Game Notes: Iowa at Northwestern

1: Iowa has outscored its opponents 70-20 in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes also have a touchdown in their lone overtime period (W 44-41 at Iowa State). QB Nate Stanley has a 189.8 passing efficiency in the fourth quarter and overtime. The numbers include 24 completions in 39 attempts for 399 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions.
 
2: Josey Jewell leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in the nation with 70 tackles. His 9.5 tackles-for-loss (39 yards) ranks second in the Big Ten. He matched his career high with 16 tackles vs. Penn State and 16 at Michigan State. Jewell has 42 tackles over the last three games played.
 
3: QB Nate Stanley has 15 touchdown passes, second in the Big Ten and tied for 15th in the nation.
 
4: Six months after suffering an ACL injury during spring camp, FS Brandon Snyder returned to the lineup on Oct. 7 to help Iowa defeat Illinois, 45-16. Snyder started the contest and contributed with three tackles, two pass breakups, and one interception, an 89-yard pick six that halted Illinois’ potential go-ahead touchdown drive.
 
5: Iowa’s starting linebackers have a combined 102 career starts: Josey Jewell (37), Ben Niemann (33), and Bo Bower (32). They rank one, two, and three on the team in tackles.
 
6: Senior WR Matt VandeBerg has a reception in 25 consecutive games played. He has 121 career receptions, 11th most in program history. He has 1,488 career receiving yards, 20th in program history.
 
7: The Hawkeyes have three players ranked in the top 15 in the league in sacks. Sophomore DE Anthony Nelson ranks third in the Big Ten with five sacks (25 yards) and true freshman DE A.J. Epenesa and senior LB Josey Jewell are tied for 15th with 2.5 sacks.
 
8: DB JoshJackson has started all six games this season at defensive back and ties for the Big Ten lead in passes defended (10) and ranks third in interceptions (2). He ranks fourth in passes broken up (8). He was added to the Bednarik Award watch list on Oct. 6.
 
9: RB Akrum Wadley has 403 career carries for 2,246 rushing yards, 10th all-time. Among the 15 career 2,000 yard rushers in program history, Wadley (5.6) ranks third behind Tavian Banks and Shonn Greene (5.9) in average yards per carry. He is 26 yards from passing Ronnie Harmon for ninth all-time.
 
10: Kirk Ferentz has 139 wins in all games coached as a member of the Big Ten Conference, a number that ranks sixth in league history and second all-time at Iowa. He is four wins from tying Hayden Fry as the Hawkeyes’ all-time winningest football coach.
 
     HAWKEYE HISTORY
     Iowa has played 1,226 games since beginning football in 1889. Iowa’s overall record is 637-550-39 (.535). That includes a 398-218-16 (.643) record in home games, a 239-332-23 (.422) record in games away from Iowa City, a 321-371-25 (.464) mark in Big Ten games and a 282-183-15 (.607) record in Kinnick Stadium.
 
     FINISH STRONG
     Iowa has outscored its opponents 70-20 in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes also have a touchdown in their lone overtime period (W 44-41 at Iowa State). QB Nate Stanley has a 189.8 passing efficiency in the fourth quarter and overtime. The numbers include 24 completions in 39 attempts for 399 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions.
    
     STANLEY MAKING HISTORY
     QB Nate Stanley has 15 touchdown passes, second in the Big Ten and tied for 15th in the nation. Stanley threw 12 touchdowns in the first four games of the season, becoming the first quarterback in program history to throw 12 touchdown passes in their first four starts. The four-game stretch was Iowa’s best since Chuck Hartlieb threw 12 touchdowns over a four-game stretch in 1987. Chuck Long threw 14 touchdowns in the first four games in 1985.
     Stanley threw three touchdowns in his first career start Week 1. The last quarterback to do that was Ricky Stanzi (3, vs. Florida Atlantic in 2008). Since, 1999, the only other quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns in his first career start under Ferentz was Jon Beutjer (4, at Indiana in 2000).  
     Stanley threw for five touchdowns and 333 yards against Iowa State in Week 2, becoming the first Iowa quarterback with 300-plus passing yards and five-plus touchdown passes since Chuck Hartlieb vs. Northwestern in 1987.
After a slow start in the home loss to Penn State, Stanley completed 12 of his final 14 pass attempts, while also leading Iowa on a three-play, 80-yard scoring drive to take a 19-15 advantage in the final two minutes.
 
     FERENTZ AMONG B1G LEADERS, CLOSING ON FRY
     Kirk Ferentz has 139 overall wins and 83 Big Ten wins as Iowa’s head coach. The 83 conference wins rank sixth among the conference’s all-time winningest coaches in Big Ten games.
     Ferentz’s 139 wins in all games coached as a member of the Big Ten Conference rank sixth in league history and second all-time at Iowa. He is four wins from tying Hayden Fry as the Hawkeyes’ all-time winningest football coach.
     Both Ferentz (139, 83) and Fry (143, 96) rank in the top seven in overall wins and Big Ten wins. Only Iowa and Michigan have two coaches ranked in the top 10 of both win categories (Bo Schembechler 194, 143; and Lloyd Carr 122, 81).
 
     FERENTZ TOPS IN LONGEVITY
     Kirk Ferentz is in his 19th season as Iowa’s head football coach. He is the longest tenured active head coach in college football. Ferentz was named Iowa head coach on Dec. 2, 1998. Gary Patterson of TCU is No. 2 in coaching tenure. Patterson’s first year with the Horned Frogs was 2001. Among Big Ten coaches, only Pat Fitzgerald (2006) and Mark Dantonio (2007) have been at their current schools for 10 seasons or more.
 
