Nov. 4, 2012
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — For three straight weeks, the University of Iowa football team played the top up-tempo teams in the Big Ten Conference; now the Hawkeyes prepare for a third straight week of preparing for multiple quarterbacks.
Northwestern had Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian behind center Oct. 27; Indiana rotated signal-callers Cameron Coffman and Nate Sudfeld on Nov. 3; Purdue could play Caleb TerBush, Robert Marve, and Rob Henry when the teams meet Saturday, Nov. 10, inside Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT).
“It won’t be surprising to face a couple different guys, and that’s unusual to happen three weeks in a row,” UI head coach Kirk Ferentz said Sunday during an exclusive interview with hawkeyesports.com.
Purdue traditionally features a more deliberate offensive style, meaning the Hawkeye defense shouldn’t be on the field for 90 plays (like it was against Penn State) or 79 plays (like it was against Indiana).
Thanks to playing opponents with up-tempo styles, Iowa had an opportunity to work several youngsters on the defensive line, experience that will likely pay dividends in the near future.
“We made a concerted effort to rotate the defensive line a little bit,” Ferentz said. “(Darian) Cooper, (Carl) Davis inside, (Drew) Ott, (Melvin) Spears on the outside. Those guys did a good job for the little bit that they played, so hopefully we can keep bringing them along, too.”
Last week the Hawkeyes faced Indiana’s formidable defensive front of Adam Replogle and Larry Black; on Saturday they will see Purdue’s Kawann Short and Ryan Russell.
“Now we face another challenge against big, physical guys who are the heart and soul of their defense as well,” Ferentz said. “We made some improvement during the course of the (Indiana) game, and we’ll need that to have success this Saturday.”
Ferentz said it is too early to tell if offensive backs Brad Rogers or Mark Weisman will be ready to play against the Boilermakers, although both have a chance.
“I think they have a chance,” Ferentz said of Rogers and Weisman. “I don’t know how good that chance is, we’ll see how that goes as the week plays out.”
To watch the entire Sunday conversation with Ferentz, click HERE.