No. 5 Iowa doesn’t feel the pressure, and there’s exactly one thing it needs to keep doing — win.
By Jordan Hansen
Akrum Wadley got his named mentioned on national television Tuesday evening when the latest College Football Playoff rankings were announced and the Hawkeyes came in at No. 5.
He was, of course, mentioned as being part of Iowa’s deep, talented running-back roster, something that seemed ludicrous to outsiders at the beginning of the season.
Then again, Iowa’s entire season has not only been completely unexpected, it has been relatively devoid of the pressures that normally come with teams expecting to win a title.
“All year long, we really haven’t felt much for pressure,” quarterback C.J. Beathard said. “It doesn’t matter what the outside gives us, as we keep winning, more pressure and more noise comes in, and you just kind of have to tune that stuff out.”
And the “outside” has given the Hawks plenty. Whether it’s Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd railing on Iowa’s schedule or ESPN’s Joey Galloway switching from trashing the team to defending it, it’s there.
While Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has repeatedly said the team isn’t paying attention to the noise, it’s impossible to completely tune things out.
In fact, during his Tuesday press conference, Ferentz took a second to address some of what has been said.
“I found it interesting last week there was somebody that has had access to a microphone who suggested we knew our schedule five years ago,” Ferentz said. “It’s been a great avenue for a lot of interesting dialogue and discourse, but I think our guys are pretty much wired into what we’re doing.”
Of course, there really isn’t another option for Iowa to be anything but wired in if it’s serious about getting into the Big Ten Championship game and into the College Football Playoffs.
As cliché as it sounds, Iowa is taking the saying “one game at a time” seriously.
“Our mentality hasn’t changed since the beginning of the year,” senior center Austin Blythe said when fielding a question. “Our record speaks for itself.”
Iowa has a deep, talented, and proven team, and with its record spotless, the only real question is how far the train will take it.
It doesn’t really matter if Baylor or Oklahoma State win out. The team likely could care less about the winner of the Stanford-Notre Dame contest Nov. 28.
Strength of schedule and any argument will go out the window if the Hawkeyes win out, including in Indianapolis.
There’s exactly one thing Iowa needs to keep doing, and Beathard hit it right on the nose when asked about the upcoming night game with Minnesota.
“We just need to continue to play well and win,” he said. “Each game is as big as the other. The crowd’s going to be loud, there’s going to be a lot of people there, I’m sure. Obviously, we’ll be wearing different jerseys, but that doesn’t change anything.
“This is a special team, and we have a special thing going.”