Seems not many UK fans thought much of Levis’ performance in the Citrus Bowl, but I thought he was outstanding. His completion %, yardage and touchdown numbers against Iowa were almost identical to his per game averages. He had two throws in the 25-30 yard range that missed by inches (one to Wandale and one to the freshman whose name escapes me). The one to the frosh was actually caught, but stripped loose as he hit the ground, on an excellent defensive play by an Iowa DB. He did have the one pick, but that was another outstanding play by an Iowa corner. Then there was the pressure Iowa delivered all day. That was easily the most pressure put on Will the entire season. Their edge rushers and DB play were fantastic. In my opinion, turnover differential was the biggest key going into this game. Iowa was #1 in the country in turnover margin, and of course we were at or near the bottom nationally the whole season. But we won the turnover battle 3-1, and Will was a big part of that too.
Will Levis vs Iowa
- Thread starter Blue63Madison
- Start date
All things considered, I think he played a really good game. He made plays, was gutsy as usual and continued to fight even when things looked bad. I'm sure he would like to have had a few throws back but considering he was hearing footsteps by the second quarter, he did what he could.
Hoping this offseason we can shore up our pass protection and Levis will continue to improve on quickly going through his progressions and his accuracy/touch. He has the physical tools, the right attitude, and the coaching to become one of the better quarterbacks in college football next season.
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The one thing I thought he could have done better and part of that may be that he was told to stay in the pocket but I thought he hesitated tucking and running until it was too late on several drop backs. He also missed a couple of reads in the RPO but overall he had a decent game. If he throws 2-3 interceptions no way we win that game.
I was surprised it took us so long to try to roll him out and we only did it a time or two.. With the way Rosenthal's side of the line was getting killed, I figured we would have anchored on that rather quickly.
Great edge rushers, even when not actually getting a sack, can make it impossible at times to get out of the pocket. They have a big impact on RPO plays too. Iowa had a great defensive scheme, and the pieces in place to play it to perfection.
Yea, he did good except for making quick decisions in the pocket, which he struggled with most of the year.
Credit to Iowa because they were on him QUICK. Some of those sacks there was not much Will could do.
Huge credit to Levis for protecting the football against that pressure. We don’t win that game if we turn the ball over.
Credit to Iowa because they were on him QUICK. Some of those sacks there was not much Will could do.
Huge credit to Levis for protecting the football against that pressure. We don’t win that game if we turn the ball over.
Iowa was the 15th ranked defense in the country. Going 17/28 for 203 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT against that defense was a very solid performance, especially considering we were playing with a patchwork left side of the offensive line and gave up 6 or 7 sacks. The two throws he made on the last drive, the one up the seam for the 1st down and the long throw on the flag route, were critical throws that led to the victory. The only "bad" play I recall him making is pulling the ball from CROD on the read option on 3 & 2 in the 4th quarter when it looked like CROD would have easily had the first down. Anyone being critical of Will after this victory seems to me to be the unsatisfiable type.
Dude had ZERO time to throw the ball on 90% of the plays. I think he played pretty damn good all things considering.
Plus, to not fumble the ball once with some of the hits he took was impressive. There was one sack he took that he had the ball raised in his throwing motion and got absolutely rocked but somehow held on to the ball with one hand.
Plus, to not fumble the ball once with some of the hits he took was impressive. There was one sack he took that he had the ball raised in his throwing motion and got absolutely rocked but somehow held on to the ball with one hand.
Just such a tough sunovagun, can't believe he held onto the ball every sack, sometimes 1 handed. A lot of great ones easily lose the ball on any such hit, Will took 6 of em.
Plenty of things to complain about but Levis wasn't one of them. He managed the entire game very well and didn't make any costly turnovers, all while under tremendous pressure.
I can't wait to see what he looks like after another year of game study and weight training. Dude could be an absolute monster, and he will have a legit receiver core next year too.
I can't wait to see what he looks like after another year of game study and weight training. Dude could be an absolute monster, and he will have a legit receiver core next year too.
According to ESPN, Levis' RTG was 135.3, with a completion percentage of 60.7 for 233 yards. His average RTG for the year was 148.3, completion average was 66.0 and yardage average was 217.4. Considering the quality of the competition, he had a darn good game.
This. He played well early, then reverted big time for 2.5 quarters after he got sacked a few times. Completely bailed on some clean pockets and at other times stared at the rush and held the ball vs finding guys we had running wide open.
That said he came back on that final drive and finished strong. Surprised me considering how awful he was just the series prior almost throwing a pick 6 to seal the loss
Can’t argue with anything said here. He understandably got a little rattled after taking some of those sacks, and missed what looked like some open receivers, but he made big plays when we needed them and proved again he’s more than a game manager. We’ve gone from winning games in spite of our quarterback play to winning because of it.
