After facing a ground-game-oriented Wisconsin offense last weekend, the Iowa defense will have to shift gears going up against an air-raid Purdue offense.

By Sean Bock
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The Boilermakers enter Saturday’s matchup passing for 246.4 yards per game, sixth in the Big Ten.

In last week’s loss to Northwestern, Purdue quarterback Elijah Sindelar attempted a career-high 60 passes.

“[Sindelar] can sling it pretty well,” Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell said. “They got trick plays and a big running back in the backfield and a couple of quicker guys, so they have a bunch of different stuff they can do.”

Because of his high number of pass attempts last weekend, Sindelar has been out of practice this week while wide receiver Jared Sparks has been taking reps under center.

Sindelar should be the starter come Saturday, but it will be interesting to see how first-year head coach Jeff Brohm handles the quarterback situation with his usual starter throwing so many passes last week.

On the Iowa side, the Hawkeyes did a solid job containing Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook, forcing him to throw 3 interceptions on Nov. 11, tying a career-high for the sophomore.

Sindelar took over the starting job a few weeks back after David Blough went down with a shoulder injury.

Sindelar was 37-of-60 for 376 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against the Wildcats, and he will likely throw a similar number against a Hawkeye defense that’s the No. 9 passing defense in the Big Ten.

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“They do catch your eye offensively,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “They move the ball really well. They’re wide-open, very creative, and you know, you’ve got to defend a million things when you play against these guys, based on what we’ve seen, and I’m sure there’s more to come. That’s 10 weeks exposure.”

Iowa has been impressive this year against highly touted quarterbacks.

When J.T. Barrett and Ohio State came to town, the Hawkeye defense was able to swarm the Heisman candidate, forcing him to make poor decisions and throw a career-high 4 interceptions.

Much of the credit has to be given to cornerback Josh Jackson, whose name has popped up on numerous NFL Draft boards because of his exceptional performances the past couple of weeks.

Jackson leads the country with 7 interceptions and 23 passes defended and has 5 picks in the last two games.

With all the injuries in the secondary this year, Jackson has been forced to not only step up his game but his leadership.

“Leading by example is the main thing for me,” Jackson said. “I’m just trying to rally those guys and get them focused and try to bring them up.”

The Hawkeyes will likely be without safety Amani Hooker for the second-straight week, so the injury woes for the secondary continues.

The Purdue receiving corps has 7 wideouts with more than 200 receiving yards, so the Iowa defense will need to contain the balanced Boilermaker passing attack.

“We just have to make sure everybody is ready to go,” Jackson said. “Everyone has to know his assignment and come out ready to play.”