Iowa’s running game keeps flashing the same problem: there’s talent in the room, but not enough continuity to let it breathe.
That was on display again after the Hawkeyes managed only 39 rushing yards against Ohio State. The numbers pointed to a ground attack that has struggled to get traction against Power Four teams all year, even though the pieces are there for it to work.
Kirk Ferentz sees the issue less as a shortage of ability and more as a matter of timing and flow.
Lead back Kamari Moulton has missed time. L.J.
Phillips Jr. has been sidelined. Nathan McNeil and Xavier Williams have been asked to carry more of the load.
Braeden Jackson has also pushed his way into the mix with the kind of success that has made it hard to keep him off the field.
“My guess is at some point somebody's going to try to grab it here a little bit and take it.
“Then the flip side of that too, because I have thought about that, it's kind of unusual, two weeks ago had a couple of guys that really couldn't go. LJ missed a couple weeks.
Kamari was limited a week ago, I guess it would have been. So that gave other guys an opportunity to really step up and go,” Ferentz said of the running back room’s lack of consistency.
That kind of rotation has created a tricky balancing act for Iowa. With five backs who can contribute, the staff has to juggle getting the most productive runners enough work, keeping them fresh and healthy, and still making room for the explosive options. Ferentz also noted that Tony Diaz, Reece Vander Zee, and DJ Vonnahme want touches as well.
There’s at least some evidence that the extra reps are paying off. Ferentz pointed to Braeden Jackson’s early-season experience as part of the reason he was ready to make a decisive return at Michigan.
“Maybe one of the positives there, I don't think it's a stretch to say some of the experience that Braeden Jackson has gotten here early in the season is part of the reason he had the confidence to do what he did at Michigan. That was a really decisive return.
“So there's benefit to it all, but my guess is -- again, I'm not a fortune teller, but I think as we move along, things will probably settle out, and we'll kind of get locked in a little bit more. "Yeah, there's only one ball, and we're going to throw it too. There's only one ball," Ferentz said of the running backs.
For Iowa, the encouraging part is that this doesn’t look like a talent issue. Under Tim Lester, the run game has been the team’s bread and butter for the last two years. With an experienced offensive line, a backfield that’s starting to get healthier, and a staff trying to settle on a rhythm, the Hawkeyes seem to be heading toward a more stable ground attack.
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Iowa's Next Big Ten Step Suddenly Feels Much Bigger Than Last Year
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One of the biggest variables is a transfer who brings a different kind of presence to the roster in Andrew McKeever, whose size alone changes how opponents have to prepare. And after all the offseason noise around coaching turnover across the sport, Iowa also enters this year with McCollum firmly in place, committed long term and focused on building on what the Hawkeyes already showed they can be. The next Big Ten step may look familiar on paper, but it suddenly feels a lot more layered. [Read more 🡒]