There are many issues one could raise with Iowa’s offensive performance after its 14-10 home defeat to the Big Ten West champion Northwestern Wildcats. Iowa’s struggles running the football, its fourth quarter fumbles, the frequency of check-downs in the passing game, and the offense’s inability to put together complete drives all played a major role in Iowa’s defeat on Saturday. However, there is one stat line that best explains Iowa’s offensive futility against the Wildcats:
Noah Fant: 3 targets, 1 catch, 0 yards
The lack of usage for the pre-season All-American is startling and inexplicable. Chad Leistikow reported that Fant saw the field on only nine of Iowa’s 26 offensive snaps in the second half, and when he was in the game he was virtually non-existent, receiving zero targets in the final two quarters.