Week one was a struggle for Iowa on offense. That much is clear as day to anyone who watched the game or just looked at the box score. Against South Dakota State, the Hawkeyes only mustered 166 total yards, just 109 of which came through the air.
It was a rough Saturday for senior quarterback Spencer Petras, throwing a pick and finishing with a 1.1 QBR. Head coach Kirk Ferentz, though, has shot down the mounting pressure to replace Petras at quarterback and give it a go with Alex Padilla or even Joey Labas in the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, instead placing the focus on team execution.
“Yeah, I think it is full-fledged. In my mind it is, and every player builds a resume when they’re here through the way they practice and when they play. We see more practice than we do game competition.
“But I think he’s done a lot of good things for us, and he did some good things Saturday. Some things he could have done better. I think overall right now, I think our biggest challenge is just a little bit like last year, is just team execution right now, and I want to give him a fair assessment just like I would anybody that’s in there,” Ferentz said
Ferentz has been adamant ever since the 7-3 win over South Dakota State went final that Petras is the still the team’s starting quarterback moving forward this season. After the game, Ferentz stated that he doesn’t anticipate any changes at this point, and once again called on the entire team to get better, including the subject of debate.
The Hawkeye head coach’s words have so far been backed by his actions, Petras pretty much exclusively working with the first-team in practice. It should be noted though that while Padilla is working with the twos, he sees the same exact plays that Petras and the first team are working with.
“Not a lot. We’re running the same plays both groups — I imagine most people do this. Pro football is a little different, but we tend to work two offenses during the course of a practice.
“The twos get a lot of reps. Not as many as the ones, but they get a lot of reps. Alex is running the same stuff that Spencer is,” Ferentz said.
We’ll see if Ferentz’s confidence in his quarterback is well founded in Saturday’s clash against rival Iowa State.
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