By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Given how poorly the Iowa offense performed in last Saturday’s 7-3 victory over South Dakota State in the season opener at Kinnick Stadium, it would be easy for members of the Iowa defense to get frustrated and point fingers.

It would be easy for Jack Campbell and his defensive cohorts to blame the offense for not doing its part, and for keeping Iowa from being elite.

Campbell, an all-Big Ten senior linebacker from Cedar Falls, was among several defensive players that attended Tuesday’s weekly press conference.

They were asked a lot about this coming Saturday’s annual showdown against Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium, but the defensive players were also asked about the struggling Iowa offense, which only produced 166 yards against South Dakota State.

The Iowa defense actually outscored the Iowa offense 4-3 thanks to two safeties, including one by Campbell.

The offense was booed during last Saturday’s game and has since become the laughingstock of college football, while senior quarterback Spencer Petras has been widely criticized and mocked on social media after having recorded a 1.1 grade for his performance.

Campbell defended his teammates on offense during the post-game press conference last Saturday and he did the same on Tuesday.

“I feel like top to bottom everyone on this team would do anything for anyone on the team,” Campbell said. “It’s just a unique culture, and I’m just really proud to be a part of it and get to continue to develop relationships with guys that I would have never met if I didn’t come here.”

On the field Campbell, plays with violence and shows little to no mercy for his opponents because that’s what a middle linebacker is supposed to do.

But away from the field, Campbell is humble and soft-spoken, almost to the point of being shy.

He is also the ultimate teammate because his team is just like a family to Campbell.

And family means everything to Campbell.

That was apparent during the post-game press conference last Saturday when Campbell was asked about the offense being criticized.

“I hate to break it to you guys but they’re more than football players,” Campbell said. “They’re brothers. They’re sons. They’re grandsons. And I feel like a lot of people lose sight of that.”

Asked on Tuesday what inspired him to defend his teammates on offense, Campbell once again brought up family.

“I would just say I feel like that’s kind of how I’ve been raised,” Campbell said. “But when you come here it’s a brotherhood, and I would expect the same thing from anyone else. I feel like anyone else in this building would say the exact same thing as me if they were up there at the podium.

“I would just say it’s kind of how my parents brought me up and my grandparents. They were just like no matter what, if you’re a part of something, you guys have got to be one close unit and that’s been emphasized ad nauseam ever since I’ve been here. And it’s just such a special thing to be a part of, players and coaches and everything, all the support staff. It’s just a unique culture here.”

The media certainly has a right to ask questions about the struggling Iowa offense because it’s probably the biggest storyline right now.

Iowa finished last seasons ranked 121^st nationally in total offense, and if the 2022 season opener is an indication, the problems on offense are far from being fixed.

The defensive players have had chances to throw their offensive teammates under the bus, including on Tuesday, but they’re too smart and too loyal to take the bait.

“I have one-hundred percent trust in those guys to go out there and make plays,” said senior defensive end Joe Evans. “I’d go to battle for those guys on the offensive side. Whenever I’m on the bench I expect them to score and that’s what I expect out of them.”

A cynic would point out that speaking to the media is a lot different than speaking in private.

And while that’s true, Evans and Campbell don’t seem to be putting on an act, or just providing lip service.

Their faith in the offense seems genuine, and that’s encouraging from a team chemistry standpoint.

Should this Iowa team fail to meet expectations, it won’t be because of a lack of unity, or a lack of mutual respect.

The players on offense are like family to the players on defense, and nothing comes between family.

“Comparing how close teams are that I’ve been on as a young player, you’re naturally not going to be as close to everyone because you don’t know everyone for as long,” said Spencer Petras, who has been the focus of ridicule and jokes. “But I definitely feel like this is the closest I’ve been to my teammates.

“The locker room is really fun, and I think we’ve got a lot of good people, and we’ve got a lot of guys that care about each other and love being around each other, which definitely makes it easy.”

Iowa junior punter Tory Taylor was the toast of the town after punting 10 times for a whopping 47.9 average against South Dakota State.

The Australia native was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, and he and the Iowa defense form a potent combination.

If only they could get more help from the offense, although, you’ll never hear Taylor say that, because again, the offense is part of the family.

Taylor has been outspoken about his support of Petras, not only as a quarterback, but as a friend and teammate.

“I’ve probably said this a few times, Spencer is really like one of the nicest guys you will ever meet,” Taylor said. “I think people really should judge him for that.

“And I understand that they’re not going to because in terms of playing a football game people want results, and obviously people are getting frustrated when people aren’t delivering results, and everyone wants to win like we want to win.

“Spencer wants to win. Everyone on the team wants to win. Everyone is doing everything they can to win.”