Three Questions I Still Have About Iowa Football After Minnesota Loss

Saturday's 13-10 loss to Minnesota certainly brought more questions than answers for Iowa football. 

With the Hawkeyes' College Football Playoff hopes probably dashed, it's hard to blame fans for being frustrated. 

Here are three questions I still have about this Iowa team: 

This is a question that we didn't think would linger until late-October, but here we are. I didn't expect Jeremy Hecklinski to duplicate his stellar outing at Washington on the road at Minnesota, but I don't think any of us in the press box that day expected him to not make it through the first half. Whether Ferentz gave Hecklinski too short of a leash is irrelevant now: the focus now moves to who Iowa will start against Wisconsin on Saturday.

We'll get more insight from Ferentz on Tuesday, but I think it's safe to say he won't be revealing his starter during the press conference this week. The Hawkeyes have so many issues at the quarterback position right now so it's hard to pack everything into this article, but whoever Iowa decides to go with against the Badgers needs to be ready because Wisconsin just held an explosive USC offense to seven points last weekend. Ferentz and offensive coordinator Tim Lester have a tough week of preparation ahead of them. 

Ferentz's press conferences after road games are usually abbreviated because the team is trying to get back on their plane as soon as possible. There's nothing wrong with that and it's totally makes sense, but it does sometimes make it hard to get clarity on everything that happened in the game, especially after a loss that brought plenty of questions. 

One of the topics that we couldn't get to in the press conference was Evan James' fumble late in the fourth quarter that cost the Hawkeyes a chance to begin their final possession in field goal range. It's one thing to let one fumble (albeit in a crucial moment of the game) slide, but James has struggled to hold on to the football at times this year. Special coordinator Chris Polizzi expressed his confidence in James at his bye week presser a few weeks ago, but you have to wonder if Iowa may try to run someone else back there. Maybe it could be safety Zach Lutmer, who was the preseason favorite to be the punt returner before he battled an injury early in the year. 

The penalties aren't just a one-game problem for the Hawkeyes anymore - they are simply a glaring issue for Iowa at this point. It's very uncharacteristic for a Ferentz-coached team to be that undisciplined, but the Hawkeyes now have more penalties now than they did all of last season. The false starts have been killers for Iowa, but there's far more to it than penalties. This unit just can't seem to pave any running lanes open, and if the Hawkeyes can't run the ball, they won't have a chance to win many football games the rest of the way. Offensive line coach George Barnett has some major issues to clean up before another physical game against Wisconsin.