Hawkeye ‘D’ baking up turnovers
Clichés reign supreme in the gamut of sports jargon: There’s no “I” in team. Defense wins ball games. He or she gives 110 percent.
Although those much spouted mundane phrases are nauseating, truth is found in them — which is why coaches employ them.
So far this season, Iowa has adhered to the following football cliché as means to account for the team’s 6-0 start — whoever has the fewest turnovers wins the game.
The Hawkeyes are fifth in the nation in turnover margin with plus-9, which also happens to lead the Big Ten. Assisted by the prowess of safeties Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood, Iowa is gaining 1.5 more turnovers per game than its opponents, offsetting quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s early miscues.
Sash’s five interceptions lead the Big Ten and account for more than one-quarter of Iowa’s 19 takeaways, second only to Air Force’s 20.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz doesn’t know exactly how the defense has compiled 12 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
“I can’t explain it,” Ferentz said. “I have no idea. They are playing smarter, and that’s a part of turnovers — playing smart and aggressive.”
Trailing Sash in interceptions is teammate Greenwood, whose third pick of the season last week sealed a 30-28 victory over Michigan. During the Homecoming game under the lights at Kinnick Stadium, Greenwood picked off Wolverine Denard Robinson on Michigan’s late-fourth-quarter drive.
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and made the play,” the Hawkeye junior said following the game. “I knew I needed to make the catch, get down and give the ball back to our offense to run out the clock.”
Employing a pro-style offense instead of a shotgun or spread formation, the Hawkeyes must prolong their offensive possessions. Against the Wolverines, Iowa retained the ball for 32:15, in contrast to Michigan’s possession time of 27:45. Gaining a positive turnover ratio gives the offense more time on the field.
Stanzi has thrown eight interceptions, including a pick-six to Wolverine cornerback Donovan Warren two plays into the first quarter. Stanzi rallied to lead the offense, while the dominant Iowa defense pressured Michigan into committing five turnovers, causing Wolverines head coach Rich Rodriguez to quip, “I can tell you why we lost” following the game.
Defensive tackle Christian Ballard cites the defensive hustle having emphasis on positive turnover ratio.
“We don’t focus on stripping the ball, we just run to the ball,” the junior said. “As Coach [Ferentz] says, ‘Great things are going to happen if you just run to the ball.’ You look at Adrian [Clayborn], he was running to the ball, which is why he recovered a fumble. Karl Klug was running to the ball, and that’s why he stripped it out. As long as we have people going to the ball, good things are going to happen.”
Ferentz concedes that sometimes, a cliché supplies the best explanation, especially when examining the Hawkeyes’ 10-game winning streak.
“Week by week and inch by inch,” the coach said. “… That’s what we need to do from here on in is just try to take it week by week. Most of the clichés are pretty true. The trick is to stick with them.”
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