Hawkeyes are HUMMING: Iowa Throttles Illinois State Behind Second-Half Surge

hello and welcome to hawkey Nation this is hotcast your Iowa football basketball and recruiting podcast brought to you by Hawkeye Beacon and rivals.com I'm your recruiting analyst and host Elliot cluff at Elliot cluff on Twitter joined by Ross binder and Adam jacobe as always we are here on our first recap episode of the 2024 season Iowa defea in Illinois State 40 to Z before we get started make sure you hit that subscribe button wherever you're listening Apple podcast Spotify and if you're on YouTube drop a like drop a comment let us know what you were thinking of today's game obviously a rough first half with the Hawkeyes finish off strong uh before we start as well I have want I want to let folks know I have heard some of the complaints about the issues with my mic I turned the gain down on the mic I I'm hoping that we don't have an issue going forward so just know it's trying to be dealt with if it if it doesn't work here but anyway let's start do you guys want to start off with the the fun part of the game the second half or should we do the thing where you know do you want the good news or the bad news first and everybody always says the bad news yeah yeah it's uh we're gonna do the uh the and I think I'm the first person to ever use this phrase I think this is an Adam jacobe original here a tale of two halves like I I think I just I think I just coined that guys no it it it's it's the biggest cliche in the world but it absolutely applies here even Brock spack used that in his post name comments too uh but yeah the first half really rough and it it really Drew an even sharper contrast to how great the second half was just because there's so many times Iowa fans have seen a Sixpoint or Worse first half and uh usually doesn't get followed up by 34 in the second yeah usually gets followed up by six more or fewer uh in that second half so yeah let's I mean but we do have to talk about the first half and I'd rather not hop into that after we're already talking about the good stuff Let's uh yeah let's let's go to you Ross first here uh what were your your initial thoughts from that first half other than here we go again right well I mean it's hard to you know separate that it it was so much Deja Vu from last year it was like you know a new newish quarterback you know Kate hasn't played in uh 10 games and new coordinator lots of talk about new schemes new offense but the production that we saw in the the first half and especially I would say the first quarter was really really anemic um Iowa went three and out on their first two possessions punted on three of the first four possessions they sandwiched in a field goal there but that was set up by a short field from a uh a turnover Force by the defense def so the offense actually didn't move the ball very far at all on that field goal Drive uh there was 34 yards I I believe of offense in the first quarter it was just truly it was like all right don't want to overreact don't want to panic but this is really bad and this is exactly the same uh junk that Iowa fans saw on offense you know week after week last year it was like okay what's changed and I do think things started to change in the second quarter um the it didn't change on the scoreboard really there's only three more points in the uh second quarter went up to 3 nothing to six nothing but the production started to be there they were actually getting some first downs actually moving the ball they had uh over a 100 yards of offense in the second quarter um there was some production going on in the passing game the running game was getting a little bit going so it's like okay the underlying stuff is looking better here but I still need points I mean a six nothing lead uh you feel better about that than you would most teams because I was defense is good enough it's like wow that's they can hold that right but uh you don't want to trust you know that they can just shut A team out even though obviously they they can and they did um so yeah that's kind of where I was at in the first half what did it what it look like to you guys from the Press Box it continued to look Bleak uh from from our vantage point in that first quarter too and and yeah we could hear the boob birds from the Press Box through that that pain glass and I got to tell you like I get where they were coming from yeah imagine that uh no but it it made sense right because it looked like so many of those anemic games that Iowa played last year and it also mirrored so much of you know the excuses they Val excuses but there's still excuses that Iowa fans heard from Kirk ference about Deacon Hill last year which is hasn't had a whole lot of time to prepare right um you know uh being thrown into a a position that he wasn't really ready for okay yeah the first part absolutely mirrored where Kade mcnamer was coming back from that knee injury and this being his first game in 11 months and uh you know the last time that that fans saw him uh was at kid State and that was a debacle we can call it that it was a debacle and you know fence was saying well you know he did look a little bit more comfortable yeah he he did you know Tu tuck the ball in and run and and he looked good on his feet and you know fans were thinking all right but throw the ball like like like complete some passes and the fact that you know mcnamer had a a pretty rough first quarter and a lot of it was ma uh mechanical on his part you know a lot of those backf foot throws some of that had to do with the pressure that Illinois state was putting on him some of it I I think was just a like all right first game in 11 months you know like there there was some Rust that had to be shaken off despite all that practice that you know he'd been having over over those last few weeks faen says it all the time you know you can practice all you want things are a little bit different in these game situations and and so of course fans when they see a first quarter where Iowa gains 34 yards of offense against Illinois State and can't get a first down until their fourth drive of the game despite all these great field positions that the defense is giving these guys of course they think it's more of the same of course it's dejad Vu you know of course it's uh post Bri ference traumatic uh stress disorder right like it is so PBF PSD that's a mouthful you know it's all understandable and the fact that they were able to turn that on the fact that this Tim Lester system actually showed some green shoots actually showed them what functioning capable offense can look like in game one is actually kind of remarkable to me Ellie do you agree yeah you know I let's there there are a couple things that I wna that I want to hit on from this first quarter and Adam the the main thing that you said that I was going to reiterate is the fact that Cade was throwing off his back foot for a good por of that portion of that first quarter that there were a couple throws from the first quarter first half where it just looked like what did I say in the Press Box I I don't know does Kate have The Yips that's what it looked like for those of you who don't know what The Yips are it's just a mental thing like you can make the play but your body and your mind are there's like a a disconnect