There's not a lot to gripe about when Michigan has played thirteen games, won thirteen games, and is the #1 seed in the Playoff. But we're going to find a way to do it anyways, because the usage of Donovan Edwards this season has been a consistent annoyance. As good as Harbaugh and his assistants have been about finding ways to crack defenses with tight ends, it's hard to get over the thought that they're wasting a five-star tool in Edwards who could be so much more. This was a point Brian made in the game column: What are we doing with Donovan Edwards? There were a number of plays on which Iowa showed man-to-man coverage with Edwards split out. Edwards invariably motioned back into the backfield when this happened. They never took a shot at Edwards, or even looked him up on a slant. Even more frustrating were times when Iowa would show and run man coverage and Edwards would leak out of the backfield and sit down in front of a linebacker. One angle route there and E
Previously: Iowa Offense Now that we got the dystopian portion of the program out of the way, let's turn our attention to the Iowa defense. They roll into Indianapolis having wrestled the #1 SP+ ranking away from Michigan and Ohio State, who were too good at offense last week to hang onto the pole position defensively. Should've tried playing six games against the B1G West this season. The Film: Like the offense piece, there are significant injuries to factor in when analyzing the Iowa defense. Though not as severe in volume, the loss of star corner (and punt return extraordinaire) Cooper DeJean was a tough blow for the Hawkeyes as DeJean almost certainly would've been given the Dangerman designation in this piece. DeJean's injury was sustained in November, so it limited me to only a few options. That said, I don't think Iowa has faced a single good offense all season, so this was slim pickings regardless. Factoring in time considerations, I decided t
Previously: Iowa Offense Now that we got the dystopian portion of the program out of the way, let's turn our attention to the Iowa defense. They roll into Indianapolis having wrestled the #1 SP+ ranking away from Michigan and Ohio State, who were too good at offense last week to hang onto the pole position defensively. Should've tried playing six games against the B1G West this season. The Film: Like the offense piece, there are significant injuries to factor in when analyzing the Iowa defense. Though not as severe in volume, the loss of star corner (and punt return extraordinaire) Cooper DeJean was a tough blow for the Hawkeyes as DeJean almost certainly would've been given the Dangerman designation in this piece. DeJean's injury was sustained in November, so it limited me to only a few options. That said, I don't think Iowa has faced a single good offense all season, so this was slim pickings regardless. Factoring in time considerations, I decided t
1. Rutgers’ rushing attack Unlike its last contest, Iowa will take on one of the best rushing attacks it will see all year with the Scarlet Knights. Third-year running back Kyle Monangai leads the Big Ten with 903 rushing yards on 168 attempts, averaging more than five yards per carry. Iowa linebacker Kyler Fisher credited.