Hawkeyes dominate Spartans, stay tied atop Big Ten

By Brian Heinemann
For The Herald

IOWA CITY ----- It can be tantalizing, thinking about what might have been for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Saturday’s 37-6 pummeling of then-No. 5 Michigan State at Kinnick Stadium was a clear glimpse of the team the Hawkeyes could be.

A week removed for a heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin, nobody really knew how Iowa would bounce back. The answer to that question is clear now.

They bounced back with a vengeance.

“I’m guessing it was lingering with everybody,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of the Wisconsin loss. “Those one-point losses are tough, but you’ve still got to do your job, still got to move forward. I think everybody grabbed onto that principle.

“Most importantly, they played a complete game,” he said of his team. “That’s something we have struggled to do this year.”

The players seemed to unanimously agree that they had a fantastic week of practice, with a clearer focus on the minute details and correcting small mistakes that haunted them the previous two weeks. Their coach agreed with the sentiment, but never expected to see a 31-point whipping of a Big Ten frontrunner.

That’s what they did, though. They out-executed, out-played, and badly overpowered the Spartans (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten).

“I just think we played motivated,” defensive end Adrian Clayborn said. “The last two games, we’ve been so-so. We needed to prove a point to ourselves.”

Point taken.

Iowa (6-2, 3-1) proved to themselves that they can be the team they looked like after a blistering 9-0 start last year. They proved that they still have some of the magic from last year left, despite its absence in both the Arizona and Wisconsin losses this season.

For evidence of that, see Tyler Sash’s pick-and-ladder play, where he pitched the ball after intercepting it and watched Micah Hyde run 66 yards for a touchdown. Or look at Ricky Stanzi’s 56-yard pass to tight end Brad Herman in the second quarter, which, for all intents and purposes, should have been an easy interception for Michigan State.

Everything was clicking for the Hawkeyes, in all three phases of the game. It may not have been Halloween officially, but it was a scary sight for the Spartans to run into these Hawkeyes, playing at this level.

“It just shows that when we all play together, error-free, this is what happens,” cornerback Shaun Prater, who had an interception and 10 tackles, said. “We just have to keep playing like this week after week.”

“That’s the team you want to be,” receiver Marvin McNutt said.

The Iowa team that showed up Saturday was the team that many expected to see the entire year. It was the type of win so dominant, it makes you wonder how this team lost twice this season.

The Hawkeyes don’t look back, though. They say it every week, and they’ve proven coming off of their two losses that they practice what they preach.

So, switch your gaze. Focus on the future. The two losses may be disappointing, but a 10-2 record last year was good enough to get Iowa to a BCS bowl. The road isn’t going to be easy now, with three of the final four coming on the road and the lone home game being against Ohio State, but the Big Ten title isn’t out of reach.

It would be easy to call Saturday’s thumping of Michigan State a statement, a defining win. The team doesn’t view it that way at all. To them, all it’s done is given them another Big Ten win.

To the outside world, this win put Iowa in a four-way tie for first place in the conference, giving them a chance to control their own destiny to some extent. The Rose Bowl is still in play, although the Hawkeyes would need some help from the rest of the conference to get there, and another 10-2 season is obviously on the table.

Try explaining any of this to the Iowa players, though, and their eyes will almost gloss over on you. They don’t particularly care, and, although they focus forward, they never seem to be looking more than seven days ahead.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Stanzi said. “You guys shouldn’t worry about it either, because it’ll all shake out for itself. You’ll find the answer in a couple of weeks now, four weeks when the season’s over. It’ll all shake itself out. That’s why we don’t focus on it – there’s really no reason to.”

If Iowa can keep their focus where it was for the past week, the showdown with Ohio State in three weeks could hold huge implications. But Indiana is all the Hawkeyes will be focused on this week, trying to figure out how to slow down the Pistol offense and keep quarterback Ben Chappell from throwing all over them, as he’s done to so many others.

Iowa has some of their swagger back now. It’s not that they ever lost confidence, but it’s never a bad thing to have reminder of just how good you can be.

“If we play the way we’re supposed to play, it’s hard to beat us,” Clayborn said.

Hawkeyes fall short as defense falters

By Brian Heinemann
For The Herald

IOWA CITY ––––– When push came to shove, the Wisconsin Badgers simply lined up and jammed the ball right down the collective throats of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Four plays in a row in the waning minutes. Four straight runs, totaling 19 yards. Just like that, Wisconsin capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ate up the majority of the last nine minutes, burying the Hawkeyes in the process.

“We knew that coming in Iowa’s defense was rock solid, and they have been for the last few years,” Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzien said. “We put it on our offensive line, and it started with them. They played their tails off.”

Iowa’s defense was supposed to be one of the best in the nation. Last week, they gave up 522 yards to an explosive Michigan offense, while Wisconsin imposed it’s will on then-No. 1 Ohio State.

Still, expectations nationally were that Iowa (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten) would be able to withstand Wisconsin (7-1, 3-1). And with 8:35 left, a six point lead, and the Badgers backed up on their own 20, the defense had their chance to snuff out Wisconsin and keep the road to the Big Ten title going through Iowa City.

They didn’t, and the Hawkeyes fell 31-30 in a heartbreaker at Kinnick Stadium.

It’s a loss that’s going to sting for a while.

“The defense didn’t step up, and that’s why we lost the game,” Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn, voice quaking and eventually brought to tears, said. “We’ve got to stop them in the fourth quarter, and we didn’t.