     TACKLE BY JOSEY JEWELL
     LB Josey Jewell leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in the nation with 70 tackles. His 9.5 tackles-for-loss (39 yards) ranks second in the Big Ten. He matched his career high with 16 vs. Penn State and 16 at Michigan State. Jewell has 42 tackles over the last three games played.
     Jewell has led the team in tackles in each of the last two seasons (126 in 2015, 124 in 2016). His 2017 totals include 2.5 sacks (24 yards), 9.5 tackles for loss, six pass break-ups, and one interception.
     Jewell has 371 career tackles, eighth all-time in program history. He has 17 career games with double digit tackles.
     Jewell was named Walter Camp, Lott IMPACT, and Bednarik Award national and Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s 24-3 win over Wyoming on Sept. 2. Jewell led Iowa with 14 tackles, including seven solo stops.
     Jewell was named Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik Award, and College Sports Madness Defensive Player of the Week following his performance vs. No. 4 Penn State.  He matched his career best with 16 tackles, including 11 solo stops.  He added three tackles for loss, two pass break-ups, and a recovered fumble.  His fifth career interception and 33-yard return in the second quarter led to Iowa’s first touchdown of the game.
 
    THE SERIES
    Iowa holds a 50-25-3 advantage in the series that began with a 12-6 Iowa victory in 1897. The Hawkeyes are 24-15-3 all-time in games played at Evanston. Iowa won three straight in the series before dropping a 38-31 decision at home in 2016. The Hawkeyes won 40-10 on their last trip to Evanston in 2015.
    Iowa won 21 consecutive games over Northwestern prior to a 31-20 Wildcat win in 1995 in Evanston. The Wildcats hold an 11-9 advantage since snapping that Hawkeye win streak.  

     POCKET PRESSURE
     The Hawkeyes have three players ranked in the top 15 in the league in sacks. Sophomore DE Anthony Nelson ranks third in the Big Ten with five sacks (25 yards) and true freshman DE A.J. Epenesa and senior LB Josey Jewell are tied for 15th with 2.5 sacks. Nelson had six sacks as a freshman last season, second best on the team. Epenesa leads the team with four quarterback hurries. Jewell ranks second in the conference with 9.5 tackles for loss.
 
     WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED
     Junior DB Josh Jackson and sophomore FS Amani Hooker have stepped up to lead a secondary that lost two members to the NFL (Desmond King, Chargers; Greg Mabin, Bills).
     Jackson has started all six games this season at defensive back and ties for the Big Ten lead in passes defended (10) and ranks third in interceptions (2). He ranks fourth in passes broken up (8). He was added to the Bednarik Award watch list on Oct. 6.
     Hooker made his first career start Week 4 against Penn State and recorded a career-high 13 tackles. He had five tackles in his second career start at Michigan State. He has 27 tackles this season, fifth on the team. He recorded his first career interception Week 6 against Illinois. Through three conference games, only Josey Jewell (42) has more tackles on the team than Hooker (24).
 
     WELCOME BACK BRANDON SNYDER
     Six months after suffering an ACL injury during spring camp, FS Brandon Snyder returned the lineup on Oct. 7 to help Iowa defeat Illinois, 45-16. Snyder started the contest and contributed with three tackles, two pass breakups, and one interception, an 89-yard pick six that halted Illinois’ go-ahead touchdown drive.
     The 89-yard interception return for a touchdown ties for the sixth longest in school history and is Iowa’s longest play this season. Iowa has had at least one pick-six every year since 2009.
 
     WADLEY PURSUES RARE FEAT
     Senior RB Akrum Wadley has 483 yards rushing in 2017. He rushed for 1,081 yards in 2016, and with another 1,000-yard campaign he could become the fourth Hawkeye in program history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and the first since Fred Russell went back-to-back in 2002 (1,355) and 2003 (1,264). The other Hawkeyes with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons include Sedrick Shaw (1,002 in 1994, 1,477 in 1995, 1,116 in 1996) and Ladell Betts (1,090 in 2000 and 1,060 in 2001). 
 
     WADLEY MOVING UP THE CHARTS
     RB Akrum Wadley is one of 15 players in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards. He has 403 career carries for 2,246 rushing yards, 10th all-time. Among the 15 career 2,000 yard rushers in program history, Wadley (5.6) ranks third behind Tavian Banks and Shonn Greene (5.9) in average yards per carry. He is 26 yards from passing Ronnie Harmon for ninth all-time.
     Wadley has 22 career rushing touchdowns, tying for seventh all-time, and 29 career touchdown, sixth all-time, and 174 career points, 13th all-time.
     Wadley has 3,012 career all-purpose yards, 15th most in program history (2,246 rush, 666 receiving, 100 KO returns). He is averaging 140.2 all-purpose yards per game, fourth best in the Big Ten and 15th nationally.
 
     VANDEBERG STREAKING UP THE RANKINGS
     Senior WR Matt VandeBerg has a reception in 25 consecutive games played. He has 121 career receptions, 11th most in program history. He has 1,488 career receiving yards, 20th in program history.
     VandeBerg missed Iowa’s final nine games of 2016 due to a foot injury sustained in practice on Sept. 26. He played in the first four games of the season, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns (19-284-3 TDs) before the injury. On Dec. 21, 2016, the Big Ten Conference granted the University of Iowa’s medical hardship waiver request on behalf of VandeBerg and granted the wide receiver a fifth year of eligibility.
  
     KIRK FERENTZ RADIO SHOW
     Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz is featured on “Hawk Talk with Kirk Ferentz” each week during the regular season. The radio call-in show is hosted by Gary Dolphin, the play-by-play voice of the Iowa Hawkeyes.  The show airs live each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. from Carlos O’Kelly’s in Iowa City.