After returning to top 10 status, Iowa football has fallen back toward mediocrity. It's been a surprising decline given the lofty rep coach Kirk Ferentz once had and as a result of the promise of a class of prospects some recruiting analysts gushed over. Unfortunately for Iowa, the Class of 2005 has proven to be a disappointment, and in the process has illustrated just how fickle the business of projecting can be.
Marc Morehouse has a detailed look at the '05 Class that provides some interesting stuff:
"A breakdown of starters last week shows just two starters in the 2005 class. The 2004 (fifth-year seniors) and 2006 (juniors and red-shirt sophomores) claimed nine starters each Saturday. The 2007 class had three, and true freshman kicker Trent Mossbrucker is the only starter from 2008. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday he doesn't have a set number of starters in his head that each class needs to produce. But there's no denying that if the Hawkeyes (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) have a leak in personnel, it's the 2005 group. It's no one's fault and this isn't about finger pointing. When a class that boasted seven U.S. Army All-American bowl selections produces just two starters in its fourth season on campus, it deserves examination. That examination shows a ton of reasons for the thinning of what recruiting analyst Tom Lemming rated as the nation's No. 5 recruiting class."
The thing that really caught my eye here is that the biggest factor derailing the class has been injuries, as Dace Richardson, Trey Stross, Tyler Blum, Tony Moeaki and Dan Doering all have had a hard time staying on the field.
Tennessee, another program that has struggled of late, also was well represented in the '05 All-American Game with seven players: QB Jonathan Crompton; DT Ray Henderson; LB Rico McCoy; OL Josh McNeil; DB Dee Morley; LB Adam Myers-White; OT Christopher Scott and WR Slick Shelly, who has since moved on to Tulsa.
RANDOM STUFF
•A lack of communication, a product of some inexperience, has been a problem for the young LSU secondary, James Varney writes:
"Appalachian State completed a 44-yard pass against the Tigers, and Mississippi State had one go for 41 yards. A ghastly breakdown against Auburn resulted in a 58-yard completion that seemed to doom LSU in the fourth quarter, but a memorable comeback led by quarterback Jarrett Lee and tailback Charles Scott snatched victory in the final minutes on a touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell. But overall, opponents are connecting on just over 50 percent of their passing attempts against LSU, and the Tigers have more interceptions (four) than they have allowed passing touchdowns (three).
"In other words, it is simply a play here and there. According to several players, those few missed plays have come as a result of a defensive back leaving his man in an attempt to rush a quarterback who has left the pocket, or they misunderstood the coverage call. That kind of miscue could prove costly against a quarterback like Florida's Tim Tebow, whom the Tigers face Oct.11 and who is famous for mixing up scrambles and passes.
"The problem is further exacerbated by a new no-huddle spread offense in which players shuttle in and out, masking the formation of the upcoming play and creating headaches for defensive coordinators. Miles has become so exasperated with the situation at times that he has threatened to keep 14 or more defenders milling on the field between snaps and simply pull one or two of them off as the setup of the next play becomes clear.
"One of the things we did this week was re-teach the huddle," co-defensive coordinator Doug Mallory quipped. "Until Mississippi State, we never even had time to huddle."
•Speaking of Florida, the Gators need to get more production from their touted wideouts, as Michael DiRocco reports:
"Louis Murphy is UF's second-leading receiver, but he has dropped four passes in four games. The Gators' three other wide receivers -- juniors Riley Cooper and Carl Moore and redshirt freshman Deonte Thompson -- have 11 total receptions. Moore (two catches) made a highlight-reel catch on the sideline Sept. 6 against Miami, but he suffered a bruised hip on the play and hasn't caught a pass since. Cooper has six catches and one drop. Thompson has two catches - none in the past two games - but he dropped what would have been a long touchdown pass in the Aug. 30 season opener against Hawaii. Despite that, Meyer said the three players are still significant parts of UF's offense. It has just worked out that they haven't gotten the ball as much as Harvin, Murphy or sophomore tight end Aaron Hernandez (11 catches)."
Facing Arkansas should afford that chance, although the Hogs have been really awful trying to stop the run. It might be an ideal time to boost some confidence in some of UF's other runners not named Tim Tebow.
•Texas Tech ground attack? Not quite, but as Joseph Duarte writes, the Red Raiders have really improved running the ball:
"A year ago, Texas Tech finished last among 119 Division I-A schools in rushing with an average 59.3 yards per game. Entering Big 12 play Saturday at Kansas State, the Red Raiders rank 66th at 146.5 yards per game. Texas Tech has rushed for at least 100 yards in all four games this season, which never has occurred under Leach. They have as many rushing touchdowns (12) as passing. The improvement in the running game can be traced to the 1-2 punch of senior Shannon Woods and sophomore Baron Batch. The duo has combined for 516 of Tech's 586 rushing yards and nine touchdowns."
Those numbers figure to jump even higher when they play a K-State defense that has given up back to back 300-yard rushing games.
•The star to keep an eye on this weekend: Oklahoma State's RB Kendall Hunter. The smooth sophomore is still under the radar, but that could change by Saturday night. He leads the Big 12 in rushing, averaging 155 yards per game and behind a physical O-line, he is the driving force for the country's top running game (304 ypg). Saturday, OSU plays the shaky Texas A&M defense, which is 116th in the country in rush defense, surrendering 228 yards per game.
•Stephen Garcia is finally getting to play at Ole Miss. The vastly underpaid Joseph Person reports on this story that is near and dear to my heart.
•Interesting Johnny Majors column by Mark Wiedmer that contains this quote:
"Frankly, I think (defensive coordinator) John Chavis has saved his job for 10 years."
Bruce Feldman
