News

Iowa continues to let things slip away

By Don Doxsie | 6 comment(s)

Shonn Greene ran for a career-high 159 yards before leaving the game with 11 minutes left Saturday against Northwestern. (John Schultz/Quad-City Times)

IOWA CITY – Last week a lot of the experts were saying Northwestern was the worst 4-0 team in the country.

This week those same people probably will call the Wildcats the worst 5-0 team in the country.

Too bad. Then again, better to have that label than to be the 3-2 team that just lost at home to the worst 5-0 team in the country.

Better to have people disrespect you when you’re only a victory or two away from cinching a bowl bid than to be looking square in the eye at being home for the holidays. Again.

Oh, I know: It’s a long season. There’s a long way to go, a lot of games to be played. About a dozen Iowa football players told us that Saturday afternoon.

But when you can’t win at home against the worst 5-0 team in the country in a game that was there for the taking, the prospects of notching three or four more wins this season aren’t especially bright.

It could be a really, really long season.

That is not to say that there weren’t encouraging signs in Iowa’s 22-17 loss to Northwestern in Saturday’s Big Ten opener at Kinnick Stadium.

Hawkeyes running back Shonn Greene was a monster again, rushing for more than 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi looked very good at times, passing for 238 yards, making some throws his predecessor couldn’t and retaining his poise in the final frenetic seconds. The defense wasn’t completely abysmal, stifling a pretty potent offense for most of the first half.

But there also were five turnovers, some untimely penalties, one really awful defensive sequence at the start of the second half and a bit of a letdown after taking a 17-3 lead. There were zero points in the second half against a program that isn’t exactly synonymous with great defense.

The outcome further magnified the importance of Greene to the Iowa team, both by what he did when he was on the field and by what happened when he was not.

Last week, in a 1-point loss at Pittsburgh, the Iowa coaches decided not to give the ball to their 235-pound battering ram even once when the game was on the line in the final five minutes.

They didn’t have that option this time. Greene went down with what apparently was a minor concussion with 11:58 remaining.

When the Hawkeyes got the ball back with 4:16 to go, Greene was left on the sidelines along with any notion of running the ball.

Stanzi made several nice throws to get his team from its own 28-yard line to the Northwestern 8 with about a minute-and-a-half left. If Greene was healthy, you have to think a running play might have been a viable option at that point. At the very least, just the threat of a running play might have opened some passing lanes.

Instead, four straight incomplete passes. Game over.

A few players insisted that Greene’s absence in those final minutes was no big deal. Receiver Andy Brodell said “I don’t think it made a difference.’’

Others were more candid.

“To say it didn’t make a difference would be silly,’’ Stanzi said. “Not with the things (Greene) brings to the field.

“He’s a great runner and everyone responds to him,’’ he added. “It’s definitely harder when Shonn’s not in there.’’

The good news is that Greene apparently is OK. He said the doctors would not allow him to go back into the game as long as he had a headache, but by the time he spoke to reporters the fog had cleared.

“We’ve just got to get up and go again,’’ Greene said. “It’s not a five-game season.’’

He’s right. It’s a long season. There are seven more games to be played.

Unfortunately, at least five of them are against ballclubs that figure to be better than the worst 5-0 team in the country.

Don Doxsie can be contacted at (563) 383-2280 or ddoxsie@qctimes.com.

Comments