There’s a reckoning ahead. Sure, that slightly creepy Cy-Hawk trophy is on the line when Iowa and Iowa State renew their rivalry Saturday. But more is at stake for first-year Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Greg Davis. The last time his players shared a field with Paul Rhoads, the result punched his bus ticket out of Austin. During the 5-7 debacle at Texas in 2010, it was a late October loss to Iowa State that finally made Mack Brown snap and sealed a “resignation” for the 2005 Broyles award winner.
Brown threw his wife Sally’s cookies against the wall in the coaches’ office and profanely wondered how in tarnation (“I’m sorry I have to talk like this fellas”) the Longhorns could trail the Cyclones 28-6 in the fourth quarter. His quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, threw three interceptions and averaged just 6.0 yards per attempt en route 344 yards of irrelevance. His rushing attack notched 96 yards. So while Davis wears black and gold now, answers to Kirk Ferentz rather than Mack Brown and summers in the heartland instead of the Gulf Coast, the nemesis in Ames remains.
Davis brings flexible coordinatin’ to Iowa City but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s successful. He rode the zone read and precision passing through the Vince Young and Colt McCoy eras. He liked pro-style sets with Chris Simms and a sizable batch of “what the hell is going on” while utilizing Gilbert. Iowa’s first game of 2012 produced an 18-17 victory over Northern Illinois. That’s the good news. The part that fails to surprise is that it occurred with field goals, bountiful sacks and horizontal offense. Davis, at least the iteration of the last few years, clings to the screen pass like an executive asking you to pry his BlackBerry from his cold, dead fingers.
Hawkeyes quarterback James Vandenberg completed 21 of 33 passes for 129 yards. No touchdowns or interceptions were thrown and he averaged 3.9 yards per attempt. If there’s advice to give to curious Iowa fans, it’s that those numbers may improve only slightly unless the signal-caller is Heisman-caliber. Vandenberg was sacked six times, a bit surprising considering that’s Ferentz’s glory hole position. I’m scared to even mention running back Damon Bullock‘s 150 yard performance because come on, he’s an Iowa runner. The wrath of God just hasn’t decided when to strike.
I’m following Iowa’s season with morbid intrigue solely due to their offensive coordinator. My previous interest in the Hawkeyes was the occasional appointment viewing of Brad Banks and Baytown-area boy done good, Drew Tate. So there’s mostly nothing to like or dislike about the program. They’ve always been one of those teams that provoked little to no feelings for me. But Greg Davis being paid to coordinate a FBS offense after the 2010 meltdown in Austin qualifies as an emotional stimulant. I watched in sheer horror, along with 100,000 dumbfounded fans, the last time he faced a Paul Rhoads team. Does this matchup mean anything more to him than any other game on the 2012 schedule? I doubt it. There’s a legion of viewers far south of Iowa though waiting to see if Davis shows up for the rematch.
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Chris Hengst is a College Football writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @ShootyHoops.
