Costly turnovers doom Hawkeyes in third shutout loss of season

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Hawkeyes’ performance in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Monday afternoon was arguably their worst performance of the season for many reasons.

After all, Iowa only generated 173 yard of offense against Tennessee, suffered three turnovers and left a fat goose egg on the scoreboard. There’s no denying the 35-0 loss was embarrassing for the players, coaches and fans in attendance. On top of that, it was the Hawkeyes’ third of the season, including back-to-back games. For a contest that appeared evenly matched on paper, it turned out to be the total opposite on the gridiron.

Everyone was expecting a low-scoring affair, due to the fact that Iowa had a tenacious defense, and Tennessee was starting a true freshman at quarterback. However, the Volunteers started out the gates with high energy, and performed like they wanted it more.

Not to mention the Tennessee fans heavily outnumbered Iowa’s, and that made Camping World Stadium a snakepit for Coach Kirk Ferentz and his players. The Hawkeyes did put together a promising drive midway through the first quarter, but it ended when Deacon Hill threw an interception in the endzone.

That was the closest the Hawkeyes came to scoring points. From that point on everything went downhill for Iowa. Although the game was scoreless in the first quarter, the Volunteers made the necessary adjustments. Within a blink of an eye, quarterback Nico Iamaleava led Tennessee’s offense on two touchdown drives in the second quarter.

Iowa (10-4) found itself in a deep hole at halftime. Iamaleava’s mobility gave the Hawkeyes fits on defense, and the Volunteers’ lightning-fast tempo demoralized the unit. For whatever reason, Iowa came out with the same lethargic play in the second half, and that frustrated Ferentz.

“Clearly the self-inflicted things, the things that you cannot do if you are going to win football games,” Ferentz said. “Whether it is not making the makeables offensively, penalties, penalties at inopportune times, and turnovers is as important a stat as there is, and certainly back to the game today.”

Hill struggled mightily throughout the afternoon. He lost a fumble at Iowa’s two-yard line towards the end of the third quarter, and one of his two interceptions was returned for a touchdown early in the fourth. It didn’t help Hill’s cause that there was poor blocking from the big boys up front. Iowa failed to execute and allowed five sacks, including four on Hill. The receivers dropped balls and couldn’t get open downfield.

Regardless of the matter, Ferentz didn’t pull Hill out of the game until Iowa fell down 28-0 in the fourth quarter. Freshman Marco Lainez was inserted, and gave the offense a spark with his legs, but the game was already decided at that point.

Once the smoke cleared, the Volunteers led the Hawkeyes in total offense, plays, first downs and time of possession. The three turnovers were the straws that broke the camel’s back though. Ferentz understands it’s hard to win against a talented team with those types of costly mistakes, and the final score solidified that.

“We have played some top teams and we have been a top-10 team, so I think we know what it takes and what is required,” he said. “Typically for us, at least, the last 25 years, everything has got to work together, and certainly it did not today; it is pretty obvious out there.”

The Hawkeyes registered 11 first downs, and only converted two of their 15 third down attempts. Hill completed seven of his 18 passes for 56 yards and two interceptions. Lainez led the team with 51 yards on the ground. Wideout Kaleb Brown recorded a team-high, three catches for 39 yards.

Punter Tory Taylor was Iowa’s MVP of the game, and even set an NCAA record for punting yards in a single-season. Iowa’s defense was the biggest surprise. Phil Parker’s bunch gave up a bunch of explosive plays, and didn’t cause any turnovers, which was a head-scratcher to many Iowa fans.

Linebacker Jay Higgins racked up a game-high, 16 tackles, including one for loss and a sack. Fellow linebacker Nick Jackson added 11 stops. Edge rusher Joe Evans had a memorable outing, with five tackles, including a jaw-dropping, four sacks.

After losing to a team from the Almighty SEC, Ferentz now knows what it takes to make that next step with the program. The 68-year old is going to have a busy off-season, and will no longer have his son Brian on the staff calling plays. Still, Ferentz feels Iowa put together a great season, with winning 10 games and the Big Ten West. So he doesn’t want his players to hang their heads, because at the end of the day Ferentz is proud of them all.

“So just questions about the future, all that stuff, really not worried too much about that right now, but my thoughts are really with these players and the stories that they are, especially our senior class.”