and and I think it's a lot of that's anxiety we might call it The Yips in sports but it's an anxiety and I don't know if it's and what it seemed like is Kade needing to get hit right that first hit because he hasn't been hit in a long time I mean you I mean we talk to people behind the scenes and you know folks around the defensive line are like I'm not touching him I'm not going to be the one who hurts him right and so that that was big for for Kate I think just to get that first hit know his body is okay even though like that big run he had in the first quarter that got called back by a penalty where I'm sure Kirk was all sorts of upset about it in in his basement in his man cave but um it it definitely seemed like Kade settled in after that right there was that throw to Luke way behind him to the that would have been a touchdown if if that was in the second half that that run up the scene by Luke Luke Lee that that was a touchdown in the second second half because of the way Cade settled in and was playing how he can play and I I know a lot of folks were overreacting and making the easy conclusion oh the offensive line is bad the offensive line still sucks all these things when in all reality Illinois state was loading the Box because they knew they could and like Kade wasn't making the throws where you have to respect his ability to make those throws and go over the top and so they loaded the box and you can only get you can't get a hat on a hat right if it's eight and nine matching up against five or six you can't you just fundamentally can't block and that's why the Run game struggled in the first half and what happened in the second half Kade was making throws and then Caleb Johnson takes 11 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns right like it just opened everything up that's why they scored 34 unanswered points in the second half on top of ree vandery turning into Randy Moss but a variety of things that went into that flip going to the second half and why they struggled and what's the thing we always hear from the staff and from players oh we just got to execute we just got to execute well that was actually the case today right it didn't look like they were you know like the play calling was bad it didn't look like uh you know things were going arai in terms of maybe adjustments or what have you it was just flat out we need to execute better particularly Kate he missed he was late on throws he was behind Rees on that uh cut over the middle he was you know we were kind of going back and forth whether or not that pass to the flat to Kamari was kade's fault or kamari's fault either way it was bad uh so just just a variety of things that that went into that first half to second half flip Yeah you mentioned the blocking and I think that was a if anything an underappreciated part of why Iowa's offense was so bad in the first half because Illinois state was just spamming the same sort of concept which is just overload The Edge and there's there's nothing that any tackle much less Jennings dunker or Mason Richmond and and and again no no knock on either of those guys because by and large they had great days but if you know no tackle is going to be able to block two or three guys coming off the edge at once and uh Illinois State figured out that that's where the weak spot was going to be in I was blocking schemes and you know you get a guy flying in untouched off the edge and not only does that disrupt the timing of your passing game it also means that these run plays especially these outside zones and stretches uh get run down from behind by an un uh marked block or excuse me a tackler so the fact that Iowa was able to uh adjust to that in the second half uh not quick quick enough I would say for fan taste because everybody in the stadium knew what was going to be happening by about drive two right that's that's how much the red birds were were spamming this because they knew that Iowa hadn't adjusted to it yet and it really derailed things for most of the first half once Iowa figured out how to at the very least get a hat on a hat Elliot like you mentioned and it didn't hurt that Caleb Johnson came into the game too but once they figured out some assignments that actually put these guys in position to succeed the execution was there and and they were gang busters in the second half uh guys listen to these stats for Kad mcnamer in the second half 13 for 14 177 yards three touchdowns in one half a football from an Iowa quarterback like those are like like that that's a Boise State quarterback throwing for 50,000 yards right that is what do you got Elliot you know what else they were four of five on third down yeah that's a big big improvement over last year a huge Improvement and to only have five third Downs that's telling of offensive efficiency right there so that's essentially say did I think Rees only punted once in the second half then if that's the case yeah they the second half they had every Drive Ed in a touchdown except one Punt and then the end of the game was just the they ran out the clock yeah um that punt by the way only happened because Iowa had 15 yards of penalties on back-to-back plays and it still took a drop pass on Third and three to end that series like that is how well Iowa's execution uh improved in the second half the Illinois needed a lot of help to get that Hawkeye offense off the field and again like that that seems pretty pedestrian for the other 133 schools in FBS but hearing that about an Iowa offense is borderline bizarre I you know some folks on our our board were joking when I I had a criticism of that screenplay where both Stevens and was it Tyler Ellsbury were facing the wrong direction I turn themselves around yeah still very perplexed by that that was so weird anyway so folks on our premium board were joking and saying baby steps Elliott and you know honestly like you you mentioned these these stats not being the greatest thing in the world for the rest of the FBS but baby steps man and this is a big baby step this is a fat baby step if I've ever seen one I mean it's a big ass baby I mean you say that Adam and it's it's true to an extent but they also wound up with almost 500 yards of offense which most teams outside of like Oregon would say that's a that's a really good day Oregon's like well that's that's an average day but um that's the first quarter inene yeah um but yeah I mean 500 yards is I think it I looked it up when it went back to the uh Middle Tennessee game I think from several years ago they had 644 yards in that game which is ostr but that was uh five six years ago so been been a long long time now to wrap up the talk of the first half and going into the second and I guess that you know speaking of the the Hawkeyes and and the team as a whole what I tweeted at one point in the first half was what's the likelihood we see Brennan Sullivan in this game and then after the game I I put on our board asking is this quarterback battle over I also put it on Twitter but on our our premium board let's see here 60% of people said that yes quarterback battle is over 7% said no while for excuse me 32.6% said it's still to be determined isn't that the same as [Laughter] no yeah okay yeah kinda all right okay yeah all right semantics semantics but anyway yeah but you know