Like many in the Iowa fan base, Hawkeye starting quarterback Spencer Petras is ready to just wash the results from the season-opening 7-3 win over South Dakota State.
Iowa was minus two of its top three wide receivers in Keagan Johnson and Nico Ragaini. The Hawkeyes were also missing their No. 1 running back in Gavin Williams.
Plus, there’s plenty of new faces on Iowa’s offense. Petras was asked if the new personnel and missing personnel had an impact on the Hawkeyes’ disappointing offensive start to the season that saw Iowa only deliver a 46-yard field goal.
“I mean, yeah, every team’s different, every offensive unit’s different. You know, definitely had a lot of young guys in there today that did really well I think. Have to see the tape, but, yeah, I mean, that’s definitely part of it. You can practice football as much as you want, but there’s nothing quite like being in there for a game, and, obviously, we need to grow offensively, and I think we will. I don’t think this is representative of our offense at all, but that’s the only performance that we’ve had so far this year. I think as a unit we’re really excited to move on and to try and beat Iowa State next week,” Petras said.
The San Rafael, Calif., product wasn’t about to make the missing players excuse, though.
“We definitely were short on personnel. I don’t necessarily think that affected how we called the game. I think South Dakota State first off did a pretty good job of playing some of the concepts that on tape looked great. As we got going, we had some really nice calls and one guy away. It was me in the second half probably more than I would have liked. But, yeah, I don’t think we were limited at all from a play-calling standpoint. Just strictly numbers we were limited,” Petras said.
And Petras discussed what specifically wasn’t working for him against the Jackrabbits.
“That’s a good question. I think just got out of rhythm a little bit, quite a bit. A little bit offensively. You know, that’s where I need to make the plays to get us back into rhythm. Make the makeable plays I should say, and I think there were a few locations, probably four—I don’t know—off the top of my head that just aren’t acceptable. Good news is, a win’s a win and we’re going to get back at it. Watch the tape tonight, watch it again tomorrow, and then we’re moving on,” Petras said.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Iowa never found its footing there either. The Hawkeyes finished with just a 1.6 yards per carry average and 57 total rushing yards as a team.
“Yeah, I think it was pretty representative of just the whole day offensively. Without having watched the tape yet, I bet all of our bad plays were probably one guy away from going. Run game that can be. It’s one guy in a run play, it’s one guy in a pass play. Whatever that may be, so the trick is just, you know, we’ve got our first game, we’ve got our first win. Now, let’s get back to who we are, because that wasn’t representative of who we are offensively,” Petras said.
In the midst of Iowa’s poor offensive performance to start the season, a chorus of boos was prominent on more than one occasion.
“Yeah, no, I think when we get stopped on third down and they’re booing, I feel the same way. I wish we converted the third down, but I think that the key to all that is knowing that I have a job to do as does every member of the football team on any given play. That’s all we focus on. The past is behind, the future does not exist. All that we have is the present moment. That’s what we focus on today, you know, just got to do a better job next time. Score some more points,” Petras said.
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