College Football

Hawkeyes Football: Three Players to Watch in Week Two

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:53 p.m. ET

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Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Looking at three players to watch when Iowa takes on Iowa State

The Iowa Hawkeyes got off to a fast start in 2016. After taking a 21-0 lead over Miami (OH), the Hawkeyes cruised to a 45-21 victory. The Kinnick crowd was loud the whole game, giving Iowa an extra push to their 13th consecutive regular season victory. The Hawkeyes take on the Iowa State Cyclones this weekend as they look to take down the Cyclones for the second straight season.

Iowa State struggled in week one, losing to Northern Iowa 25-20. The Cyclones let in a touchdown with just under five minutes remaining and then threw a costly interception at the end of the game, as well. Despite their somewhat embarrassing loss to Northern Iowa, the Cyclones always play the Hawkeyes tough.

Iowa wasn’t able to pull away until late in the fourth quarter last year. It’s one of the best rivalries in college sports and, no matter how good either team is, they always seem to play each other tough.

Iowa is still a heavy favorite heading into the game. Besides, it doesn’t get much better than a night game at Kinnick Stadium against the Hawkeyes’ biggest rival. Here are three players to watch for during this week’s bout with the Cyclones.

Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

QB, Joel Lanning

2016 Stats: 256 Passing Yards, 3 Touchdowns, 2 Interceptions

It all starts with quarterback play for teams looking to pull off an upset. Billy Bahl ripped through the Hawkeyes defense last week, throwing for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He did have two fumbles, however the Hawkeyes couldn’t get consistent pressure on him and it allowed Bahl to sit in the pocket and fire darts to his receivers.

Northern Iowa sacked Joel Lanning three times in the Cyclones’ season opener and the return of Josey Jewell in the middle for the Hawkeyes should help them get more pressure on the quarterback. That will be huge for a Hawkeyes defense who struggled in the pass game last week.

Even though Lanning threw two picks last week, it was very uncharacteristic turnovers from the sophomore quarterback. He threw just four interceptions all last season in 11 games, however the only game he missed last season was against the Hawkeyes.

The biggest key for Lanning, though, is to not turn the ball over. The Hawkeyes forced three turnovers last week and Iowa State turned the ball over on each of their final three drives.

Lanning threw an interception to set up Northern Iowa’s go-ahead touchdown. The Cyclones then proceeded to fumble on one drive and throw another interception to end the game with 1:19 remaining while at midfield.

Turnovers knocked Miami (OH) out of the game early last week, and it will do the same for Iowa State if they’re not careful. The Cyclones will want to be aggressive and make a couple of big plays early to try to get the crowd to quiet down a little, but Lanning can’t sacrifice ball security for a home run play against a Hawkeyes defense that allowed just 20.4 points per game a year ago.

Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

WR, Allen Lazard

2016 Stats: 6 Receptions, 129 Yards, 1 Touchdown

The biggest concern last week came from the pass defense. Billy Bahl had two receivers with six catches, and James Gardner was just five yards from giving the Redhawks their second 100-yard receiver of the game. For Iowa State, Allen Lazard dominated Northern Iowa in week one with six receptions for 129 yards and a score.

Trever Ryan and Mike Warren were the only other two players to catch more than two passes on the night. If Iowa State gets down early, like many people think, then Lazard will become an even bigger part to the game, as it would force the Cyclones into more passing situations.

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With Desmond King likely lining up against him, Lazard will have a much harder time getting open than in week one. Plus, an expected better pass rush from the Hawkeyes defense in week two could force Joel Lanning to look at his dump-off options more often. Still, Lazard has been very productive through his first two seasons.

The junior receiver has caught at least 45 passes in each of his first two seasons, as well as a combined 1,401 yards and nine touchdowns. With Mike Warren only carrying the ball 12 times in week one, I’d expect the Cyclones to look towards Lazard early for a big play and to move the chains on third down, an area the Hawkeyes also struggled in but got better as the game went on.

Lazard burned the Hawkeyes for seven catches and 71 yards during last year’s meeting, therefore it’s evident that he’s not afraid of the Hawkeyes. He racked up more than half of Lanning’s passing yards last week, and it’s clear that he’s the skill player the Cyclones will lean on this season.

It’ll be a great matchup between Lazard and the Hawkeyes secondary. If the Hawkeyes can shut him down then it’ll be interesting to see if anyone else can step up.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

DB, Greg Mabin

2016 Stats: 5 Total Tackles, 2 Pass Deflections

Desmond King will almost always be productive for the Hawkeyes. He may get burned on a rare occasion, however the stability he brings to the Hawkeyes secondary and cornerback core is matched by few in the nation. On the other side, Greg Mabin has to step up in week two. He did record five tackles and two pass deflections, but he had a hard time defending James Gardner and Rokeem Williams.

The Hawkeyes don’t need Mabin to be an All-American, however he carries a big role this season as teams will look to avoid Desmond King. When throwing to the receiver Mabin was covering, Bahl went 8-11 and added a touchdown against him in week one.