Two weeks ago, Iowa was the No. 2 team in college football. Then, Purdue broke the Hawkeyes on Oct. 16 and things have gone downhill ever since.
The 4-3 Wisconsin Badgers are steamrolling Iowa right now. The Hawkeyes have no sense of identity on the offensive side of the football and can’t even manage to get out of their own way.
Offense has never been Iowa’s forte, but the Hawkeyes somehow reached an all-new low against Wisconsin. In just under two quarters of work, Iowa managed to gain just five yards of offense, didn’t score a single point and turned the ball over three times.
What’s wrong with Iowa?
Iowa lived and died off of creating turnovers through the first few games of the season.
When the Hawkeyes lose the turnover battle, though, they put themselves in a tough position to win games.
Win the turnover battler and you beat Iowa. It’s that simple.
“Iowa was really good when opposing teams kept giving the ball away. When they don’t, not so good,” one fan said.
“There’s regression on turnover luck and then there’s this, for Iowa….,” another said.
Iowa’s rise to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 and its dramatic collapse ever since is a perfect picture of college football in 2021. It’s tough to distinguish who the top teams truly are. One thing’s for sure: Iowa’s not one of them.
The Hawkeyes find themselves in a 20-0 hole at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers at the half.