Like the two offseasons before it, the biggest story and question surrounding Iowa football following the conclusion of 2023 was how much could its offense improve?
The Hawkeyes hired former Western Michigan head coach and Green Bay Packers analyst Tim Lester as its new offensive coordinator to replace Brian Ferentz.
The first impression of Iowa’s new offense under Lester was a great one. Though it took a half to get going, Iowa racked up its best offensive output since its Sept. 28, 2019 win over Middle Tennessee. Iowa’s 492 yards of total offense in its 40-0 shutout victory over Illinois State was the Hawkeyes’ most in a season opener since compiling 593 yards against Akron in 2002.
It was also the best offensive output in an OC’s debut with the Hawkeyes dating back to 1979.
After taking in Iowa’s season opener on TV from home, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his first thoughts on what he saw from Lester’s offense during his Tuesday press conference.
“Yeah, it felt a lot better watching, from where I was watching. Life was a lot better in the second half. Again, that’s the study in offense. Execution is a huge part of the game. It takes a lot of concentration, a lot of detail.
“I think one thing for sure, the penalty situation did impact us in the first half. Second thing, we didn’t really throw or catch. The throws weren’t always accurate. Then we made some of those throws in the second half, and we caught the ball well. It gives you a chance to get going. Then the run game was a little cleaner and crisper. Those are things you go through,” Ferentz said.
Iowa totaled 345 yards of offense in the second half. Junior running back Kaleb Johnson accumulated 119 rushing yards with a pair of scores after halftime.
“We’re going to go through a series of things over the course of the season. As much as you try in camp and you try to put the guys in pressure situations and create things and all that, it’s not the same as playing the game. Until you get in the game, you don’t know how individuals are going to perform or how they’re going to play, and then the other component is just the same thing to be said about your team, you just don’t know how they’re going to respond to those situations. We’ll have a bunch of them here in the next 11 games out there. You just don’t know what they are.
“But the biggest takeaway for me was the guy our guys stuck together. They kept a good attitude. I’m not so sure how many adjustments got made at halftime, but we just made a little cleaner in that second half. Then when you do that, you give yourself a chance for some success,” Ferentz said.
One of the most encouraging signs for the Hawkeyes was what Iowa found in the passing game. After throwing just three touchdown passes to wide receivers in all of 2023, Iowa matched that feat in its opener.
True freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee caught a pair of touchdowns and junior transfer receiver Jacob Gill from Northwestern also added a touchdown grab.
“Yeah, it’s encouraging. It’s a combination of a lot of things. I think the line, we’re a little bit more veteran up there. I thought the guys overall protected pretty well. It didn’t seem like that was an issue at all for us, so that was helpful.
“Cade working through his leave of absence for a while, going through that, and now he’s on a little bit of a sabbatical, medical sabbatical, so working through. And then the receivers did a good job for the most part going and getting the ball, running good routes, things like that.
“So good combination, and some of those plays that Cade made were under duress, not necessarily because of a breakdown, but those guys blitzed a lot, had free rushers come. I thought he handled that situation well, too. We got plenty of blitz practice on Saturday, no question,” Ferentz said.
The early returns on the new-look Iowa offense under Lester are positive. The Hawkeyes will look to keep the offensive momentum rolling in Week 2 as the Iowa State Cyclones arrive to Kinnick Stadium for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on CBS.
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