After losing to Minnesota last weekend, Iowa football’s spirits are lower as the season approaches its conclusion. These are some motivating figures to follow the remainder of the journey.
Iowa football is 6-2 on the year and is hitting an important part of its schedule in the next couple of weeks.
The Hawkeyes are currently on a bye and have four games remaining on the schedule. Iowa had control of the Big Ten West before last week’s loss to Minnesota, but the loss to the Golden Gophers has put the Hawkeyes in an interesting spot.
Iowa’s four remaining games on the schedule are all winnable, but the room for error is slim following that loss to Minnesota.
Let’s look at seven encouraging numbers for the Hawkeyes’ optimist going into the final four games of the year.
44.4%: Iowa’s chances of winning the Big Ten West are 44.4 percent, according to ESPN’s FPI. Though Wisconsin is the team directly behind the Hawkeyes at 43.5 percent, they are the greatest odds of any team in the West. Iowa’s chances of defeating Northwestern, Rutgers, Illinois, and Nebraska are 81.2 percent, 65.6 percent, 73.1 percent, and 63.7 percent, respectively, according to the FPI.
According to the FPI, Iowa is ranked 13th in the Big Ten for remaining strength of schedule. The Hawkeyes’ remaining strength of schedule ranks 64th in the nation, but Iowa’s overall schedule strength for the season is ranked 13th.
93.1 – Iowa’s defense is ranked sixth in the nation for overall defense by Pro Football Focus. Phil Parker has led Iowa’s defense to an incredibly strong campaign. Out of Iowa’s four remaining opponents, only Illinois (ranked eighth) is in the top half of the Big Ten in terms of total yards per game.
130 – That is how many rushing yards Iowa’s offense has averaged in Iowa’s three games against Big Ten West opponents this fall. Three of Iowa’s remaining four opponents are 8th or worst in the Big Ten in rushing defense when it comes to yards per game.
3 – Of Iowa’s four remaining opponents, three of them rank 10th or worst in the Big Ten in terms of sacks allowed. The Hawkeyes have not had super high sack numbers this year, but these matchups could be opportunities for Iowa to get to the quarterback more and put more pressure on the opposing offense. Iowa’s best game in terms of pass rush was the season opener against Utah State, but the last three games for the Hawkeyes have been their best pass-rushing games since the matchup against the Aggies.
95 – Of Iowa’s 20 trips to the redzone this season, the Hawkeyes have scored points on 19 of them. That is good for 95 percent. Iowa has kicked 10 field goals in the redzone, and scored touchdowns in the other nine. All four of Iowa’s remaining opponents are in the bottom half of the Big Ten in terms of red zone attempts allowed on the season. Field position is an important part of the game, and the Hawkeyes need to take advantage of those opportunities when they get into scoring chances.
Leshon Williams has been Iowa’s featured back this fall as a result of Jaziun Patterson and Kaleb Johnson’s injuries. Williams is 11th in the Big Ten with 11 carries of 10 yards or more this season. Behind him are running backs Kyle Monangai of Rutgers, Braelon Allen of Wisconsin, Darius Taylor of Minnesota, Nate Carter of Michigan State, Blake Corum of Michigan, Roman Hemby of Maryland, and Devin Mockobee and Tyrone Tracy Jr. of Purdue.
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