Playing at Penn State on Saturday, the Iowa Hawkeyes showed off two of the traits they’ve shown surprisingly often in 2018: aggression and trickery.
Iowa’s latest genius trick play ends with a 275-pound Willie Mays TD catch
The Hawkeyes are bold and creative. The latest team to apparently get duped: Penn State.
The Hawkeyes faced fourth-and-goal from the Penn State 10-yard line, up 5-0 in the first quarter. That’s not a “go for it” down for most teams, and in previous years, it absolutely wouldn’t have been for Kirk Ferentz’s Iowa. But this is a new day, one in which Iowa’s no longer obsessed with punting and now has a real knack for making splashy plays.
So here’s what the Hawkeyes put on Penn State:
Look at that catch!
It’s notable not just because Iowa went for it on fourth-and-10, but because the guy catching the pass was a defensive end.
That’s Sam Brincks, No. 90, a 6’5, 275-pound senior. Before the play, Iowa lined him up at left tackle, and strategically on the end of the line of scrimmage. When the play started, Brincks stayed home to block in pass protection, as any left tackle would do:
But Iowa’s really smart, and Penn State got fooled here.
The offense needs to have five linemen on the field who wear numbers from 50 through 79. Those linemen are not eligible to catch a pass, even if they’re on the end of the line.
But in this formation, Iowa can get innovative. Brincks wears No. 90, and while he has the physical build of an O lineman, there’s nothing in the rules that says he can’t run out to catch a pass as long as he’s uncovered on the line. And before the snap, Iowa has a “receiver,” who’s really placekicker Miguel Recinos, lined up off the line.
So, Brincks could run free, even though Penn State might have thought he was just a regular offensive tackle, ineligible to get the ball.
Note that the guy throwing the touchdown isn’t QB Nate Stanley. It’s holder Colten Rastetter. There’s a reason for that.
Iowa also had its field goal unit on the field, forcing Penn State into using a weird personnel grouping on defense.
The Hawkeyes have done something like this at least one other time to set up a fourth-and-goal touchdown this season, in Week 6 against Minnesota. That formation also had Brincks on the end of the line, though on that play, his entire role turned out to be blocking on the perimeter:
Iowa’s whole strategy on this play was to confuse Penn State in as many ways as possible, both with its personnel group and its formation.
Because of the players Iowa put on the field (and the trick they’d run a few weeks earlier against Minnesota, with those players), the Nittany Lions had to be a bit tepid.
Because Brincks was made to look like a left tackle, the Nittany Lions didn’t cover him well.
Ferentz is one of the Big Ten’s most progressive coaches now.
We’re living in strange times.
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