Having a high threshold of boredom, I found Saturday's game, even the first half, fascinating. Many posters have commented on Bowser's great game and Thorson's poor one, but few have tried to connect their performances to Iowa and the Iowa defensive game plan. Clearly, Bowser had the the game of his young career, and Thorson was not at his best, though the result was a victory. Watching from the warm comfort of my West Coast couch, I did not feel how the cold and field conditions may have affected the play, and my viewing was further limited by the way the camera did and did not view the full field of play. Nonetheless, a few things jumped out at me within these limitations. Iowa used an interesting defensive game plan, played with discipline and almost gave the Hawkeyes a win.
Iowa has an excellent defensive line, and it seems to me that their defensive game plan was built around this strength. From what I could see, they seemed to commit safety help on Nagel almost all the time, and he was pretty much bracketed all day. In addition, they seemed to hold their middle linebacker off the line to give help on Green on his crossing pattern. Both of these were pretty much predicated on relying on their front four to control the line against the run and bring pressure against the pass, particularly on first down.
The upshot of this is that the Cats were able to get a blocking advantage on first down almost the whole game, and they responded by giving the ball to Bowser on first down on almost every down series, getting a very healthy average in doing so. Iowa was basically daring the Cats to try to beat them by running power football; the Cats responded by trying to do so, and while 14 points is hardly an eruption of offense, it was enough.
On second downs, following up from the initial success, Iowa did crowd the box a little more. When the ball was handed off, they tended to be able to control the gaps and limit the damage, and when the Cats tried to throw, they pretty much overwhelmed Hance and collapsed the pocket all day. Where Bowser won the day was on third and short. He had enough drive, coupled with good lead blocking, to convert in the third and fourth quarter and turn the tide.
Thorson was not precise in his placement, but he was also hurt by some dropped balls. He was more hampered because Iowa sold out to defend against Nagel and Green and remove his first two favored options. For whatever reason, he did not target his other wide receivers often, but McCall did release Bowser as a check down to good result. Also, he did find Skowronek when it counted, and along with the persistence shown by McCall and Bowser, that was enough to win the game. In reality, winning with only 14 points, even on a cold day, is an event the offense should thank the defense for saving their collective bacon, but each team played within their vision and areas of competence.
I have to give the Iowa defense credit. They are very good, had a good plan, and played an incredibly disciplined game. If Skowronek does not make the catch, they may well have limited the Cats to 7 points.
I also think Minnesota will return to a more balanced defense against the Cats, though they may try to bracket Nagel. The real dilemma, particularly for a DC who does not have Iowa's line, is whether to try to limit the Superback crossing or a now proven tough power runner in Bowser. I think Minnesota will open the middle, and so I expect Thorson to have a much better game Saturday than the ones he has had the last few weeks.
Iowa has an excellent defensive line, and it seems to me that their defensive game plan was built around this strength. From what I could see, they seemed to commit safety help on Nagel almost all the time, and he was pretty much bracketed all day. In addition, they seemed to hold their middle linebacker off the line to give help on Green on his crossing pattern. Both of these were pretty much predicated on relying on their front four to control the line against the run and bring pressure against the pass, particularly on first down.
The upshot of this is that the Cats were able to get a blocking advantage on first down almost the whole game, and they responded by giving the ball to Bowser on first down on almost every down series, getting a very healthy average in doing so. Iowa was basically daring the Cats to try to beat them by running power football; the Cats responded by trying to do so, and while 14 points is hardly an eruption of offense, it was enough.
On second downs, following up from the initial success, Iowa did crowd the box a little more. When the ball was handed off, they tended to be able to control the gaps and limit the damage, and when the Cats tried to throw, they pretty much overwhelmed Hance and collapsed the pocket all day. Where Bowser won the day was on third and short. He had enough drive, coupled with good lead blocking, to convert in the third and fourth quarter and turn the tide.
Thorson was not precise in his placement, but he was also hurt by some dropped balls. He was more hampered because Iowa sold out to defend against Nagel and Green and remove his first two favored options. For whatever reason, he did not target his other wide receivers often, but McCall did release Bowser as a check down to good result. Also, he did find Skowronek when it counted, and along with the persistence shown by McCall and Bowser, that was enough to win the game. In reality, winning with only 14 points, even on a cold day, is an event the offense should thank the defense for saving their collective bacon, but each team played within their vision and areas of competence.
I have to give the Iowa defense credit. They are very good, had a good plan, and played an incredibly disciplined game. If Skowronek does not make the catch, they may well have limited the Cats to 7 points.
I also think Minnesota will return to a more balanced defense against the Cats, though they may try to bracket Nagel. The real dilemma, particularly for a DC who does not have Iowa's line, is whether to try to limit the Superback crossing or a now proven tough power runner in Bowser. I think Minnesota will open the middle, and so I expect Thorson to have a much better game Saturday than the ones he has had the last few weeks.
