Iowa takes the field against Nevada on Saturday for Game 3 of the 2022 season. The past 7 days as an Iowa fan have been some of the most gloom in recent memory. Iowa fans are usually always upset about something the offense is doing, but it has reached an all-time high this season. Week 2’s embarrassing loss to Iowa State felt like the last straw for many fans in regards to their tolerance of the current state of Iowa Football. To further fuel the fire, Iowa is in the rare national spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Iowa’s, let’s call it “unique” (trying to stay positive), offense has been a big discussion on Twitter. Endless memes, endless complaining, and shockingly bad stats. So now a game that 2 months ago was insignificant on the Iowa schedule becomes very important. Here is what Iowa fans need to see this weekend in order to restore hope.

POINTS!!!!

This one is fairly obvious. Nevada is ranked 96ht in FBS for total defense, that’s not great. This is Iowas chance to show that there is something within this offense that can work. Iowa needs to score a minimum of 25 points in this game. The spread right now is 23.5, they don’t necessarily need to cover, but in all likely hood is Iowa gets over 25 points I think they will. With teams like Michigan and Ohio State coming up soon on the schedule, Iowa needs to prove to their fans that they will have at least a sliver of a chance in those games by showing offensive competence. If they can’t score on Nevada, things are going to be grim.

More than 4 plays

I’m aware Iowa’s offense has more than 4 plays in the playbook, but if you watch the games it feels like they only pick from a few plays. Fans want to see some creativity in the play calling. Mix it up, gamble a little, it gets the people going. Especially against a weak defense like Nevada, fans are expecting the offense to be showcasing a lot of talent on Saturday.

Petras Highlights

Personally, I think Petras is a lot better than he has shown this season. If Kirk believes in him I have no reason not to as well. However, I’m certainly in the minority as Iowa fans are very upset he was announced the starter for this game. It would be a huge jolt to the morale of fans if Petras is able to make some impressive throws, limit the errors, and toss a couple touchdowns

The same defense

The Iowa defense has been nothing short of phenomenal so far. Whatever magic Phil Parker is using I hope it never goes away. The energy that the defense brings to the stadium is unlike anything else and that needs to continue into this weekend. I have all the confidence in the world that the Iowa defense will put on an absolute clinic like they always do, but it does need to happen or else this could go bad. You never know. No preasure.