By Courtney Baumann
If there was one thing that was made abundantly clear on Tuesday about Hawkeye football, it is that everything is fine.
Even though the team is now 3-2 after losing at home Oct. 1 to Northwestern, many players have said that game is not a crossroads for the team, it is just another game.
“I think we’re just trying to get better everyday,” outside linebacker Ben Niemann said. “We’re not really looking at it like, ‘Oh, we’re 3-2, if we don’t win, our season’s not going to go the way we want it.’ We’re not looking at it that way.”
The junior also noted that the team plans to stick to what it knows and continue to do what it has been doing in order to have success.
The Hawkeyes are on different ends of the same ship as they were last year. At this point of 2015, Iowa was 5-0, but a few points swung the other way could have left the team sitting at 3-2. Those few points the other way this season would have left the team with an undefeated record so far.
“Occasionally, you get on a run where things just start to pop and all that. But usually it is a pretty fine line,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I think back to a lot of our really successful seasons, that’s how it is.
“And the trick is to push it over the top. And last year we won on a last-second field goal. One of our defeats this year was by a last-second field goal. Last week, it’s a touchdown.”
Keeping a hold on Floyd
One of the goals the football team set preseason was to keep all four of its rivalry trophies in the Stew and LeNore Hansen Football Performance Center.
So far, the only trophy game the Hawkeyes have played was against Iowa State, where it became almost obvious they would keep the trophy in the second quarter.
Iowa will head to Minnesota this weekend to battle over Floyd of Rosedale in the team’s second trophy game of the season.
“In order for us to accomplish our goals we set preseason, winning this game is big game,” Akrum Wadley said. “It’s not only for our record but for the goal to keep all the trophies in the building.”
Desmond King: Kick-return extraordinaire
On just three kick returns, Oct. 3, Desmond King racked up 85 yards. The senior averaged 28.3 yards per attempt, with a long of 37 yards.
King has been making the most of his opportunity to show off his return skills, because he hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he can do at cornerback, other than scare quarterbacks from throwing his way.
During the 2015 season, King snagged eight interceptions to tie for Iowa’s single season record and win the Jim Thorpe Award.
This season, he has all but shut down his side of the field with his coverage.
“He’s playing well on defense for us. He’s not getting tested near as much as last year, for obvious reasons,” Ferentz said. “One of the things I really appreciate about Desmond, I don’t think he’s missed a snap since last year. He’s out there every day in practice, works hard.
“And you know, Saturday it was a little bit unusual for him because he actually ran forward more than he was running backwards. A lot of his yards going forward but did a great job in the return game.”
