After a frustrating loss in the Cy-Hawk series in week two, the Iowa Hawkeyes bounced back in their return to Kinnick Stadium with a 47-7 thumping of UMass to close out non-conference play.
The win was largely as expected and it’s difficult to make any season-long judgements based on the performance against one of the worst FBS schools in the country. However, it was nice to finally see Iowa come out firing and actually blow out an inferior opponent instead of toying around with them and keeping everything
under wraps. This is an offense that has struggled to throw the ball, particularly downfield, all season and opening it up even against a really poor Minutemen defense helps to at least remind the faithful that the plays are in the playbook.
Now the Hawkeyes hit the road again and open up Big Ten play at Rutgers against a Scarlet Knights team that has had no such problems on the offensive side of the ball and are rolling at 3-0.
Ahead of Friday’s matchup in Piscataway, the Hawkeyes released an updated depth chart on Monday afternoon.
Noted Notables
- Not a lot to call out here, but it remains notable that Terrell Washington, Jr. is listed as the starting RB in the absence of Kamari Moulton. Despite being listed as the starter a week ago, Washington had just 3 carries against UMass. Meanwhile, junior Jaz Patterson and freshman Nathan McNeil each logged 10 carries while another freshman, Xavier Williams, tallied 8 carries. Patterson and Williams remain listed as co-backups to Washington heading into week four.
- No changes anywhere else on the offensive side of the ball, which is notable only from the standpoint of Iowa managed to get out of week three without any additional injuries after losing TE Addison Ostrenga and WR Reece Vander Zee earlier in the non-con. We’ll check on Ferentz’s media availability for an update on the health of RVZ, as well as Moulton.
- Similar story on the defensive side of the ball where there are no changes from a week ago. At this point, no changes on defense is a good thing. The Hawkeyes are ranked inside the top-15 nationally in pass defense and top-10 in rush defense. Phil Parker’s bunch is still on the hunt for their first turnover of the season, but seem to have settled into a stout rhythm. Not upsetting that from this point forward is a good thing.
The Hawkeyes head to Piscataway to face off with the 3-0 Rutgers Scarlet Knights in their Big Ten opener on a short week. The matchup is set for a 7pm kickoff on Friday, September 19th. You can catch the action on FOX.
