Offense takes blame

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Antwaan Randle El must have a crush on crushing the Hawkeye defense. In four games against Iowa, Randle El has amassed 1,064 all-purpose yards and scored nine touchdowns. \nBut until Saturday, the slippery senior hadn't been beaten by the Hawkeyes. Until Saturday, Randle El had made the key third-down conversions and lifted his team to victory. \nSaturday in front of 68,295 fans at Kinnick Stadium, things were different. \nIU continued to carve up the Iowa defense, racking up 468 total yards. But Iowa (3-2, 2-2) returned the favor and shredded the IU defense for 454 total yards on its way to a 42-28 victory.\nRandle El was left with mind-boggling statistics. And no victory. \n"It really doesn't mean anything," Randle El said of his gaudy numbers. "I played well, but at the same time, we lost the game. If we don't win the game, it's like 'Yeah, you did your part, but you didn't win.'"\nWhile the Hawkeyes garnered the majority of the post-game glory, it was Randle El's multi-position attack that stole the spotlight before kickoff. Iowa City-area newspapers predicted Randle El would cause "major problems" for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and his defense. Other publications dubbed Randle El "ever-elusive."\nRandle El didn't disappoint. The Riverdale, Ill., native rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns, threw for 160 and returned a punt for 14. \nHe became IU's all-time leading passer, passing Steve Bradley (1983-1985), with 6,657 yards. He moved into the top 20 on the career NCAA Division I-A yardage list with 10,086, passing former Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom and former Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb. Those 10,086 put him behind only Iowa's Chuck Long (10,254) and Purdue's Drew Brees (12,141) in Big Ten history. \nRandle El moved into third place in NCAA D-I history for rushing yards by a quarterback, trailing the top spot by only 197 yards.\n"He's a tremendous competitor," said coach Cam Cameron. "There's no quit in him."\nRandle El's no-quit attitude almost enabled IU to upend the Hawkeyes. But the status quo -- just missing passes and coming up short on opportunities -- hurt the Hoosiers. \nRandle El acknowledge he missed a "couple" passes, just overthrowing receivers Henry Frazier and Glenn Johnson, which would have landed IU inside Hawkeye territory. \nDuring IU's first two drives of the second half, Randle El avoided the air, choosing the option instead. But Iowa sniffed out Randle El and senior running back Levron Williams, stopping IU on consecutive possessions for the first time all game. IU's final two drives ended with Randle El scrambling outside the pocket, away from Hawkeye defenders but not far enough for IU first downs. \nThose missed chances cost IU (1-5, 1-3) a shot at jumping to the middle of the pack in an up-in-the-air Big Ten that has been stacked with upsets this season. \n"Maybe I should have bailed out a little more and thrown the ball down field," Randle El said. "But, I felt like I could have got it, and when I didn't get it, I was disappointed and upset."\nRandle El pointed fingers, but at himself rather than at an IU defense which mirrored last year's version and stuck the offense in catch-up mode all afternoon. Instead, it looked as if senior linebacker Devin Schaffer was the one feeling guilty about IU's new two-game losing skid. \n"I don't think anyone can say we're not playing hard, but maybe sometimes we don't have that spark," Schaffer said.\nRandle El is calling for the spark on both sides of the ball and -- despite the offense's sky-high statistics -- shouldered the blame for Saturday's loss. \n"We have to score regardless of what the defense is doing," Randle El said. "It was kind of like a seesaw battle. We have to score"