IOWA CITY, Iowa – Perhaps the only thing more baffling than the Iowa's football team's sudden decline is how tight end Noah Fant is being used on offense, or not being used.

Former Iowa offensive coordinator Don Patterson addressed both of those topics, along with some other issues while making his usual Monday appearance on the KCJJ/Allhawkeyes radio show and podcast.

Iowa is mired in a three-game losing streak heading into the final road game of the season at Illinois on Saturday.

The Big Ten West Division already has been decided with Northwestern earning the title by defeating Iowa 14-10 this past Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa, with records of 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten, is now playing for pride and for the best bowl game possible.

The question is why isn't Fant playing more for Iowa?

He has gone from being a preseason first-team All-America selection after catching 11 touchdown passes last season to only playing eight snaps in the second half of the Northwestern game, and fans and members of the media want to know why a proven star is having his role greatly reduced.

Patterson doesn't have an explanation, although, he thinks T.J. Hockenson's emergence as a star at tight end has affected Fant's playing time.

We always appreciate Patterson's unique insight because he sees things that the casual fan doesn't doesn't see and then shares it with us. He studies Iowa's most recent game and then provides us with a detailed analysis of what happened.

So if you're interested in knowing exactly why and how Iowa lost on Saturday, give this podcast a listen.