Game Day: Iowa vs. Indiana

Oct. 22, 2011

IOWA CITY, Iowa – “It’s been my experience that good players want to play. They want to be on the field and they want to help the team win, and that’s first and foremost.”

That’s how Kirk Ferentz sums up the move made by University of Iowa senior Marvin McNutt a few years ago.

The coaching staff saw an opening for McNutt, who came to Iowa with the quarterback position in his sights, and the 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior from St. Louis has seized and run with it…all the way to the Iowa recordbooks. McNutt’s next touchdown catch will be his 22nd. That will put McNutt one scoring grab ahead of former Hawkeyes Danan Hughes and Tim Dwight.

“We recruited Marvin more as an athlete who we thought could be a quarterback and I’m still not sure he couldn’t have been a quarterback, but as Ricky (Stanzi) emerged, it became more of a natural flow for him to seek out a position where he had a chance to get out on the field,” said Ferentz.

Yeah, getting him on the field has worked out pretty well. McNutt had 34 catches for 674 yards and eight touchdowns in 2009, totals that included the last-play-of-the-game, game-winning grab against Michigan State and Iowa’s first touchdown in the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl game against Georgia Tech.

Last year, the number soared to 53 receptions for 861 yards and eight more touchdowns. And, six games into his final year as a Hawkeye, McNutt has 35 catches for 573 yards and five touchdowns.

“There’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot of reading (of defenses) that goes on, a lot of technique, and you have to understand protections. In this case, Marvin had a little jump on that.”
Kirk Ferentz on UI wide receiver Marvin McNutt

It’s been quite a transformation. “There’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot of reading (of defenses) that goes on, a lot of technique, and you have to understand protections. In this case, Marvin had a little jump on that,” Ferentz said.

In the end, however, it came back to the starting point: Good players want to play.

“I think that’s how Marvin was thinking. He’s invested a lot of hard work and a lot of effort into becoming a good player.”

Iowa’s next game is against Minnesota next Saturday at 2:30 a.m., Iowa time, in Minneapolis. It will be televised live by BTN.

If you won’t be among the fans in attendance Iowa City – the game is sold out — here’s the list of options to help you follow along at home or wherever your travels might take you…but first, click HERE for the one-stop shopping option.

Iowa (4-2, 1-1) vs. Indiana (1-6, 0-3)
Saturday, Oct. 22 (11 a.m. Iowa time)

Television
The game will be televised live to a national audience by BTN. Eric Collins, Chris Martin and Dionne Miller will call the action. If you need help finding the game, you can use the Big Ten Network’s “GameFinder” feature available HERE.

Hawkeye Radio Network
Today’s game – and all games of the 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes – will be broadcast live on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin, Ed Podolak and Rob Brooks calling the action. The pre-game show begins at 9 a.m. Iowa time. For the list of Hawkeye Radio Network affiliates, click HERE.

The radio broadcast is also available exclusively online inside Hawkeye All-Access, the multi-media portal of hawkeyesports.com, the official world wide web site of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Subscribers to Hawkeye All-Access can also watch live and exclusive coverage of Kirk Ferentz’s post-game media conference. To subscribe to Hawkeye All-Access, click HERE. You can also review the offerings inside Hawkeye All-Access there. Also, Hawkeye All-Access is now part of the Big Ten Digital Network. You can learn more about the offerings inside that space – content comes from all 12 Big Ten Conference institutions and the Big Ten Network – click HERE.

The broadcast is also available on channel 93 on satellite radio system Sirius and XM channel 196. For more information, click HERE.

Official Game Day Blog
Fans of the Hawkeyes are also invited to register to participate in the very popular Official Iowa Football Game Day Blog. Fans who register in advance of the game are eligible to win a pair of tickets to the Hawkeyes’ game against Michigan State and become a finalist for a pair of tickets to the first Heroes Game – Iowa vs. Nebraska – in late November in Lincoln, Neb. To learn more about the blog and to register to participate, click HERE

GameTracker
Need the most up-to-date game statistics and play-by-play? No one is faster and more accurate the GameTracker service inside hawkeyesports.com. To access GameTracker, click HERE, then just click on the GameTracker link to the right of the Hawkeyes’ 2011 schedule.