what I mean right like I maybe so to me after the game you know immediately after the game everybody's you know emotions are very tied to what just happened and then you can kind of take a step back right I the end of the game I was like I think Kade just locked up the starting job but what if Kade comes out and throws three picks next week you know and I don't want to get too hard far too far ahead of ourselves but I don't think he's necessarily locked it up I thought it was a fair question though what do you guys think I mean I think it's reasonable that people want to see what he can do against you know the other ISU I gets to play two isus in a row to start the season somehow and uh Iowa state is you know not only a big 12 team but they have a good defense so it's going to be you know a good step up in in difficulty uh for Kade and the rest of the offense next week to see I think to prove that the gains that we saw in the second half like how much of that was real how much of that was you know Illinois State getting worn down uh getting tired Etc um I think you know there's a lot to like about that second half there are still some question marks to say okay this was good but do it again and do it against uh better competition um as far as locking up the job I think what this did is it it helps give ference more confidence in giving him a longer leash I think uh as a starting quarterback um I think it's clear that ference has been leaning towards Cade the whole time you know he's said that in as many words it feels like and you just he rates experience so highly and Kade has a lot of experience that he you know respects and values tremendously so given that I think as long as Kade uh you know produces then it makes it easier for fence to keep trusting him you know two-year hypothetical if he goes out and throws three interceptions in the first half or something next week boy that would be a real interesting uh halftime conversation and uh hopefully it's not something we're speaking into existence by the way but and with that said I'm sorry to interject here Adam I'll go right to you that Luke throw that was swatted down in the first half today that's probably a pick against the power four right so things really could have gone way more ay than they did in the first half Ross I agree like I I think what it did is uh it added a a lot of leash like it it added some length of leash to uh where magir is standing because not only does it prove that Fenson company had a pretty good idea uh you know that like they thought he would do well took a slow start but he did well and the slow start part of it it got mentioned by uh Seth Wallace at the uh end of his press conference but I I think it really is telling because so many Iowa fans most of them saw that slow start and thought he doesn't have the juice right that that oh you know he's not ready yet who knows if he'll ever fire Tim Lester fire everybody Etc like all that gloom and doom started up again and in reality the slow start was just that a slow start and once they got that clicking all of a sudden this Tim Lester offense turned from this theoretical new toy to something that actually works right the proof of concept is there with Cade mamera under Center very specifically so Elliot to your scenario I think the big thing here is if he throws three picks absolutely like you got to be looking at Sullivan at that point but the fact is that he threw zero picks in this game and and only a couple that were really in any sort of danger the the uh you mentioned that that that under throat of Lee also we we should point out that that second touchdown by vandery also a backfoot throw and like his mechanics were wild and awful and it took a really great play by vandery to turn that from a like a a deacon ball for lack of a better term to a touchdown now again we're we're talking about some you know like the exceptions that prove the rule because most of mn's passes were on target they're where you wanted them to be and especially once you got rid of the drops from the first half and there were three of them he really really locked in in that second half and you know he's not going to complete over 90% of his passes the rest of the way right like that second half is not how it's all going to be uh but at the very least we know what success looks like and that is what they're going to have to try to replicate against these tougher defenses and boy Iowa State if you look at the stats from this game you know they they they won pretty handily 21 to3 not really anything remarkable the big stat that jumped out to me 40 pass attempts for North Dakota 120 yards passing or excuse me 30 pass attempts 120 yards so four yards per pass attempt and that is I'm not there's very few games where even he can helded worse than that last year you know that is the sort of that's lockdown stuff that's what Iowa does to opposing quarterbacks so mcnamer is going to have to really get that stepped up and uh you know the the coaches know he knows uh everybody knows that they there is room for improvement and that's sort of the beauty of college football is it's week- to week Improvement there is going to have to be some there but we know what that Improvement looks like at the very least and that and we can also say that this knee thing is really not bothering Kaden mamera anymore like he's tried to tell us so many times and now is the time where fans can actually start to believe that now they can actually believe that because a whole lot of them didn't you look at that little bootle that he essentially a bootleg that he ran against Penn State last year for like 12 yards and he essentially gimped the whole way there and he did not do that today in in the two times he took off and how about that freaking play where he threw it into Zack artw worth broke two tackles spun around and then put it right in the Bread Basket to Zack artw worth that was probably that is that like the best play of his career as an individual like we got to go back to the Michigan days of course but what did I what did I tweet right after that Adam Kade momes because it was momes esque like right it's against Illinois State keep everything in context right but that was a pretty damn impressive play yeah yeah that was a phenomenal play you know I I don't know where it Stacks up in the overall Cade uh Ledger I don't remember a lot of his Michigan plays but it's a low bar but it's certainly the most you know exciting and tremendous play he's had at Iowa uh through five games now uh but it was it was impressive you know he was asked about it after the game and you know Point Blank could he have done this last year he said no he could not have and it's it's it's completely clear no like he was too physically compromised to do that last year and what he showed there today is yeah the physical issues are not there like he can move in the pocket he can move out of the pocket he can uh Escape past rushers and he made a great throw there uh you know on a dime on the move to orw worth down the sideline just a tremendous throw uh so I think not having those physical limitations this year uh is really good and a a huge Improvement for k and you know now it's just a matter of performing with consistency against better defenses too so you know that's just