Iowa in Insight Bowl: Defense Key to Any Possible Hawkeye Victory

The Insight Bowl on December 30th pits Oklahoma against Iowa.  In most seasons, that would seem like a pretty good bowl game.  This season, however, both teams have generally disappointed and finished the regular season far under expectations.

Iowa finished the regular season 7-5, going 4-4 in conference play and finishing tied with Purdue for sixth in the Big Ten.  The Hawkeyes weren't bad, but they were thoroughly mediocre, as evidenced by the fact that they ranked in the middle of the pack nationally in just about every major statistical category.

Oklahoma had a better record at 9-3, but was quite disappointing for a team that was No. 1 in the preseason polls.  The Sooners also ranked much better statistically than Iowa, with the No. 4 passing offense in the country and No. 10 scoring offense.

The eyeball test and statistics favor Oklahoma in this matchup, as evidenced by the fact that Oklahoma is a 14-point favorite in this game.

As heavy underdogs, what exactly does Iowa need to do in order to pull off the upset?

Quite simply, the Hawkeyes are going to need their defense to step up big time.

Oklahoma has an incredibly high-powered offense, as evidenced by its 10th-ranked scoring output.  Iowa, on the other hand, is simply not geared for shootouts, ranking 53rd in scoring offense.

Taking a closer look, the Sooners scored at least 35 points nine times this season.  The Hawkeyes, on the other hand, managed at least 35 points on only four occasions.

The Hawkeyes simply don't have the firepower needed to go toe-to-toe with Oklahoma in an offensive shootout.

What Coach Kirk Ferentz should be focusing on right now is a gameplan focused heavily on shutting down the Oklahoma offense while emphasizing ball security for the Iowa offense.

While Oklahoma does have a powerful offense, it can be stopped, as evidenced by the fact that Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Florida State were all able to hold the Sooners to under 30 points.  Oklahoma State, especially, was effective in neutralizing the Sooner offense, as it held Oklahoma to only 10 points.

The Sooner offense has backtracked a bit in the second half of the season, after losing starting running back Dominique Whaley and star receiver Ryan Broyles to injury.  These losses place more of the offensive load on QB Landry Jones.

Although Jones is a stellar quarterback, when defenses really key in on him and aggressively pressure him, he becomes significantly less effective and more error-prone.  Oklahoma State used an extremely aggressive, blitz-heavy defensive scheme to get after Jones. 

The results were undeniable.  After being sacked only six times all season, Jones was sacked three times in the OSU game alone.  The Cowboys also had four hurries, pressured Jones into throwing two interceptions and forced Jones to fumble the ball twice, one of which was returned for a defensive touchdown and the other which was returned to the one-yard line.

Jones finished the game with only 250 yards on 50 attempts, with a completion percentage of only 54 percent.  He also ended with two fumbles, two interceptions and no touchdowns.

If the Hawkeyes are able to get a similar amount of pressure on Jones, the outlook for Iowa will be quite favorable.  Without Broyles as a go-to receiver, Jones has few favorable safety options to throw to when under pressure, especially with first-team All-Big Ten DB Shaun Prater roaming the secondary for Iowa.

Oklahoma's running game is decent, but Whaley's replacement at running back, Roy Finch, is a smaller player that is good for big plays, but not consistent move-the-chains type of downhill running.  The Sooners simply cannot abandon their passing game even if Jones is being pressured into inconsistency and turnovers, because they can't rely on their running game to shoulder a heavy load. 

Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker has been notoriously conservative with his defensive play-calling this season, seldom blitzing or bringing pressure.  He's going to need to change that if the Hawkeyes are to have any hope of of slowing down the Oklahoma offense and giving the Iowa offense a realistic chance to win.