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Following a disappointing 32-20 loss to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday from Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., Pro Football Focus shared a rather concerning defensive stat that helped MSU to victory.
According to PFF, Iowa’s defense missed 19 tackles throughout Saturday’s contest, which far surpassed the three missed tackles by the Spartans.
To put some context on that number, Iowa had missed a total of 38 tackles in its first six games combined before Saturday. As for Michigan State, the Spartans have accrued 68 missed tackles through the same time frame.
Adding further context, Iowa missed a total of 13 tackles in the 2024 Citrus Bowl versus Tennessee, 10 against Penn State last year and 14 against Purdue in 2020.
For a couple of reference points, Iowa missed 13 tackles vs TENN in the bowl game last year, 10 vs PSU last year, 14 vs Purdue in ’20; those seem to be the most missed tackles in recent memory by an Iowa D, pretty hard bottom out last night vs MSU
— Hawkeye Gamefilm (@hawkeyegamefilm) October 20, 2024
Considering the Spartans put up a staggering 468 yards of total offense on Iowa’s defense, the Hawkeyes’ missed tackles were quite costly.
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed the numerous missed takedowns during his postgame media availability, stating that tackling was a major issue in their performance against the Spartans.
“I mean, it didn’t seem like we were doing much really very well, very sharply. It starts at the line of scrimmage. Their guys did a good job there and just one general comment, we didn’t tackle well,” Ferentz said.
The loss to the Spartans now drops the Hawkeyes to 4-3 on the year and 2-2 in Big Ten play.
Iowa looks to bounce back this Saturday when the Northwestern Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) visit Kinnick Stadium. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. CT…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pro-football-focus-highlights-glaring-001529197.html
Author : Hawkeyes Wire
Publish date : 2024-10-23 00:15:29
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