the next step but phenomenal first step today that said uh Adam there was another thing you brought up that I think we definitely need to talk about and it can segue into uh another another topic that we that we need to hit but that second touchdown pass to ree vandery I watched it again when I got home and it was like a fadeaway jumper kind of situation where you're trapped and it's against a bigger player and you just kind of wing it up and it but it goes in that kind of situation now Reese made a phenomenal play what I called him Randy Moss at the beginning of the episode for a reason but when you go back and look at the release Point uh Kate is at a 45 degree angle how about that like again you're not going to make that that type of play against most power four teams Rees really had to make a hell of a catch but he did make the catch right like like and that play was indicative of how much pressure Illinois state was able to get for at least the majority of the first half and no sacks today that's a huge huge step up for the Iowa offensive line absolutely huge and Kade last year with this thigh would have gotten sacked oh several times guarant several times yeah the uh his footwork in the pocket actually looked like Michigan Cade mcamera and that was one of the big reasons why I was excited to see him come to Iowa back in 2022 23 you know back when the expectation was that he would you know come into the game or excuse me come into the season healthy obviously that didn't pan out but all he had to do is watch his Michigan film just pull up some highlights and his ability to navigate the pocket with his feet as a wolverine would have made him the best you know footwork QB in I was QB room since God knows who probably CJ bethard right so the fact that Iowa fans are actually getting to see that out of him now and that he's able to turn that into to production and again we're talking about game one with a brand new offensive coordinator and yeah and yeah they're playing Illinois state but you know you look at the last 10 games that Iowa played against FCS competition guys just take a stab what Iowa's average margin of victory in their last 10 games so not including this one so coming into today Iowa's last 10 games against FCS foes what Ross I'll start with you what would you guess was the average margin of victory of those 10 games and we're including the two-point loss to North Dakota State uh I would guess it was around 15 to 18 points maybe hell yeah so you're killing me here because this is my second year on the beat and last year they played two G5 teams so I'll take 14.9 just to spite Ross closest without going over uh oh no wait that's closest without going under uh and it is actually lower than both of those 13.4 over the last 10 games even with a nine and one record so the fact that they were able to hang a 40-point win on Illinois State that's not just something that you can wave away with oh but they're FCS oh but they're lower guys it's not 1993 anymore these FCS teams have some dudes on them and when Illinois state had a schematic advantage that Iowa hadn't cleaned up yet they were using that advantage and and they had the athletes to really make Iowa's life difficult so I don't think that you know you can just sort of wave away the um I I mean obviously there is going to be a step up in competition right like Illinois state is probably the worst team that I play this year it's just that that FL just keeps coming up and coming up and coming up from FCS competition so it is actually to me it's pretty remarkable that they were able to you know essentially blow a team out and the other thing that I was going to reference there is their two quarterback system one of them was a fourstar recruit that Iowa recruited out of high school Ken Keefe offered him a scholar ship uh rubly from Kansas State and I mean neither of them really did anything there was like one drive where they moved a little bit between the 20s I think from like the 20 to the 50 and then they had to punt or it was like a turnover or something but that was was pretty indicative of how good the Iowa offense is I think I mean you know they were missing out on their their leading excuse me Iowa defense um they're missing out on their leading rusher from last year Mason King had that injury early in the game so that that sucks for him I I hope he's back and can play a decent part of the season but one thing else one other thing that you mentioned about them having some dudes uh is Brian Allen absolutely annihilated their best offensive lineman their left tackle today and what have we been saying over the last year oh he has all the physical tools oh if he puts it together and what did we learn this season kind of sounds like he's bought in and has begun to put it together and then we saw it today he and TJ Hall were both good that was a bright spot of the first half for me uh with how bad the offense was and everybody was down in the dumps TJ Hall was a good starter at corner of course they did some rotations John Nester somehow got beat on a deep one-on-one Ball but like 99 times out of 100 that Ball's not caught and he makes the play um but TJ Hall and Brian Allen I thought were really good Brian Allen did his job uh and and oh my God you could see you know I remember one question during media day I think it was from Shannon aart from KCCI she asked Kelvin Bell who's gonna be your most feared pass rusher and Brian Allen looks like he could be like just you know I'm envisioning that one play he dipped with his hips he went around and he just got the quarterback for a sec and who's to say it's not Brian Allen maybe not this year but maybe next year and on top of that speaking of the defensive line Aaron Graves three sacks should have had a fumble recovery on uh what was apparently a ghost call on Jay Higgins that that shouldn't have been called but man Aaron Graves ya ya black stuffed a run uh that I thought was I looked up and I missed the start of the play but I thought it was a sack because it was in the back field like the dline was legit today legit and again in context Illinois state right but like they're showing those flashes and I mean they shut them out right 40 to zero the only time they did something even remotely close to that was that 41-10 game against Western Michigan last year and Iowa's offense looked so much better today than they did in that 41 to10 win over Western Michigan I there are just so many things to be encouraged by here that you can pick and choose and we haven't even really talked about ree vandery that much like he was so good today u i remember one of our our cohorts today Adam said I haven't seen a receiver from Iowa that that go up and get it catch that he made I haven't seen a receiver from Iowa able to make that play since Brandon Smith who's now in the NFL with the New York Jets it just went I like sem viral on Hawkeye Twitter for making a couple crazy catches from I think Aaron Rogers um and some preseason games but like like I said she's been able to pick and choose what are the things that you're most encouraged by today right like and again Illinois state but lots of positives yeah I I actually asked Daron Graves after the game when was the last time that he had three sacks and a half because he all of his uh sacks