The dissatisfaction with his performance from fans came mainly during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. As many stated it's hard to fault him for that since he got no protection. Because of his 4th quarter performance his final stats actually look really good. Most of those numbers however did come at the end.
I saw two plays that I questioned. The first was when he rolled to his left and Wan'Dale was open in the end zone. The DB closed on Will leaving no one around Wan'Dale. The second, which the announcers pointed out, was the RPO when Will kept the ball instead of leaving it with CRod. CRod clearly had the first down.
No Ali either. Throwing options were limited. Shouldn't be a problem for him in 2022, help on the way.
I thought he played well already, but I rewatched the game this morning and he played even better than I realized. You need to watch it again. Your description of his play isn’t even close to reality.
In an odd way if Wandale leaves it may help Will. Probably not the team.
He will have to distribute the ball around the field to different receivers and work on his progressions. I thought he locked on Wandale often understandably.
He will have to distribute the ball around the field to different receivers and work on his progressions. I thought he locked on Wandale often understandably.
And I don’t really fault him on the interception because it was on 4th down so he was going to throw that ball if someone was open or not . Actually worked in our favor because it was about 10 yards further downfield than if we had turned it over on downs .
Those fans need to look closer. He was 10-12 in the first half. We went three and out our first four second half drives, with Levis throwing a total of four times, completing two for 24 yards. The fifth drive of the second half was his only bad drive of the game. He was 2-7, with the last one being the pick. Then of course the game winning drive was next, and he was brilliant.
So … he had one bad possession the entire game. Take away that drive and he basically played a perfect game.
He played great under really tough circumstances. Got pummeled in the 2nd half with no pass protection yet hung onto the ball and allowed us to flip the field and keep the game from getting away. To say his performance at "the end" of the game pumped up his stats is exactly the point...it is a QB's performance down the stretch that is the most important, and he delivered.
Fans unhappy with Levis vs Iowa are probably not to dialed into this game or into the game of FB in general. I was more unhappy with the 3rd quarter OL pass protection than anything else....still the team pulled together when it counted and got the win. Great job by all in total.
GBB!
Fans unhappy with Levis vs Iowa are probably not to dialed into this game or into the game of FB in general. I was more unhappy with the 3rd quarter OL pass protection than anything else....still the team pulled together when it counted and got the win. Great job by all in total.
GBB!
He seemed to struggle some early but that was because he had hard time trying to find any running lanes himself out of pressure. Normally thats where he breaks a couple and really punishes the defense and gets his confidence going. But Iowa really did a good job of shutting that down. Then in the second half he was getting no time at all. Still hung in there to make some really big throws at critical times, so I give him all the credit.
Great win for Levis. He continues to get better and better. A spring and fall with Coen should make next season even more fun to watch.
Agree after watching second time. He did make couple mistakes but every player/coach does.
I agree. He played very well and was under pressure every snap. A lot due to Rosenthal and cox being out.
He was under duress the entire game and even took a sack on the last drive.
However, when Levis and UK needed the OL to step up and protect the most they did and thats when Levis made maybe the best pass at UK. Lofting a 25 yd pass over the outstretched hands of a Hawkeye LB and placing it perfectly to a crossing Robinson and Wandale did the rest.
B+ game for Willy.
However, when Levis and UK needed the OL to step up and protect the most they did and thats when Levis made maybe the best pass at UK. Lofting a 25 yd pass over the outstretched hands of a Hawkeye LB and placing it perfectly to a crossing Robinson and Wandale did the rest.
B+ game for Willy.
He had a good game, but irregardless of the blocking there were a few times he had wide open receivers that were plain as day and he didn't see them. Honestly shocking he didn't see his wide open check downs. Will need to be more than a one read qb if he wants to go pro.
Levis was on his back like a two dollar hooker all day! He’s tough as a pine knot!
After looking at the tape , about half of the sacks were on Will , and then there’s this . A real head scratcher.
Why does the film stop right there on that play? Looks like Iowa’s 27 is already running the same direction as our guy. Hardly wide open. I could pick apart every player every game in the film room. That’s easy to do. That’s a split second decision at our opponent’s 1-yard line. An opponent who led the country in interceptions. The last thing you do there is give them a chance to pick one. If this is the worst decision Will made all day, he had a really good day.
Because in major college football, if you wait till the receiver is open you are already late. Throws and routes need to be anticipated. Will improved but over the year my issues countless guys that were open. His potential is mind boggling but he definitely made the right choice to play for coen, because alot of warts for covered up this season.
I understand how it works. But in the above situation, all things considered, I wouldn’t throw that pass.
That guy is beat . There’s no way he can break that up . That ball HAS to be thrown.
Theres no excuse for not throwing that ball . That’s an easy touchdown, high school teams score on that pass .
Disagree with Van on this one. Horsey was completely beaten on that play. Barely even got a hand on him. Will should have stepped up but he also shouldn't have needed to that early.
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