Iowa Defense vs. Minnesota Offense - movable object meets stoppable force

by GopherNation on Oct 28, 2011 1:38 PM CDT in Gopher Football

Iowa fans are not happy with their Hawkeye defense. Minnesota fans are watching one of the Gopher's worst offenses in a very long time. Something has to give right?

Let's recap some of the Iowa defensive highlights this season...

50.9% - that is the opponent's 3rd down conversion rate against the Hawkeye D.
11th worst passing defense in the B1G (even worse than Minnesota's passing D).
Indiana's scored 24 last week, their most points scored since South Carolina State in week 3.
Has yet to play a Big Ten offense in the top third of Big Ten offenses and still lingers near the bottom of most defensive categories.
Iowa State scores 44 on the Hawkeyes. ISU managed 20 points in a win over Northern Iowa.

Not to be outdone, here are some Minnesota offensive highlights...

Shut out against Michigan and for three quarters against Purdue.
Converts a league low 34.1% on 3rd downs.
Last in Big Ten in scoring offense, total offense and first downs gained.
Exactly 3 first half total points in three Big Ten games.

You get the point. Iowa's defense is bad and so is Minnesota's offense. So that begs questions like will Minnesota finally be able to move the ball and score in a Big Ten game? Will Iowa's defense get to right itself before it starts to face some of the better offenses in the Big Ten?

Now I've seen a lot more Minnesota offensive snaps than I have of Iowa's defense. And my analysis tells me that our offense is so bad that we wouldn't move the ball on St.Thomas. Iowa fans are cringing over a back-up quarterback being moved to linebacker. This could be ugly for half of the possessions we have to watch on Saturday.

This from a top 10 list of reason's Minnesota will win at Black Heart Gold Pants,

The Hawkeyes have proven they can make any quarterback with decent wheels look like the second coming of Fran Tarkington. Expect MarQueis, who's career spans two position changes, four coaches (Glen Mason who began the recruiting process with him, Tim Brewster, Jeff Horton and now Jerry Kill) and eight Big Ten wins (in four years!), to be off to the races this Saturday as he runs the Iowa defense ragged and the Gophers to yet another unexpected win over the Hawkeyes.

I hope he is right.

Of course the matchup of the Gopher D vs. the Hawkeye O is another story entirely. So if Minnesota wants to win on Saturday the offense is going to have to step up and put some points on the board.

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The Iowa D has given up tons of points and yards against mediocre teams.

They have had some big stops though and are decent in the red zone. Definitely the worst Iowa D in 10 years though. Luckily it coincided with one of the best Iowa O’s in the past decade.

by HawkeyeRecon on Oct 28, 2011 2:36 PM CDT reply actions

That’s fine, but we are not even in the same zip code as “mediocre”.

by jimipig on Oct 28, 2011 2:51 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

We can't pass and we can't run with a running back

But other than that we are great on offense.

Here’s hoping for 250 yards rushing for Grey.

by amiller92 on Oct 28, 2011 4:01 PM CDT reply actions

I think the key is for Minnesota to score first.

The last couple weeks the defense has actually looked ok, they’ve just spent way too much time on the fields. If the Gopher’s offense can put together some decent drives and get some points on the board in the first quarter I think they have a chance.

by wetzelcoal on Oct 28, 2011 4:16 PM CDT reply actions

100% agree

D has looked better throughout the year and has killed themselves with bad penalties and weird fumble-trocities. An offensive TD early and a quick stop would go a LONG way towards building some confidence that they could build on.

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by GopherNation on Oct 28, 2011 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions

Not usually a pessimist

But there’s no way in hell.

"Our attitude is we look at ourselves and we grade ourselves. And even if we don’t like what’s happening on the other side, we don’t make a — it’s not our business" - Tony Larussa

by mnbrewer on Oct 28, 2011 8:10 PM CDT reply actions

Not to be a Vikings snob

But the man’s name is Tarkenton.

TarkENton.

There is no “g” or “ing” in Tarkenton.

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by Christopher Gates on Oct 29, 2011 6:34 PM CDT reply actions