came in that first half and and he was almost single-handedly just erasing that defensive line and a big part of that was also because of ya black uh grav said that he was drawing double teams uh on nearly every snap so I mean good luck with that like like pick who you want to double because you can't single both of them uh but to answer my question grav said that the first time that or the last time that he had that many sacks and a half was actually at the shrine game his senior season where he had four in the first half and he said but Illinois State's a big step up in competition right and and we're talking about a shrine game we're talking about like Iowa high school allars and and we know now that Iowa high school Allstars are are no slouch right that that all of that sort of bias against recruiting them to D1 is over you know Iowa high school football is in tremendous shape so the fact that Graves says yeah but Illinois State's a lot better than that uh you know I I think that says a lot to the level of competition that iow was playing but also sort sort of level of uh competition that Graves is bringing this season I mean he looks like a monster ya black looks like a Monster uh the the fact that black can be that big and move that quickly uh Elliot like you're you're talking about one of those plays that looked like it was a sack and it was no it was just black all 320 whatever pounds of them getting into the back field and giving the running back you know who weighs about half as much nowhere to go there there's no OutRunner a dude like that and that's borderline unfair to especially when you know you're you're not bringing Big 10 levels of talent uh to the equation yeah so is it going to be more difficult to do that to Iowa State of course you know to say nothing of Ohio State or uh you know or the like but the fact that they're able to really really overpower a strong FCS team bodess very well for the future because you know who else you know overpowers strong FCS teams is really really really good FBS teams so at the very least Iowa is sort of walking the walk that really strong power five teams power four teams power Conference teams fine this is how they do it this is what they do and you know I I feel like a few folks have written off Illinois State more than they should because folks are this isn't even a top 10 FCS team well it's the top 20 FCS team in the best conference in the FCS okay like you got to give him a little sum right and I'm sure they they you know they beat him 40 to zero for a reason but they're not a slouch in the FCS one one more stat and then I'll I'll stop talking over robs here but um you know we we talked about TJ Hall and and even John Nester uh and and Jamari the uh the leading Target and I am probably going to mispronounce so so let me try to find it here uh Daniel Switz yeah polish wide receivers for Illinois State at down there in normal uh but uh Switz eight targets two catches when you can hold that other team to 25% completions thrown to their best receivers you're doing something right and uh and Iowa's secondary looked monstrous today that's going to be a tough team for anyone to throw on yeah I would just you know Echo that the the coverage today uh was really good and it came from multiple sources you know you've already uh given TJ Hall his flowers deservedly so uh but Sebastian Castro and Kyler fiser coming in on third down plays had some really really good uh coverage moments and uh just really getting on guys and getting to the ball um you know Castro looks every bit the player that you know we've been talking about him as in the preseason and and leading up to this year like he is gonna be a monster in the Iowa defense the the other thing I wanted to hit on while we're talking about this I asked our our premium folks if they had any thoughts takeaways from games and we're going to do that throughout the year so if you're not a premium subscriber and you want to be part of the podcast we'd love to have you head over to iowa. ral.com backs subscribe and you can join drop questions what what have you if you're a listener we'd love you to have love to have you be a part of the podcast so St Louis Hawk dropped a question said did we learn anything on the defense is Illinois state a good enough offense that a shut out means something so talking about the defense talking about Brian Allen and and ya black and and Aaron Graves Kyler fiser Sebastian Castro all these did we like is is there enough to take away from today like maybe something that we haven't hit on or learning about the defense as a whole I mean the thing that stood out to me about the defense today was I mean yeah they overwhelmed a you know overmatched opponent which you know you would kind of expect them to do but the way they did it and they were just never threatened at all today like there was just no Illinois state was never close to making a big play on Iowa and they were never close to scoring getting to the end zone anything like they ran a handful of plays I think it was nine on the Iowa side of the field and most of those were only technically on the Iowa side of the field in that they were on like the Iowa 45 46 48 yard line so I mean when you're running plays where the pre- snap motion is still in the tiger Hawk like are you really on the I you're on the Iowa side of the field but you're not that close to doing any damage and like they just completely smothered the Illinois State offense and just they could do nothing really of of note and so yeah I mean obvious caveats about the competition apply what did we learn but to do that to any football team is a pretty impressive thing uh for any defense and I I think it's a it's a sign that yes this has the potential to be another really special Iowa defense yeah I I'd say if there's anything that we learned about the Iowa defense it's not only that they're still really good shocker there uh but also that they've got more depth than I think that they get credit for you know obviously you know not a shock to see Jay Higgins lead the team in tackles but it is a bit of a shock when it's only seven and it is a little bit of a shock when Nick Jackson is alone in second with five and everybody else had you know less than that but there were 23 guys that recorded tackles today and the guys that had multiple tackles include you know the likes of Brian Allen talked about uh Coen entringer already back uh from that knee injuryan flying around Van Krick um Carson shy uh Kaden Crawford Max lellan like like these are names that have not been as proven Jeremiah Pitman had a couple tackles too you know both solo tackles like these are more unproven names uh than you know the big splashy guys like your Higgins your Nick Jackson your Sebastian Castro Etc so again yeah I get it and there there's only so many times that we can uh pref you or or you know qualify by saying that it's an FCS team but regardless of that the the fact that the second and third units were able to preserve the shutout and again uh not even let Illinois State who kept their starters in quite a while uh even threatened to score uh you know know I I think that shows and and and and Iowa fans should be encouraged by the fact that it's not just studs and Duds on that defense like you go down into that depth