The road doesn’t get any easier as the Iowa football team moves forward this season.
This Saturday welcomes the Washington Huskies, hot off a 27-17 upset win over then-No. 10 Michigan at Husky Stadium on Oct. 5. On the other hand, the Hawkeyes will need to bounce back from their 35-7 collapse to national champion hopeful Ohio State on the same day.
In fact, looking forward is a key theme across the Iowa team after the loss, echoed by head coach Kirk Ferentz in his postgame press conference.
“And that’s what you have to do, win or lose, and that’ll be the key,” he said. “We’ve still got five games right in front of us and then two more after that … It’s all about what we do on a day-to-day basis, and that’s where our attention will be tomorrow.”
That attention has quickly turned to Washington.
The Huskies have slightly fallen off from a 14-1 record last season, which culminated in a 34-13 loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship. That success brought a major shakeup for the program. With a move to the Big Ten upon the disbanding of the Pac-12, the Huskies are 4-2 with a shaky start to the season.
The Husky offense that pummeled the college football world last year is now missing a wide breadth of its stars to the NFL.
While Heisman contender and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. now spends his rookie year behind Kirk Cousins with the Atlanta Falcons, offensive tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten went east to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively.
Moreover, Penix Jr.’s three wide receiver threats departed with him: Rome Odunze to the Chicago Bears, Ja’Lynn Polk to the New England Patriots, and Jalen McMillan to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Likewise, the defense lost a key piece in outside linebacker Bralen Trice to the Atlanta Falcons as well. And head coach Kalen DeBoer took the job as Alabama’s head coach, succeeding legend Nick Saban — and leading it to a No. 1 ranking at its peak.
Now, it’s Jedd Fisch at the helm, coming from the Arizona Wildcats. And the new-look Huskies are still dangerous, as evidenced by their growth over the last two weeks.
After notable 30-9 and 24-5 beatdowns at home over Eastern Michigan and Northwestern, respectively, Washington’s fourth win over the ranked Wolverines adds much momentum and confidence as it enters Week 7.
Regardless, the Huskies have struggled in away games — with a 24-19 loss at Washington State and 21-18 loss at Rutgers — and they’ve now got to walk into a rowdy Kinnick Stadium on Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
Quarterback Will Rogers now leads the Washington offense after a career year at Mississippi State from 2020 to 2023, holding almost every major passing record there as well as the SEC records for single season and career completions.
Indeed, Rogers is a serious problem. The key to winning this game will be pressuring him in and forcing him out of the pocket. That’s because he’s prone to go off, for example, 261 yards and four touchdowns in the season opener — and 271 yards and two touchdowns against a fortified Michigan defense.
While running back Jonah Coleman takes the majority of the rushing reps — and does it well with 11 attempts for 106 gained yards against Eastern Michigan and 16 for 148 against Rutgers — this offense is not at all dependent on rushing touchdowns. Coleman is used more to move the ball, demanding the Iowa defensive line be compact and physical across four quarters to add pressure to Rogers.
As it did last year, the Huskies’ offense instead leans toward an air raid style as five or more receivers can pose a threat. Denzel Boston is clearly the primary target, popping off for six receptions, 125 yards, and two touchdowns at Rutgers, for example.
Still, receivers Jeremiah Hunter and Giles Jackson are each able to break out. And even tight end Decker DeGraaf is targeted in the end zone.
Altogether, the Washington offense is averaging 12.4 yards per catch this season with a total offense average of 462.7. But 45 penalties have cost the Huskies an average of 70.7 yards per game.
They can still be restricted by a strong secondary, though, requiring Iowa’s defensive backs to lock in — and demonstrating it’s the Hawkeye defense that will win Iowa this game.
The defense is not quite a walk in the park, but it’s clear the Huskies try to win games by their offense.
Even so, the Washington defense has amassed 13 sacks this season, and the defensive line is the strongest with potential for half a dozen or more tackles for loss and sacks per game.
No single tackler stands out above the others like Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins does. Each is strong as 17 Huskies and has totaled 10 or more tackles this season.
Edge rusher Zach Durfee leads the pass rush, and inside linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala — with 30 total tackles — can blow plays up from across the field.
Cornerback Thaddeus Dixon is his own threat in the secondary, his ability to intercept and break passes making Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara even more careful with the throw. And linebackers Carson Bruener — leading the team with 36 total tackles — and Khmori House have fortified this defense behind the line.
Iowa offensive lineman Mason Richman said after last week’s loss to Ohio State that the team needs to “execute at a better rate” moving forward, which will be essential to a win this weekend.
“We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Richman said. “I think we’ll respond.”
With a focused Iowa offensive line — and a conservative and smart throwing game from McNamara — running back Kaleb Johnson should still be able to motor the Hawkeyes to touchdowns and a win. But that includes a constriction of the air raid offense on the other side of the ball too.