Iowa Hawkeyes: What Went Wrong Against Penn State?

A tough outing for the Iowa Hawkeyes on both sides of the ball against Penn State led to an ugly loss, and Hawkeye fans have trouble pinpointing what exactly went wrong. This article will outline a couple things that went wrong against Penn State.

Three receptions and 48 yards just wasn't enough from senior receiver Marvin McNutt to push the Hawkeyes to victory. Although he can't control how many targets he gets, the amount he receives is vital to the offense and the first thing that went wrong.

If we examine McNutt's stats through the first five games of the season, in the three Hawkeye victories he has a combined 352 yards on 21 receptions. Looking to the losses, he has seven receptions for 109 yards.

The obvious thing we have to see is that he has a massive amount of receptions and yards in victories, versus the losses. So what do the Hawkeyes need to do to win? Get McNutt the ball. That is something that is easier said than done, but the coaching staff needs to find creative ways to get McNutt even more involved for more receptions.

Part of the reason McNutt didn't get the ball as much was because the flow of the entire offense was minimal. The 13-3 loss to Penn State was the first time the Iowa offense had been held without a touchdown in years. The Hawks had trouble sustaining drives and it shows in the time of possession battle; the Hawkeyes were in control of the ball for only 24:06, versus Penn State's 35:54.  

Coach Kirk Ferentz also elected not to use a running back rotation, as Marcus Coker was the only rusher with 18 carries for 74 yards and a 4.1 yards per carry (YPC). The offensive push just did not look great.

Just an overall bad day for the offense.

The biggest thing that went wrong for the defense is the lack of urgency and emotion from the unit. Throughout the whole season the defense has seemed lackadaisical and has little to no will to make big plays, playing contently to hold an offense to three points instead of making a big hit for a fumble, or making the pick six.

The two keys the Hawks need to focus on is get the ball to Marvin McNutt and play with a little emotion. Otherwise, this will be another under-performing Hawkeyes squad destined to another early bowl game.