This week the #20 Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-1) make their first trip to Montlake since 1963. The Hawkeyes, coming off a 31-14 loss to Ohio State, are hoping to bounce back on the road with everything still left to play for. With a win over now less impressive Michigan, and Ohio State behind them, the toughest part of the schedule appears to be behind them. Washington figured to be the last preseason ranked opponent in a brutal opening stretch of their conference slate, but vibes surrounding this week’s
match up have certainly shifted through the first five weeks.
The Huskies (3-2, 0-2) are looking to notch their first conference win on the season after back-to-back losses to Minnesota and USC. Despite offseason buzz around the offense, it has been the defense that has kept UW in games. Injuries and youth at key positions across the offense have seriously limited the Husky offense, but inconsistent QB play from Demond Williams has come under the spotlight after back breaking turnovers proved to be deciding factors in both losses. This bodes well for the Hawkeyes as their buzzsaw of a defense could turn this game into a low scoring mud fight.
The Scheme & Personnel
The thing about Iowa football that separates the program from nearly every other P4 program is its long term stability and continuity. HC Kirk Ferentz has been at the helm since the 1999 season and DC Phil Parker has been with him for his entire tenure. They have a proven and effective system, and their staff is among the best at talent development. As such, much of what was said about their defense last time we played in 2024 still applies:
At Iowa, it all starts with Phil Parker’s scheme and development program. Despite being far from the national recruiting hotbeds, the Hawkeye defense has a reputation for regularly putting defensive players into the NFL, and it all starts with their commitment to playing technically-sound, conservative football. Unlike some of the flashier defensive units that can wreak havoc on opposing offenses, Iowa’s defensive identity is completely beige. Iowa’s entire defense is geared to preventing explosive plays. In coverage, they primarily play 2-high safety coverages, and they’ll typically play a version of Cover 4 to ensure that they can always match up against the deep ball. They’ll also play their CBs to a side of the field instead of flipping them based on field or boundary side.
Up front, the Hawkeyes play Even fronts that will often ask the DL to play 2-gap techniques across the board… The defensive line is there to soak up blockers to let the LBs fly around to make tackles…
It’s not a particularly exciting brand of football, but it’s incredibly effective. They’re essentially betting that an opposing offense won’t be able to string together enough reasonably successful plays to get into scoring position before they either shoot themselves in the foot with a penalty, or they’ll get antsy, try to force the explosive play, and find themselves behind the sticks or facing long yardage for a conversion.
As described, Iowa’s LBs continue to be tackle machines with Cam Buffington, Jayden Montgomery, and Landyn Van Kekerix comprising three of the top four tacklers on the team. This is by design, but more surprisingly this season, it appears that Iowa has some push on the DL. Five different DL have a sack this season and Joseph Anderson leads the team with three sacks from a reserve role. As noted previously, this isn’t a DL that’s built to attack the backfield. These are bigger bodies who want to control the line and suffocate an offense. If they can do that AND get TFLs, it might be a long night for the Husky offense.
Keys to the Game
In my opinion, the path to victory will run through the Husky backfield. With Landen Hatchett likely to make his season debut at center, and hopefully stabilize an otherwise turbulent group, all eyes will be on Demond Williams and Brian Bonner. Bonner started to gain traction last week against USC. Rushing lanes will likely be harder to find consistently against this well-coached defense, but continued week-over-week improvements from him could take pressure off of the pass protection and Demond. Speaking of Demond, he needs a good “get right” game. With Iowa’s starting QB listed as questionable, their offense may be even more run-heavy than usual. A low scoring affair should take pressure off of Demond to play hero ball. He needs to take what the defense is giving him, run the offense as expected, and avoid costly mistakes. Do all those things, and we should be in a good position to get our first conference win over a ranked opponent.
