At present Iowa’s QB1 is a mystery. The depth chart lists both Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla in the top slot, with an “OR” designation suggesting that either guy could get the starting call on Saturday against Northwestern (2:30 PM CT, ESPN2). Kirk Ferentz declined to commit to either Petras or Padilla as a starter during his press conference earlier this week.
Based on what we saw from Iowa’s quarterbacks against Ohio State last weekend, it may not matter which one of Petras or Padilla lines up behind center. After Petras delivered a 6/14 for 49 yards first half performance that included two ghastly interceptions (one a pick-six) and a hapless fumble on a strip-sack, Padilla got the nod in the second half… and promptly fumbled the snap on his very first play. He threw his own interception a few plays later. Suffice to say, the QB play last Saturday was simply two (slightly) different shades of bad. Sure, there are (lots of) other problems with the Iowa offense than just the QB position (the offensive line is high atop that list), but there’s no denying that Iowa isn’t getting much out of the most important position on the field.
So let’s just burn it all down and do something completely different: put Cooper DeJean at quarterback. Run the wildcat all game. Install a single-wing offense. Who cares.
Let.
Cooper.
Cook.
If this season hasn’t yet been rock bottom for the Iowa offense, it’s been damn close. They’re already worst (or near-worst) in the nation in most offensive categories and they’re threatening some truly historic lows in terms of yardage, points, and other meaningful offensive signifiers. It’s clear that Iowa isn’t capable of being successful with a “traditional” offensive set-up this year. So screw it — let’s just go full schoolyard on offense.
As a senior, DeJean threw for 3447 yards and 34 touchdowns (against nine interceptions) on a 60% completion rate, while also running for 1235 yards and 25 touchdowns on 9.4 yards per carry. Dude can ball, is what we’re saying. And, yeah, there is a slight difference between 2A high school football in Iowa and the Big Ten, but also?
LET. COOPER. COOK.
At the very least, the offense won’t be as mind-numbingly painful to watch if there’s at least the potential of Cooper DeJean breaking something open. There are only so many three-and-outs featuring two runs to nowhere and a third-down pass two yards short of the stick that a man can endure. Just let me watch Cooper DeJean run around on offense.