I'm definitely think that ISU's secondary has tremendous potential and I think that they'll be more than capable of matching up with Iowa's WRs. However, that's usually the case for Iowa's WRs. The thing is that when Iowa's well-balanced O is executing, opposing DBs have to worry a lot about run support ... and that threat can open up things for WRs.
Furthermore, Iowa really does have some pretty darn good talent at WR. I think that many ISU fans are overlooking Stross. Of course, that makes sense, because Stross still has to prove that he can remain healthy first! But, supposing Stross can remain healthy, then I think that Iowa's WR corps of Stross, McNutt, DJK, Sandeman, Chaney, and Davis will be able to keep opposing Ds honest. What's more ... Iowa has an absolutely tremendous TE duo in Moeaki and Reisner.
One thing that many ISU fans seem to be forgetting is that at a comparable part of the season, Iowa's OL still wasn't tremendously confident and Greene's conditioning still needed vast improvement. Thus, early in the season, Greene wasn't quite as much of a "difference maker" as some fans seem to be making him out to be. Furthermore, while Greene DID add a lot to the O though his strong, power running ... he also wasn't terribly versatile. In contrast, going into the 2009 Iowa vs ISU game, Iowa's RB situation is actually BETTER, the OL is more experienced and more confident, and the RBs are more versatile (Hampton and Wegher alone are reason for that).
All in all, I think that Iowa's O is very capable of moving the ball on ISU's D and, just as important, the O will be capable of chewing up A LOT of clock. I know that Herman's O is dynamic and "quick strike" in nature ... however, the ability of such an O is seriously limited if it doesn't get many opportunities to get on the field. While I'm really impressed with the great potential that ISU's O has, there still remains the valid question of how much of Herman's system will be installed by the 2nd game of the season? Furthermore, if he tries to install too much, too fast ... what impact might that have on an ISU O that is still pretty young?
I seriously don't think that there is a running O that Norm can't devise a viable counter-strategy to. Thus, that suggests to me that ISU will have to pass the ball to score. I know that is already a no-brainer ... however, it leads to the next point, which is ... does ISU's passing game really pose that much of a mismatch to Iowa's D? I'll definitely agree that accounting for the pace of Herman's O will be an intriguing challenge ... however, it is definitely a surmountable one. Well, if ISU nullifies Iowa's pass rush as we both suppose ... that then will rely on quick timing in the passing game. To that end, the fact that Iowa has a very experienced back 7 suggests that they will likely tackle better, earlier. Thus, in the event of completions, a quick passing game still won't necessarily produce huge yardage because Iowa's D will likely tackle the pass-catchers rather quickly. Also, the assessment that Bernstine is a "bust" is way off. Call it an excuse if you will, however, the young man has contended with injuries over each of the past 2 seasons ... and those injuries have limited him effectiveness. However, even despite that, I think that Bernstine has looked better than Fletcher had at comparable times in his career ... and Fletcher developed into a FINE CB. Of course, I do agree that Bernstine will be exploitable by ISU's O ... however, Bernstine will be playing within Iowa's scheme and, thus, he'll be keeping everything in front of him. ISU's O will not be able to move the ball with great success against Iowa by exploiting Bernstine alone. Thus, I'm truly curious what other mismatches ISU will exploit in order to move the ball with great success. For instance, Iowa's LBs are excellent in coverage ... so that alone will limit the effectiveness of ISU's RBs and TEs in the passing game.
Also, I wouldn't dismiss Iowa's ability and willingness to effectively use press coverage on ISU's WRs. That itself could throw off the timing of ISU's passing game and diffuse some of the seeming advantages there. I'm inclined to agree with DJK15, that many ISU fans here must not have been paying attention to Iowa's secondary. They're a much better unit than the folks here are giving them credit.