chart you're gonna still find some dudes it's dudes all the way down guys the thing I was gonna mention you mentioned Max lellan a couple stats I mean I'm looking at the the the stats from today he had a one and a half tackles for loss that went over my head um the other thing about Brian Allen too he had a pass break up I remember I think it was in the I think it was in the first half he reached up and swatted one away maybe he just deflected it but like was Brian Allen doing that last year is Brian Allen doing that two years ago I don't think so max lellan had had some flashes last year got some time but one and a half tackles for a loss is really solid in this in this first SE or first game of this season Nick Jackson had that sick breakup it looked like he could have picked it off but he really got up and and got it and the other thing that I'll take away from today and you mention all that depth you mentioned all the guys that saw the field Adam Jay Higgins had seven tackles that's a that's a light day and he led the team in tackles that's a really light day for Jay Higgins because I mean I think the backups I think he said they got in with like 12 minutes left like that's really nice you can keep your guys off their feet you know chilling not taking CU football it's it's I think it's kind of a cliche at this point maybe not but football is not a contact sport it's a collision Sport and to be up that much and be able to take your guys your dudes off the field and let those young guys get reps and that's going to be really really important going in next season because a lot of those dudes a lot of those guys are going to be gone I was just going to add you know one of the thing that really helped the defense today was was the offense's ability to stay on the field and keep the defense fresh the offense had almost 35 minutes uh time of possession so did not see that from the offense last year I don't maybe in the western Michigan game but it was not a comminate sight at all obviously with all I mean they were a three andout machine last year so the defense was on the field uh all of all the time last year and you know they were much better rested and and much fewer tackle opportunities for guys like Higgin and Jackson and and that's great you know no one is happier about that I'm sure than them so yeah and then I I guess sort of the cherry on top of all of this guys is did anyone even limp off the field like Iowa came into the game with an awfully clean injury report it was just one guy out um it was Jaden mcgomery who was questionable and then the one guy out was Seth Anderson that's it that was it and this was a pretty clean healthy game for the hockey guys which was remarkable because Illinois state was an absolute parade of injuries over the course of the day and and some of them were serious some of them thankfully were minor you know a lot of these guys we ended up seeing back in the game later thank goodness hopefully Mason King's you know Season can continue at some point but I like the the closest that Iowa came to a real like injury scare was Kade magnam shaking out his hand after that that big um you know scramble and this and that and everyone's wondering oh is it is it a nerve is it a wrist is it a thumb and it turns out he was just cramping he said after the game is just you know so he just hydrated and and that was that so it on top of all that mission is certainly accomplished that Iowa you know is going to be pretty healthy going into Iowa State Ross you had something too I was gonna say that Logan Jones did leave the game for a little bit but he came back and then Kaden ween missed um at least one punt return I think but he also returned to the game so you know whatever they were dealing with very minor um and you know they seem like they're going to be good to go uh for next week for sure so that is actually perfect that you mentioned that Ross you said that it was referenced on radio that ouan was just feeling ill because he came back later in the game yeah I I don't know if it was cramps or you know just kind of a they said he was just getting fluids basically on the sideline and and walking around um but yeah obviously he came back and looked fine so I don't know what exactly it was but it did not seem to be anything major for sure new new guys in the corner drowning in his own sick so I don't even know what that reference is from anymore I have no idea what I have no idea what you're talking about but uh that was yeah that was why lmer was in um I I guess uh the PA announcers said it was Seth Anderson who was obviously out with an injury so Dolph Dolph was confused too he's like I don't know what number six this is out there yeah that was Zack lmer for you so and he he got some snaps at at DB by the way today too um so valuable reps there for Retcher freshman yeah that that's part of the Rock Rapids uh superiority that that's happening on the uh on the Iowa football team there pipeline from Rock Rapids in central lion do not make never been stronger do not make Dolph's mistake of referring to it as Rock Valley as he did in his postgame interview with uh with Reese uh oh who corrected him no I'm from Rock Rapids nice that's confidence by by the young wide receiver so absolutely yeah perfect that that that got mentioned because because golf hacker one wanted wanted us to to talk on that a little bit lmer getting those those reps at at returning uh punts but he also mentioned uh Gil Jacob Gil in the game that that he had today he had two catches where he got freaking popped and he held on to the football and that didn't happen last year at all lots of drops last season and that is a really positive move in in that direction and the second thing is he was double teamed when he caught that touchdown pass today and Cade found him he essentially threw him open um and we've we've heard a lot of positive things about Jacob Gil behind the scenes um again our our premium subscribers are privy to that information but uh I I thought he was great I mean reee vandery stole the stole the show speaking of the central lion uh pipeline but Jacob was was kind of an underrated star from this game too yeah I thought so go ahead Russ I was gonna say yeah I thought he you know this was everything you would hop for in his debut you know he he got the start and uh he really made some great plays like you said Elliot and then and the toughness I mean yeah he got really cracked on a couple of those catches held on you know got the catch got the first down uh and that touchdown he and Kate had was just a thing of beauty I mean his his route his double move was just perfect and then I mean Cade's throw was even better I mean like you said he let him uh let him open and just dropped it perfect positioning like Iowa has not had a quarterback that could do that for quite a while Yeah you mentioned the the toughness in making those catches and I I am sure that Gil is going to have a sore Sunday uh onest you know especially in his rib cage uh from those hits but there's a different sort of toughness and that is you know really keeping your route going and steady through contact and when mcnamer threw that ball to Gil In The End Zone Not only was he being double covered but it was physical coverage too and and the fact that he was able to to