Iowa finally switches quarterbacks, but offensive woes continue in 54-10 loss at Ohio State
By Pat Harty
It apparently doesn’t matter who plays quarterback for the Iowa football team right now.
After a horrible performance in the first half against Ohio State in which Spencer Petras threw two interceptions, including a pick six late in the second quarter, and lost a fumble, Kirk Ferentz finally switched quarterbacks for the second half, but the dysfunction on offense continued.
Fourth-year junior Alex Padilla played the entire second half for Iowa at quarterback, but he lost a fumble on his first play from scrimmage, and he threw an interception as Ohio State pulled away for a 54-10 victory at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The final score was somewhat misleading because the Iowa defense held its own until fatigue became a factor late in the game.
The Buckeyes had to settle for field goals on three occasions in the first half after taking over in Iowa territory.
Saturday’s game was similar to Iowa’s 42-3 loss to Michigan in the 2021 Big Ten Championship game in that the Iowa defense did enough to keep the score close for a while, but then eventually wore down from not getting enough help from the offense.
The offensive line struggled with both run and pass blocking, while receivers struggled to get open and the running backs struggled to find running lanes.
Combine all that dysfunction with both quarterbacks also struggling just to complete simple throws and it created a mess on offense.
You feel for the Iowa defense because some might look at the 54 points and just assume that Jack Campbell and his cohorts struggled when that wasn’t the case.
It was the most points scored against Iowa since a 56-35 loss at Ohio State in 1995.
That game was different, however, in that the Iowa defense was shredded for 56 points in the first two quarters, while Ohio State only led 26-10 at halftime on Saturday despite Iowa having committed three turnovers.
The Iowa defense should carry no shame from Saturday’s game.
The Iowa offense, on the other hand, has to figure things out in a hurry because this season is on the verge of collapse with Iowa now 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten after three consecutive losses.
Iowa will have to win three of its last five games against Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska just to finish the regular season 6-6 and to qualify for a bowl game.
The concern is that Iowa doesn’t have what it takes to fix the offense this season, from a coaching or from a personnel standpoint.
The bar has been set so low with Brian Ferentz as the offensive coordinator that just being average would be a significant step forward.
And while Padilla shouldn’t be buried and forgotten after playing just two quarters against one of the best defenses in the country, his performance on Saturday left much to be desired.
He didn’t have much time in the pocket to throw, but he also held the football for too long on some plays and missed some open receivers.
Many of the same things that have hurt Petras’s performance this season were a factor when Padilla was playing in Saturday’s game.
The offense just has no imagination or rhythm right now regardless who plays quarterback.
Padilla started three games last season, and played three-fourths of another game when Petras was injured.
And while Iowa won all four games, Padilla completed less than 50 percent of his passes and he returned to the bench when Petras became healthy enough to play again.
Kirk Ferentz had stuck with Petras through six games this season.
But even Kirk Ferentz has a breaking point with his quarterbacks.
What most teams make look simple, the Iowa offense struggles to do, like completing a basic crossing route.
The play usually either breaks down from a lack of protection, or from a bad throw or from throwing into traffic.
To say that fans have lost their patience with the Iowa offense would be an understatement.
But maybe now we know why Kirk Ferentz was reluctant to switch quarterbacks because the alternative to Petras doesn’t appear to be any better.
In fairness to Padilla, though, he was thrown in there against one of the top teams in the country, and on the road.
It wouldn’t be fair to judge him too harshly due to the circumstances.
But it might be a case in which Iowa just doesn’t have enough talent at quarterback right now. And if that is the case, it comes down to two factors: recruiting and player development.
Outside of senior tight end Sam LaPorta, and his backup, Luke Lachey, who on offense has played well throughout the season?
It’s tough to judge the Iowa receivers because they rarely get the ball thrown to them.
There were several times in Saturday’s game when Iowa reciever Arland Bruce was open on underneath crossing routes, but the ball was thrown elsewhere.
Iowa has only scored 10 touchdowns in seven games this season, but the defense has scored three of them, including Iowa’s only touchdown in Saturday’s game on a fumble return by senior defensive end Joe Evans in the first quarter.
The grim reality is that the Iowa offense might be incapable of being fixed because there is so much that has to be fixed.
THE FIRST PASS OF THE GAME IS PICKED OFF BY @OHIOSTATEFB 💪😮 pic.twitter.com/HLtIhq6930
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 22, 2022