by the Numbers

The only number that matters is wins. Everything else is window dressing.

I believe that, but I also believe that one can gain a valuable insight into how a team is achieving—or not achieving—those wins through other statistics.

Right now, the Iowa Hawkeyes are 3-1, which is certainly nothing to scoff at. Of course, when you consider that Iowa's opponents this year have a combined record of 5-5 (plus Tennessee Tech is 3-0 in FCS play), it puts things into perspective.

That said, it's been a strange four games, as the Hawks appear to be pass happy this season. They also appear to have turned up the tempo of their offense.

This, of course, was after the Iowa State fiasco and after three unsuccessful quarters of running into nine-man fronts against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Putting 3-1 aside, if you looked at a number of Iowa's current statistics without knowing which team they were, you might be inclined to guess they belonged to the Northwestern Wildcats.

But no, they belong to the Iowa Hawkeyes and through them, perhaps we can gain an understanding of who the 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes really are.

The Iowa Pass Defense...

...is currently 11th in the Big Ten and 86th in the country in opposing quarterback efficiency rating. They have allowed a cumulative rating of 135.54.

This is even more disturbing when one considers that the offenses they have faced thus far are currently ranked 82 (Iowa State), 73 (Pitt) and 93 (ULM) in passing efficiency. Also, Tennessee Tech's quarterbacks had a 93.23 rating against the Hawks. 

Hawk fans might take solace in the fact that the pass defense improved from ISU to Pitt to ULM. However, the 121.85 efficiency rating that the Hawks let up against Louisiana-Monroe is still seven points higher than the Warhawks season ranking after four games (115.34).

Opposing Teams Are Rushing on Iowa...

...41 times per game. That is 11th in the Big Ten and 95th in the country. This is both perplexing and disturbing.

Perplexing because while Iowa's rush defense has not been up to what we have come to expect from the Iowa D—they have allowed 3.23 yards per carry, which is sixth in the conference—it has been much steadier and dependable than the pass defense, as evidenced on the previous slide.

Disturbing because one is left to wonder what opposing offensive coordinators see that is pushing them to rush so often against a defense that has a reputation for squashing the run.

This is in contrast with the painful fact that said defense also has a reputation for allowing short yardage passing almost without a whimper.

If I were an opposing OC, I would pass, pass, pass against the Hawks, ala Northwestern.

Am I missing something?

The Iowa Rushing Offense...

...is 10th in the conference with 3.93 yards per carry. The only teams with a worse ypc are Michigan State, who has major offensive line problems, and Indiana, who is Indiana. That's right. Minnesota, who lost to North Dakota State, is outrushing the Hawks.

Further complicating that, Iowa's longest rushing play thus far this season is 26 yards. That is last in the Big Ten.

Moreover, the Hawks have had 15 rushing plays over 10 yards and two over 20, which puts them second-to-last in the conference in the first category and last in the latter.

By comparison, Wisconsin—the third-best rushing team in the conference—has 31 rushing plays over 10 yards, or more than double what Iowa has in that department.

The Iowa Kickoff Coverage...

...hasn't fared very well thus far this season.

Specifically, the kickoff coverage ranks 11th in the conference, having allowed 24.04 yards per return. The only team behind them is MSU, whose stats are skewed because they've let up one touchdown return.

This has been a problem for two seasons, and it won't get any easier considering Iowa plays three teams—Nebraska, Northwestern and Michigan State—that are currently top 20 nationally in kickoff return average.

The coverage improved against ULM, but the second half saw Iowa let up a 38-yard return—which was minimized by an excessive celebration penalty—to the Warhawks, who are ranked 79th in the country on returns.

The Iowa Bend-Don't-Break Defense...

...has allowed the most passing plays of 30 yards or longer in the conference.

This is perhaps the most surprising stat of all.

The Hawks have allowed seven such plays. Some of it is understandable, as Iowa has been breaking in new safeties.

On the other hand, none of Iowa's opponents thus far have offenses that are built for long passing plays. At the very least, none of the Hawks' opponents have found much success in terms of passing plays longer than 30 yards, except against Iowa.

In fact, six of the 11 30 yards or longer passing plays that ISU, PItt and ULM have managed thus far this season, have come at the hands of the Hawkeyes.

Particularly notable has been the play of cornerback Shaun Prater, who came into this season as a lock to get drafted in the fourth round at the very least. However, multiple undisciplined plays are putting him on shaky ground.

The Iowa Passing Offense...

...ranks third in the conference with an efficiency rating of 154.04.

Moreover, Iowa has the second-most touchdown passes in the conference (10), is tied for fewest interceptions (one)  and is third in the conference with passing attempts (136).

On top of that, James Vandenberg has the third-best individual QB efficiency rating and the second-most yards.

Obviously, those numbers are skewed by the fourth quarter of the Pitt game, where Iowa became Mike Leach-esque.

However, for those that want the Hawks to adopt a pass-first offense, the numbers are very telling.

Both Marvin McNutt and Keenan Davis...

...rank amongst the top five in the conference in yards receiving. Also, McNutt is amongst the top five in receptions while Davis is No. 6. Moreover, McNutt is No. 7 in yards per catch while Davis is 12.

Lastly, McNutt is tied for second in the conference with four touchdown grabs while both Davis and third receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley are tied for fifth with three.

As for KMM, he is tied for ninth in the conference with 14 receptions and is 13th with 181 yards.

Moreover, Marcus Coker has the most catches among Big Ten running backs with 11.

Now, if Iowa could only find a dependable tight end.

The Iowa Offense...

...has the most passing plays in the conference of 10 and 20 yards or longer.

They also rank 15th in the country in passing plays of 10 yards or longer and fifth in the country in passing plays of 20 yards or longer.

In short, if teams keep putting everybody in the box and blitzing mercilessly, it looks like Iowa might make them pay.

The Iowa Defense Has Allowed a Third-Down Conversion Rate...

...of 46.88 percent. That is second-to-last in the conference and 99th nationally.

More than anything else, this has been due to a weak pass rush.

Though the Hawks have a respectable seven sacks, which is tied for fourth in the conference, at times, they have allowed quarterbacks to sit in the pocket for far too long.

This has been complicated by contain issues Iowa has had against dual-threat quarterbacks. Defensive ends have beaten their man and gone for the quarterback, only to have shifty signal-callers rush right by them and scurry for the first down.

This was a huge problem against Iowa State, and while it hasn't been as much of an issue since, both Pitt and ULM exploited the Hawkeye defensive line for big quarterback gains on third down.

This will have to improve, as letting up a 3rd-and-2 is one thing, but letting up a 3rd-and-12 and a 3rd-and-7—both of which Iowa did against ULM— is something else entirely.

The Iowa Punt Return Unit...

...ranks eighth in the conference with an average of 8.60 yards per return on five return attempts.

Heading into the ULM game, Iowa had a total of three punt returns for zero yards.

This is an extremely telling statistic for a number of reasons. Firstly, Iowa has the fourth-fewest returns in the conference. In order to have a punt return, the defense in question has to force a punt. Remember that third down conversion rate.

Secondly, when Iowa does force a punt, the coverage unit is not giving return man Micah Hyde a chance to do anything with the ball.

Thirdly, when Micah Hyde does get the ball, he just isn't doing much.

On the flip side of that, the Iowa punt coverage unit has been solid, ranking third in the conference with a 5.20 yards per return allowed. Punter Eric Guthrie has done all that could have been asked of him, as he is also third in the conference with an average of 44.87 yards per punt.