Oct. 13, 2015
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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — In 2012, Northwestern handed the University of Iowa football team a 28-17 defeat in Evanston. Last season, a perfect storm resulted in a 48-7 Hawkeye victory in Kinnick Stadium.
This Saturday when No. 17 Iowa travels to Ryan Field for an 11:01 a.m. (CT) top 25 matchup against No. 20/21 Northwestern, UI head coach Kirk Ferentz believes the outcome will be more indicative of 2013 — a 17-10 overtime victory by the Hawkeyes.
“You can take (last year) and toss it out,” Ferentz said Tuesday in the All-American Room in the Stew and LeNore Hansen Football Performance Center. “We caught them last year, and they nailed us in 2012. That 2013 game, that’s what we are looking at here.”
Northwestern opened the season with five victories, including a 16-6 win over No. 16 Stanford and a 19-10 triumph at Duke. The Wildcats’ unblemished record ended Oct. 10 after being shutout, 38-0, at No. 18 Michigan.
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“When you lose a guy like Drew, who is not only an excellent player, but also a strong team leader, it’s a big void. This team has done a good job handling adversity. They have done a good job of, if we are hurting a little bit, other areas are picking up the slack, and that’s a positive of the team so far.”
UI head coach Kirk Ferentz
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“(The Michigan game), you can almost throw the film out,” said Ferentz. “All you have to do is look at their body of work and every other game they have played. They look good.
“The other thing to be mindful of is there was not a lot of points against their defense (Michigan scored touchdowns on a 96-yard kickoff return and a pick six). The defense is salty, is playing well, and at a high level.”
Northwestern’s defense ranks ninth nationally, surrendering 269.5 yards per game. The Wildcats are seventh-best in the country in passing defense (131.3) and eighth in scoring defense (12.2).
“They look like one of our good defenses,” said Ferentz. “When our defenses are good, they are not overly fancy, but they just keep coming at you, they make it tough for you, and you have to earn everything. That’s what they look like.
“That’s what we faced two years ago, too, when the score was 17-10. Yards were hard to come by. You’ve got to methodically be perfect and that’s hard to do offensively because they don’t give you anything easy.”
To make the challenge stiffer, the Hawkeyes will be without two starting offensive tackles in Boone Myers and Ike Boettger. The next men in will be Cole Croston, making his third straight start on the left side, while freshman James Daniels will step in on the right side — the first true freshman to start at tackle in the Ferentz era.
“We are running out of options,” said Ferentz. “A couple guys are going to have to do more than one thing. We saw that with James jumping out at right tackle (against Illinois). We work different combinations in practice. You’re always hoping the proverbial roof doesn’t collapse. It was pretty close (against Illinois).”
Ferentz confirmed Tuesday that senior defensive end Drew Ott will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Ott had a team-best 7 1/2 tackles for loss, five sacks, and three forced fumbles in six games.
“The worst part about coaching football is dealing with injuries,” he said. “We get first-hand exposure to how hard these players work on a year-round basis, and they are doing it to have 12 (game) opportunities. Anytime it’s taken away, it’s a tough thing.”
Redshirt freshman Parker Hesse steps into the starting lineup, but Ferentz says a mix-and-match situation may occur there.
“We beat a very good Pittsburgh team with (Hesse) playing every snap,” said Ferentz. “He has worked hard. We are going to have to get more guys involved in the rotation. Matt Nelson will play a little bit more and Melvin Spears, a veteran guy… we’ll do it by committee if we have to.
“When you lose a guy like Drew, who is not only an excellent player, but also a strong team leader, it’s a big void. This team has done a good job handling adversity. They have done a good job of, if we are hurting a little bit, other areas are picking up the slack, and that’s a positive of the team so far.”
Saturday’s game will be televised on ABC with a reverse mirror on ESPN2. Dave Pasch, Brian Griese, and Tom Luginbill will be on the call.
