Rutgers vs. Iowa Takeaways
I've had a few days to recover from and digest the Rutgers 14-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. I correctly
picked Rutgers to cover the 13.5 point spread, but I certainly didn't
anticipate how close the game would actually be and that Rutgers ,
in my opinion, should have won the game.
Before I get into breaking down what I thought were suspect
decisions, I want to take a moment to express my well wishes to Janarion Grant
and Quanzell Lambert, after both sustained season-ending injuries in the game.
They will both be missed and were having excellent seasons to this point. Chris
Ash mentioned in his Monday press conference that Rutgers
will petition the NCAA for another year of eligibility for both men. Let's hope
we see them back on the banks. But if not, thank you for everything!
Despite having the team well-prepared, I believe this loss
was on the coaches. Rutgers came up empty on
three of the four trips to the red zone. On the first trip, Chris Laviano back
pedaled on third down, taking a backbreaking sack to pull the team out of field
goal range. That one was on him for not getting rid of the ball. Getting three
there would've certainly helped, but it wasn't what unsaddled the Knights.
The other two trips to the red zone should've resulted in
field goals. Had the trip at the end of the first half resulted in a field goal
rather than a turnover on downs who knows how the game would've turned out. We
don't know if Iowa
would've still marched down for a score at the end of the half. My main issue
with going for it on 4th down was that a chip-shop field goal would've given RU
the lead in a game where the defense had been very good. And I always feel that
when you have an opportunity to take the lead, you take the lead, regardless of
other factors. Not only did Rutgers not take the lead, they gave Iowa the momentum.
Still, I was a little surprised at the play calling on first
and second down. If they were going to take Laviano out of the game to call
keepers in a goal-line situation I would've like to have seen Giovanni Rescigno
in the game rather than Tylin Oden. Don't get me wrong, Oden is a dynamic
runner. But on Rescigno's one carry against Howard he carried guys on his back
for five yards before bulldozing into the end zone. It seems he would've had
the most muscle in a short-yardage situation. Or, I would've like to have seen
Robert Martin or Josh Hicks get carries there. Both guys, have a little more
"ass behind them," to borrow a phrase from Drew Mehringer. Then, on
the fourth down play, they have Laviano run the pitch option, a play that I'm
sure both Zach Allen and Tylin Oden have more experience executing based on
their offensive systems in high school.
Speaking of Mehringer's comments that Oden "didn't have
the ass behind him" to get through the line; it would've been even crazier
if his ass was in front of him, no? I kid.
Mehringer also said the loss "definitely stings"
and made him want to "vomit." But there were some positives on
offense. Aside from the sack he took on the first drive, Chris Laviano played a
solid game. Head Coach Chris Ash, "thought Chris did a nice job
today." He didn't turn the ball over, passed for more yardage than Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, and Rutgers converted a
higher percentage of third downs than did Iowa . Rutgers also had more first downs than
Iowa and
equaled the Hawkeyes total for rushing yards.
Other things of note on offense are that Robert Martin had
his 2nd straight 100-yard game and Andrew Patton had his 3rd consecutive game
with a touchdown reception. Let's hope both players keep it going against Ohio State
Jay Niemann was happy that his defense held Iowa to 3 of 11 on
third-down conversions. And you can see the defense was pumped and flying.
Despite giving up some big runs, it's an accomplishment for them to have held Iowa to 14 points, with
one of the touchdowns coming after Patton's alleged turnover gave the Hawkeyes
a short field.
Speaking of Patton's fumble, when I first saw the play I
thought that the Iowa
defender got some of Patton's face mask as they were fighting for the ball. I
looking at the replay more closely, I was probably off base on that. But I'm
still not sure Patton ever had possession if you consider that the defender's
had was in there the entire time. Not sure how Patton could've ever possessed
the ball if the defender's hand is also touching the ball the entire time.
Getting back to the defense, Kiy Hester seemingly had his
name called during the broadcast after every defensive play. He ended up finishing
with 11 tackles and 2 pass break-ups. Hester now leads the team with 26
tackles. Deonte Roberts was another defensive player who stood out, gathering a
career-high 9 tackles in the contest.
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