The following is an excerpt from the DI’s Pregame podcast.
In this week’s edition of the DI’s Pregame Podcast, Danny, Charlie, Jordan, and Ryan put Maryland-Iowa to rest, talk Iowa-Indiana with the Indiana Daily Student’s Brody Miller. As always, we answer your questions, and give a sneak peek into this week’s edition of Pregame. Enjoy!
On Iowa’s game with Maryland
Jordan Hansen, football reporter: To me, a big part of that game was turnovers, you know, three picks off Perry Hills. Charlie Green, football reporter: This is a team that’s struggling right now. So at least to get a double-digit win and move on, maybe the fact that there were some struggles in the second half keeps focus going into Indiana.
I’m not a psychology major, but maybe if you have a blowout there’s not that sense of urgency. Now, maybe some things are highlighted, so we’ll see if they go into Indiana knowing that there are some things they need to be careful of.
On what it will take to have success against Indiana
Ryan Rodriguez, football reporter: Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard — he’s second in rushing in the Big Ten — those are their two biggest weapons, offensively or defensively, so anytime you can keep them off the field, it’s going to be huge. Turnovers are another one.
On Desmond King’s outstanding season
Green: I think King has a way of being in the right spot, and it can’t be a coincidence at this point, because he has way too many interceptions for it to be a complete coincidence. He’s able to make plays on the ball and just be in the general vicinity to have the chance at making a play.
Danny Payne, Pregame editor: The pick against Maryland and the pick in the end zone against Pittsburgh have been, in my eyes, the two most impressive. The one against Pitt, King jumped a crossing route for Tyler Boyd and made a diving catch. Against Maryland, he said after the game, he read trips — I think it was three-by-one — he read it, knew it was going to be a slant route, and jumped it. It wasn’t a great throw, it wasn’t a bad throw, either.
It’s not like he threw it right to King. That was King making a great play.
On Indiana
Brody Miller, Indiana Daily Student football reporter: It’s this weird thing where all the hope has kind of fallen away; they lose four straight. But people who have covered the team for a while, they know this isn’t a bad football team — I’m not going to claim it’s a great one. It’s a team that can beat any team, and there couldn’t have been a better time for a bye week than there was before Iowa.
On Iowa’s perception outside of Iowa City
Miller: I think around here, Iowa’s just one of those teams that even when they’re not having a great season, it’s like, Iowa’s a tough program. There that team that’s always going to be very difficult to beat.
So this year, yes they’re a surprise, and I think people do kind of look at it as a team that’s playing incredibly, but there’s doubt, there are worries. Maybe they’re not as dominant as some other undefeated teams. But people respect them, and people expect Indiana to lose this game; let’s put it that way.
https://soundcloud.com/annyayne/pregame-podcast-13-on-the-road-again