By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – More than two weeks have passed since the Iowa football team defeated Nebraska 31-28 in the regular-season finale on Nov. 23 at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa secured an 8-4 regular-season record with the victory and has since secured a spot in the Outback Bowl for the sixth time since 2005 where it'll face Mississippi State on New Year's Day in Tampa.

The regular season was filled with numerous peaks and valleys, which is usually the case for Iowa under head coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes won six of their first seven games, and were thought to be a Big Ten contender, but those hopes were crushed when Iowa lost three games in a row to Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern by a combined 12 points.

There was a lot to like about this Iowa team during the regular season, including having arguably the best one-two punch at tight end in school history.

But there was also plenty not to like about Iowa, including the inability to win close games against good teams.

And that is the focus of this column, which lists the five best things that occurred during the regular season and the five worst things.

THE FIVE BEST

1. The 13-3 victory over Iowa State: It is hard to think of a time when the Cyclones were Iowa’s best win, but that is the clearly the case this season.

Who else even deserves consideration?

Iowa State’s 8-4 record is more impressive than Northern Illinois’ 8-4 record, and they’re the only teams on Iowa’s 2018 schedule to win at least eight games during the regular season.

Four of Iowa’s wins have come against teams that finished the regular season with a losing record – Indiana, Maryland, Illinois and Nebraska – and another came against FCS member Northern Iowa.

Iowa State, on the other hand, has one of the best defenses in the Big 12, which isn’t saying much, but is better than not having one of the best.

David Montgomery is also a force at running back, while freshman quarterback Brock Purdy has lifted the offense to another level since being inserted as the starter in the sixth game of the season.

Purdy didn’t play in the 13-3 loss to Iowa on Sept. 8 and Kinnick Stadium, and Cyclone fans like to say, that if he had, the result would have been different.

Maybe so. But we’ll never know.

Cyclone fans will have to just be content with being Iowa’s best win. That could change if Iowa defeats Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl, but probably not should Iowa State defeat Washington State in the Alamo Bowl.

2. Winning three out of four trophy games: This was accomplished with victories over Iowa State, Minnesota and Nebraska. Wisconsin handed Iowa its only loss in a trophy game with a 28-17 come-from-behind victory in the Big Ten opener on Sept. 22 at Kinnick Stadium.

The loss to Wisconsin was costly and continued a disturbing trend, but winning three out of four trophy games still is a nice accomplishment.  

3. T.J. Hockenson’s emergence as a star: There were signs last season that the Chariton native had a chance to be special, but nothing to suggest that he was poised for stardom.

Hockenson in 12 games has gone from being Noah Fant’s lesser-known sidekick at tight end to the most celebrated tight end in college football.

Hockenson was this year’s recipient of the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate tight end.

He led Iowa during the regular season with 46 receptions for 717 yards. He also caught six touchdown passes, and he made a key reception on fourth down that helped to set up a game-winning field goal against Nebraska.

His blocking also has improved considerably, making Hockenson the total package at tight end.

The only downside to Hockenson’s emergence as a star from an Iowa fan perspective is that he is now considering declaring himself eligible for the 2019 NFL Draft as a third-year sophomore.

4. A.J. Epenesa’s rare reserve role: Explosive, efficient and extraordinary are three words that help to describe this true sophomore from Edwardsville, Ill.

Epenesa made first-team All-Big Ten this season despite not being a starter. He is part of a three-player rotation at defensive end with senior Parker Hesse and junior Anthony Nelson, but is third in the pecking order behind his two older teammates.

It actually has sort of turned into four-player rotation at defensive end, considering Chauncey Golston’s expanded role this season.

So in other words, Epenesa’s has made the most of his limited playing time. He leads Iowa with 15.5 tackles for loss and is tied with Anthony Nelson for the lead in sacks at 9.5.

5. Amani Hooker’s versatility: The Minneapolis native has answered the question about who would be Iowa’s next great defensive back under Phil Parker, although, Hooker did it despite playing linebacker for nearly half of the regular season.

Hooker was named the Woodson-Tatum Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year after a regular season in which he shifted back and forth from strong safety to outside linebacker based on personnel matchups.

He led Iowa with seven pass break-ups during the regular season, is tied for the lead in interceptions with Geno Stone with four and is second on the team in tackles with 59.

Hooker edged out sophomore running back Mekhi Saragent for the fifth spot on this list. But it is worth noting that Sargent has gone from being third at best on the depth chart when the season started to Iowa's leading rusher with 748 yards and nine rushing touchdowns. The Key West, Fla., native transferred to Iowa after playing for one season at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs.

THE FIVE WORST

1. Inability to close: Iowa’s four losses to Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern were by a combined 23 points. The three consecutive losses to Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern were by a combined 12 points.

Iowa led in the fourth quarter in all four losses, including late in the fourth quarter against Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue.

The combination of failing to extend drives on offense by not converting on key third-down plays and the inability of the defense to get key stops in the fourth quarter has been a lethal combination.

2. Unreliable and inconsistent rushing attack: Iowa averaged 162.0 rushing yards per game during the regular season, which is hardly cause for celebration.

The Hawkeyes rushed for over 200 yards against Northern Illinois (209), Northern Iowa (207), Maryland (224), Illinois (203) and Nebraska (266), but for less than 125 yards against Iowa State (105), Minnesota (106), Purdue (118) and Northwestern (64).

Winning becomes extremely difficult for Iowa when it fails to sustain a productive rushing attack, and this season has been more proof of that.

3. Noah Fant’s role and usage: This will be remembered as one of the strangest things to occur under Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa had a proven star at tight end, who had a knack for making big plays, and yet, Fant was often relegated to the role of decoy or bench warmer for reasons that still haven’t been explained clearly.

Fant’s role was without question impacted by Hockenson's emergence because only so many passes can be thrown to the tight ends.

But that still doesn’t totally explain why Fant was on the sideline so often during the regular season.

Fant has since declared for the 2019 NFL Draft as a junior and will not play in the bowl game.

You can’t blame him for leaving under the unusual circumstances.

4. Inexperience at linebacker: Iowa had to replace its top four linebackers from last season, including first-team All-American Josey Jewell, and the inexperience has shown at times this season.

The current group of linebackers has been hampered by injuries, but the biggest problem is having too much inexperience at the same time. There is reason to be optimistic about the future at linebacker with so many young players having key roles during the regular season.

But we're talking about the present    

5. Lack of mobility at quarterback: Nate Stanley doesn’t have to take a back seat to anybody in the Big Ten when it comes to arm strength. He has a cannon for a right arm and that allows him to make some difficult throws. Stanley's arm strength also has allowed him to throw 49 touchdown passes since the start of last season.

Stanley’s problem is a lack of mobility because that often causes passing plays to unravel when he can’t find an open receiver. His lack of mobility and his reluctance to scramble from the pocket sometimes makes Stanley an easy target for opposing defenders.

It also puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line to hold blocks for maybe longer than what is possible.