uh keep his route uh not let those guys you know sort of move him off his Mark and he was able to uh then on top of that sort of run away from them to where the ball was going and make what ended up being an open Catch and again when that ball was thrown he was not open but there was a window where he was going to be open ball finds him there and and so that's just great execution yeah we're saying the ew great execution uh by both MN and Gil and uh and when Kade was talking about it after the game he says yeah you know normally when we practice that play uh that's not really the coverage that uh that we expect to see and uh and so a lot of that was just sort of uh improvisation might not be the right word but but really making a short quick decision uh in a sort of an unfamiliar sort of situation and that is again sort of something that comes with the Tim Lester offense just the knowledge that hey you know just because you're familiar with this play doesn't mean you're familiar with how you know the Defenders are going to be where they are and you know the route might end up different because of that uh and so the fact that they're able to still execute to still run the exact right route to still get the ball exactly where it needed to be uh yeah just a tremendous play all around and and really worthy of praise for for both of those guys the other the other note from golf hacker one who is a regular on our boards uh really great stuff from him typically that's a reason to join us anyway just because golf hacker plugged in and and he helps us out a little bit too but um he said last time Iowa looked this good in an opening game it went 12-0 and and then he followed it up and said 2024 equals 2015 I hey I I didn't say it I'm just a vessel I'm just relaying the message I see Ross giggling a muted mic so like I said we get our premium subscribers involved the podcast we don't have to talk about this too much I do have another point I want to hit but I I see you both like the wheels are turning you're both thinking so hard smoke is coming out of your ears no no no I'm all I'm doing is looking at the um the uh the past scores just not not to throw cold water on this but uh Iowa started the 2015 season by beating as it would turn out Illinois state but it was 31 to 14 right like and and that is a lot closer to what Iowa's not only season openers are like but again going back to earlier what their FCS games are like so you know I I would take this one back further to the main game to 2008 which was its own like really really strong uh season especially once they you know uh moved out uh Jake I almost call him Jake rudock no no no 2008 they moved out Jake Christensen uh and brought in Ricky stany when the team was three and three and and we all know what happened from there so maybe you know maybe this is 2008 except they know what they're doing at quarterback right except they've actually made the right decision at the beginning of the Season or at the very least they have not made a damagingly wrong decision at the very least that we know of yet so yeah that that's going to be interesting to see but you know by and large I I think there is a correlation between how you play in a season opener and and how you should expect the rest of the season to go now of course the exception of the proves the rule is the very next year 2009 where it took a pair of Miracles backto back uh uh blocking those two field goals by uh Elliot I'm Sorry by um by uni and the second one like didn't even feel like it was like okay the universe is throwing this one for Iowa's sake and yet you know it it took a a a great northwester name and and an injury to Ricky stany to to unseed Iowa from going undefeated that whole season so you know how much of a correlation is there depends but absolutely Iowa should feel encouraged by how complete this win was because generally speaking that should translate some more complete uh and and speaking of cliches here uh complimentary football looked awfully complimentary today and that's what the coaches have been looking for they're getting it in game one how do you extend that out to the rest of the season Ross did you have some snarky comment or anything after giggling back there behind your bike uh no no snark for me never um you know I I just would Echo what Adam said that you know there are definitely some Echoes of the past uh Good Seasons with the performance like this and you know it is really remarkable if you look back through the seasons uh and maybe this is something I'll right about but I always had a lot of really shaky openers um over the years where it was you know the the all-timer is that un Andi game uh with the with the two block field goals and then you know the one they lost to Northern Illinois a few years later um but there's been a lot of openers where they just don't look all you know put together yet and they're a work in progress as I'm sure Kirk has described them a few times and it's certainly encouraging to see them further along in that progress as they look today you know they uh are they a finished product no obviously not um but there's a lot of uh lot of positives to take away uh from what they did today in in all aspects you know the offense is a big one from that second half the defense you know just what they did from start to finish you know I thought the Special Teams uh looked good today too um you know the first half the uh the kicking game you know Iowa couldn't find the end zone needed to get points and uh Here Comes Drew Stevens who you know lost his job the last time we saw Iowa attempt a field goal against Nebraska last year and he was not good at the end of last season he missed three of his last four field goal attempts and he you know calmly drained two kicks today uh looked good um reaken you know you know the unenviable task of replacing Tory Taylor uh had a couple shakier punts to start in the first half I thought didn't get the the hang time or the distance that you uh maybe were hoping for but in the second half uh well he only had one in the second half but his last two punts each wi for 40 plus uh great hang time no returns um perfectly set up for the uh the Gunners to get down there and just stuff it uh so yeah I mean he was looking better uh wein was doing a lot of good stuff in the return game so just you know just positives up and down the roster uh and all over in all three phases today for me two quick things and then we'll get out of here uh last last note from one of our premium subscribers waterl Chaz who speaking of snarky is is always really good at at dropping some some some good stuff on our on our board but I think the first question was was rhetorical so I'm gonna maybe rhetorical I don't know so I'm going to pass it but he said how hard should we meaning Iowa skull slam Iowa State should it be close win should it be a close win with a big Cyclone mistake that nags at them for months in parentheses saw that before a thorough beating like 42 to7 we beating like 84 toga1 because ISU got docked points as they had various players wearing different versions of their 15 uniform combinations so and and more good stuff that I that I will just let our premium subscribers enjoy and I probably don't feel that is necessary to share on the podcast so if you guys