By: DI Pregame Staff
Hello and welcome to Homecoming football Saturday, live from Kinnick Stadium.
Fittingly, it’s cold and kind of raining a little bit, so a slightly sloppy game certainly isn’t out of the question. However, the Hawkeyes have been one of the most efficient and least turnover-prone (they’re +5 on the season). Interestingly enough, Iowa also has yet to lose a fumble this season.
Northwestern isn’t a great team and already has losses to an Football Championship Subdivision opponent and a MAC team this season. Then again, Iowa lost to a FCS team and struggled at times against a MAC team as well, so that’s really not saying much.
Regardless, this is a critical game for both teams. Northwestern is already a game down in the Big Ten West, while this will be the Hawkeyes’ first divisional game of the season.
Sit down and buckle up, because this could get interesting.
Prediction time:
Jordan— I’ve been having my reservations about this game all week. On one hand, I think the Hawkeyes could blow this thing open early. The Wildcats have struggled in just about every category this year and lost to Illinois-freaking-State. That’s not good.
On the other hand, this is Northwestern, which hasn’t beaten Iowa in three years. Pat Fitzgerald hates the Hawkeyes with a fire-burning passion of a thousands exploding at the same time, so that cannot possibly sit well with him.
Throughout the season, Iowa has struggled to stop the run and mobile quarterbacks, which the Wildcats have both of. So, there’s that. I can totally see Justin Jackson shredding the Hawkeyes second level. If I’m being honest, I nearly picked the Fightin’ Patty Fitz’s in On The Line this week, so to say I have a lot of confidence in Iowa winning this game would be a lie.
Iowa 24, Northwestern 21
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Blake— If the rain stays in Iowa City through the duration of the game today, we could be in for an old-school Big Ten battle.
Both Iowa and Northwestern want to run the ball, and on a drizzly day such as today, I expect it to put an even bigger emphasis on the ground game.
For Iowa, that means a lot of LeShun Daniels Jr. The battering ram of a running back is averaging more than 5 yards per carry this season, and he has showcased breakaway ability this year, too. Akrum Wadley will also be used a lot, as he’s been better than just about everyone expected this season, but on a rainy day, his ball security could be a question mark.
Iowa’s rushing attack has been much more consistent than Northwestern’s this season, and for that reason I’m taking the Hawkeyes.
Prediction: Iowa 28, Northwestern 24
Players to watch:
Jordan — Matt Nelson, defensive end:
Tied for second in the Big Ten with 4 sacks, Nelson has been creating havoc and plays all over the field this season. Add in that Northwestern has given up 15 sacks this year (the worst mark in the conference), and you have a recipe for disaster.
Iowa will need to contain Wildcat quarterback Clayton Thorson, and Nelson will be a big part of that.
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Blake— Jay Scheel, wide receiver
With leading receiver Matt VandeBerg now out indefinitely, Jerminic Smith is likely the guy to step into the No. 1 receiver role. That means somebody else needs to step into the No. 2 role that Smith occupied, and Scheel is the biggest, most athletic option Iowa has.
The Iowa coaching staff says Scheel does all the right things during practice, but he’s yet to translate that into game action. Before the season started, he was thought to be one of the guys that would help out with the receiving depth, but he hasn’t done much as the third or fourth option for Iowa.
Now, he will be forced into a role in which he has to make plays for Iowa if it wants to be successful
Follow @dipregame for coverage of the Iowa football team today (and everyday!) as we report live from Kinnick.