RE: Tough weekend for Big10
I still get Lembo's emails. Here is his take on the game.
Ball State Football Update
Dear Alumni and Friends,
We were unable to hold onto a late lead and suffered a disappointing loss at Iowa yesterday in front of 64,210 fans at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes were more physically talented and dominated the statistics, but a gritty defensive effort and points off of two turnovers allowed us to build a modest lead through three quarters of play. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain the necessary first downs to keep Iowa’s offense off the field late in the game. Iowa executed well in the closing minutes and we were unable to match the Hawkeyes with detailed execution of our own.
Our offense got off to a good start and was able to keep Iowa’s defense off balance with a mix of run and pass. We spent considerable practice time in preseason and during game week preparing the team for Iowa's crowd noise, but two disappointing first quarter procedure penalties put us off schedule. A combination of poor field position, some technique flaws at all positions and the penalties resulted in no offensive points in the first 30 minutes of play.
The offense began to click better in the third quarter and put together an 11 play, 50 yard drive that resulted in a field goal. However, a holding penalty negated a 15 yard run and a grounding penalty put us in a 1st and 15 situation in the red zone. We ended up settling for a field goal when we desperately needed more points on this long drive. A special teams turnover gave us our best field position of the day on the Iowa 23 yard line to begin the next drive. However, we settled for three points again and could not pull away from the Hawkeyes. We were able to control the ball for 9:41 in the third quarter.
Late in the game, when we badly needed first downs to keep the clock moving, we lost whatever marginal control of the line of scrimmage that we may have had. We got stuffed on critical third and two run midway through the fourth quarter. On our second to last series, we suffered another tackle for loss on second down. Quarterback Ozzie Mann was sacked and fumbled to end the game as we tried to execute the two minute drill.
We had 13 third and long (8+) situations throughout the game, which far too many to overcome even for a highly proficient offense. Mann’s footwork in the pocket was inconsistent and our wide receivers struggled to get off the line of scrimmage when pressed by Iowa’s corners. Four different intended receivers dropped passes in the game. Up front, Iowa’s defensive tackles became more of a factor as the game went on, registering tackles for loss and pressures on the quarterback.
Our defense played with great effort, but got tired in the fourth quarter. We pressured Iowa on run downs, putting them off schedule and disrupting their play action game. The run-oriented Hawkeyes netted just 113 yards rushing. Our first points of the game came off of a fumble recovery for a touchdown by reserve defensive tackle Blake Dueitt. Iowa’s lone explosive play in the first half was on a wheel route to the running back and was the result of a coverage bust by our safety. We had seen that route in previous games and the scout team ran it during the week.
In the fourth quarter, we struggled to generate pressure on Iowa’s quarterback with a four man rush and our blitzes also failed to get home. Poor pursuit and leverage angles on a quarterback scramble resulted in a 16 yard gain for Iowa. We also lacked attention to detail in pass coverage in the red zone, where Iowa threw two late touchdown passes.
We played a much cleaner game on special teams than we did against Colgate the week before. We averaged almost 40 yards in net punting and kept Iowa off balance with rugby punts from various formations. Our punt and field goal units handled the crowd noise well. The turnover on kickoff coverage was the result of good fits by Quintin Cooper and Aaron Taylor. However, we did lose 24 important yards of field position via a punt return and by failing to field an Iowa punt. The Hawkeyes held almost an eight yard edge in starting field position on Saturday.
We will regroup today, close the books on Iowa and begin preparations for a much improved Indiana State team that comes to Muncie this Saturday. The Sycamores were competitive with Indiana University in their 2014 opener and dominated Tennessee Tech 49-14 yesterday in Terre Haute. We need to have a more productive week of practice, beginning on Tuesday. We are going through some growing pains and need to form some better habits as the season progresses.
Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of the Ball State football program.
Sincerely,
Pete
Pete Lembo
Head Football Coach
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Tough weekend for Big10