haven't seen it I'll let you check it out and and of course our premium subscribers can check it out there at I rivals.com or Hawkeye Beacon and all of our premium content now the final thing I want to say before we get out of here and and get your guys thoughts uh Seth Wallace acting head coach today all the players said you know we didn't really notice any difference uh and I mean if Seth Wallace is looking for more resume builders to be a head coach one day maybe Iowa's head coach once once Kirk ference decides to to hang it up I mean I and I was really impressed with him at the podium today too he spoke highly of his players and he you know we talk about players being good quotes Bad quotes and stuff like that sometimes behind the scenes we don't we don't say that we don't tend to say stuff like that on the podcast but Seth was awesome you know I I really really enjoyed our what 20 minutes that we got with him post game and I really think he just knew what his task was today and that was to keep the train rolling we're on to week two I I TR you know trust Kirk fence and the way he does things and I want to emulate that so we we move on to to week two when we know we don't skip a beat and I thought that was really positive I thought he let you know the the vets do their thing more or less you know there's only so much coaching you can do with Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson sometimes because they've been playing at a high level for a while Jay Higgins has just been around the program but I I just get a feel from Seth that he knows when to say something when not to say something how to approach coaching this team given the circumstances like the context is importance here important here when you take over just one game of a Kirk f L team where he's been around for 26 years I was just really impressed with with how he handled himself and and what he did as as I was acting head coach today yeah I was impressed too and and some of it I mean clearly the fact that he had few months to sort of grow into this role right like it wasn't like he was just named a assistant head coach uh three days ago in response to the um you know self-imposed suspension right like this was a role that you know it it's also not like he he was there for like five years either too but you know even though this was his first game as assistant head coach you sort of got the sense that in some way he's sort of been job shadowing Kirk ference for his entire career now like he did sound a little bit but not entirely like not exactly like K Prince he sounded like Seth paace is what he sounded like but but yeah like he even sort of took credit he said credit uh you know he he he took uh responsibility for that uh fourth and two that failed in the first half which you know again sort of upset Iowa fans but you know his and he even explained his rationale behind it which was you know I trust the defense and if we get that we're in good scoring pos position etc etc and like yeah that makes sense and if you're playing Illinois State you should expect to be able to run and convert a fourth and two it just so happens that that was before they made uh any sort of uh adjustments on that guy flying off the edge so of course Molton had virtually no chance to U convert that and the fact that he even got close you know really spoke highly of Molton and and he had a pretty strong day it's just you know he didn't have Caleb Johnson's day but he absolutely looked like a starting caliber halfback but going back to Wallace yeah you know you could tell that this meant something to him uh you could tell that the duty and responsibility mattered to him and that he you know uh took that very seriously uh but also you know not at the expense of uh his ability to relate to his players you know not at the expense of what makes him Seth Wallace as opposed to you know a cardboard cut out of Kirk fence you know sitting on the sideline right like he he wanted to make sure that he was was doing the coaching his way so yeah you know I it's going to look great on his resume uh even though we we learned uh right before kickoff that the the wind does not belong to him because it was a self-imposed suspension as opposed to an NCAA suspension so uh even though he's pading Kirk ference's win total clearly here uh it was still a a pretty exemplary uh job of coaching and you know he's got the 40 to zero uh scoreboard to show for it so yeah I I thought it was pretty impressive and uh uh you know not a whole lot of negative there uh Ross Ross you were watching on TV how did they present steth Wallace's role in all this like did they even talk about him all that much or or or how was that given to fans uh that's a great question and I'm actually not the best source for that because I was actually curious to see or hear uh how Pat angu did as the uh color commentator for Iowa's radio broadcast today so I actually uh synced up and listen to uh Dolph and angler for almost all of the game uh instead of the TV broadcast well you could have made something up and we would have believed you he was the only person they talked about now as we get out of here and I I we're going to have follow-up content tomorrow Monday I I went and watched 2025 commit Burke Goucher on Friday and D calb as well as a 2026 receiver who plays for Decalb um that's gonna be premium content we're gonna have a follow-up uh article on Seth Wallace and and his role over the weekend we're gonna have media availability on Tuesday gonna hear from Kirk and and and so much more so many players I'm actually in the state now I'm not out in Colorado so I will be at at media availability next week and again Adam and I we're not sure if Adam will be at a game next but I will be at a game next week he's got content from this last Friday so we are just loaded up at at Hawkeye Beacon right now and we got way more coming to of course Ross helping us out uh getting game recaps and more when when when available to help us out to um so we got a ton of stuff uh coming at at Hawkeye Beacon and before we get out of here I have to say this stat because we cannot end this podcast without this stat second half today Iowa wide receivers three touchdown receptions in the entirety of 2023 Iowa's receivers had three touchdown receptions in the entirety of 2022 Iowa's wide receivers had two touchdown receptions ree Bersy himself had two touchdown receptions in the second half today so it's a new day yes it is oh hell of a way to start off the Tim Lester era how about that now uh if you're happy about that and you're not subscribed yet make sure you hit that subscribe button whether you're on Apple podcast Spotify YouTube if you're on Apple podcast or Spotify please leave that rate and review that helps us out so much helps us promote the podcast if you like us only if you like us leave that R review please um and if you're on YouTube make sure you hit that subscribe button drop a like drop a comment how excited are you for for this uh s Hawk week ahead um and if you're not a premium subscriber today you can do that iowa. ral.com backs subscribe once again folks I am Elliot k Eliot cluff on Twitter joined by Ross binder our managing editor from the site and then Adam jacobe our publisher as well we appreciate you tuning in we will see you next time