greg davis

Before I spent a moment working on this post, I knew what would be leading it off, because this came across my feed on Saturday.

Watch Penn State know Iowa's predictable play call pic.twitter.com/4pYTSGuNYZ

— Heavens! (@HeavensHawkeye) November 6, 2016

Is predictability bad? Let's find out. Iowa drives vs. Penn State:

• Seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to cut deficit to 21-7
• Four three-and-outs
• Two four-and-outs
• Eight-play, 40-yard drive, turnover on downs after failed QB sneak
• Eight-play, 23-yard drive, terrible CJ Beathard interception
• Nine-play, 81 yard touchdown drive when score was 41-7

Ah, so.

Personnel. Seth's diagram [click to embiggen]:

Due to a combination of ineffectiveness and injury, Iowa has started seven different combinations on the offensive line in nine games this season. Cole Croston, who began the season as the starting left tackle, is the primary reason for the near-weekly reshuffling; after struggling for five games at LT, culminating in an embarrassing performance against Northwestern's Ifeadi Odenigbo, he moved to RT, and ever since he's battled an ankle injury that's mostly kept him off the field.

It's unclear what the combination will be this time around. LG Boone Myers initially moved to LT to replace Croston, then started at RT last week after missing a game due to injury. Myers is listed as the starting LT this week; the starting LT from the last two weeks, Ike Boettger, is atop the depth chart at RT. No matter the alignment, the tackles have been mediocre, and Croston or his replacement (at this point, LG Keegan Render) has been a sore spot.

The receiving corps lost their best player, Matt VandeBerg, early in the season, and star tight end George Kittle has been playing at less than 100% since a mid-October leg injury.

Spread, Pro-Style, or Hybrid? Dinosaur.

Basketball on Grass or MANBALL? DeBordian devotion to zone. Every Iowa run play I noted was either an inside zone, outside zone, or incredibly obvious jet sweep to a running back lined up in the slot.

Hurry it up or grind it out? Iowa is the third-slowest team in the country by adjusted pace. This comes as a shock, I know.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the breakdown.]

[Patrick Barron]

THING NOTES: I should have done these in approximately chronological order but too late now. Wisconsin was three weeks after Northwestern and was Iowa's penultimate game of the year. Maryland, the nonsense game with a ton of empty formations against a DL Iowa could not block, was the week before Northwestern.

Between Northwestern and Wisconsin was a miserable outing against Minnesota (10 for 19, 89 yards in a 51-14 loss) and a 10 YPA facepunching of Illinois.

YOU MAY WANT TO WATCH THIS: MGoVideo has a supercut of all of Rudock's throws in this game.

[After the JUMP: kinda good things.]

bizarro iowa is still just iowa

THING NOTES: This was a much different outing for Iowa, as they ran out to a decent lead but then blew it. Rudock ended up throwing or running 64(!) times against just 23 plays on which he handed off. The vast majority of these plays were from shotgun empty formations, for some reason. Iowa omitted even the tiniest threat of a run for the bulk of the second half.

DISCLAIMER NOTES: I'm not intimately familiar with the Iowa roster so there may be the occasional personnel errors.

This one is behind a jump because it's almost a whole UFR.

[After THE JUMP: almost a whole UFR.]