“Whatever we’ve done in practice, on the player side, it’s not working,” he added. “We need to change things around. The coaches are giving us the opportunities to make plays, and we just aren’t.”

It’s easy to point the finger at the defense, but for some it will be easier to point it at the offense, which had a minute to drive into field goal range and all three timeouts at their disposal. After a fourth-down quarterback sneak with 14 seconds left, Iowa made the questionable decision to use their last timeout instead of having Ricky Stanzi spike the ball.

That decision left Iowa with 12 seconds, no timeouts, and too far to go for freshman kicker Michael Meyer to take a shot. Stanzi’s last gasp, a short shovel pass to Adam Robinson, ended with Robinson being taken down inbounds and the final few seconds agonizingly ticking off the clock.

“We wanted to burn the timeout and just go from there,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I guess we could have gone the other way. Might have saved us two seconds, something like that. I don’t think that was exactly the turning point in the game.”

The players backed the decision. Robinson said that with the confusion among the team as the referees were resetting the ball, Iowa likely would have incurred a penalty had Stanzi tried to snap the ball to clock it.

“There’s different ways a two-minute drive can go,” Stanzi said. “You just kind of have to live with whatever decision you make.”

Even with a spike, another play, and a timeout, there’s no guarantee. Iowa has to live with their decision anyway and try to regroup and figure out where to go from here.

With an undefeated Michigan State coming to Kinnick this weekend, there isn’t much time to do so. Special teams are still an issue – a penalty led to a do-over and a big return, a blocked extra point ended up being the final margin of defeat, and a botched snap cost Iowa a field goal try.

But there’s more going wrong than just special teams.

“We can still win the Big Ten; we can still go somewhere nice for a bowl game,” offensive guard Julian Vandervelde said. “The important thing right now is that we’re able to learn from this. We’re going to be hurting on this one for a while, but at the same time it makes you kind of itchy to get back out there on the field. We’ll be hungry and we’ll be ready to go next week.”

That old axiom that Iowa always preaches – look back just long enough to learn from what you did, and then keep focusing ahead – has never been more critical this season than it is now. After losing to Arizona, Iowa knew they had an entire game to bounce back.

Not this time.

“Looking back, that’s all nice and everything, but we’re going to keep looking forward,” Stanzi said. “In the Big Ten, playing football, if you’re going to look back, you might as well stay there.”

Losing to Wisconsin doesn’t put Iowa in the back of the Big Ten by any stretch of the imagination, but this could be a turning point to the season for a simple reason. With their backs to the wall, the Iowa defense did something unusual.

They didn’t just bend. They buckled. 

They broke.

For the second week in a row, Iowa’s defense was a letdown. That defense, a once proud unit, suffered a major blow to their pride, leaving their leader in tears. Whether that serves as major motivation or a major deflator remains to be seen.

Maybe the Hawkeyes will turn it around with the looming return of defensive coordinator Norm Parker. Maybe the Hawkeyes figure things out, and go back to the dominance they are accustomed to.

But maybe, just maybe, this Hawkeyes defense just isn’t as good as advertised. One thing is clear, though, no matter what the truth is.

This one hurts.

Hawkeyes' defense stands tall in dominant win

By Brian Heinemann
For The Herald

IOWA CITY ––––– They may have dropped a few spots from their No. 1 ranking in total defense last week, but the Iowa Hawkeyes defense showed something Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium.

They showed that the numbers, which some thought were a bit lofty based on level of competition, weren’t that far off.

They showed that, even though they personally knew they had things to improve upon, this really is one of college football’s elite defenses.

And they showed it by playing physical, aggressive, mean defense in keeping the Penn State Nittany Lions out of the end zone for the entire 60 minutes.

“That’s how Coach K (defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski) told us to be – just play pissed off,” defensive end Adrian Clayborn said. “Just play pissed off all the time. Just get after it. You can’t be a nice guy on the field. I think that’s how we played tonight on the defensive line.”

Clayborn’s dominance hadn’t been visible on the stat sheets until Saturday, when he racked up 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and his first sack of the year.

The dominance of the line as a whole has been obvious all season, but never as much as during the first quarter against Penn State. The Nittany Lions gained all of 36 inches – yes, you read that right – on three drives in the opening quarter. 

Six of Penn State’s (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) first eight plays went either backwards or nowhere. Iowa (4-1, 1-0) jumped out to a 10-0 lead while their defense continually gave them field position, and the Hawkeyes never looked back.

“Big Ten play comes along, we need to step our game up,” defensive lineman Christian Ballard said. “I think the past four games we were just kind of out there. We were playing OK, but weren’t playing great. This was a good step up, good start to the Big Ten opener.”

Penn State did enough throughout the final three quarters to knock Iowa’s overall defensive ranking to fourth in the nation. The Hawkeyes’ defense served notice to the rest of the conference though by stifling Evan Royster and constantly living in the Nittany Lions’ backfield, piling up six tackles for a loss.

“They’re a good, solid football team,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “They hustle. They’re well coached. You have to beat them; they don’t beat themselves. The Arizona game was a fluke for them.”

With the way they’ve played in all four games aside from Arizona, that failed comeback in the desert certainly looks more like an aberration than par for the course. The Hawkeyes don’t like to look behind them, though. 

They learn from their mistakes and move on, focusing squarely on what’s right in front of them.

“Once we start thinking we’ve arrived anywhere, we’ll go right downhill fast, especially in this conference,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’d better be thinking about moving forward.”

What’s in front now is a much needed bye week. Adam Robinson said he could use the rest after the 28-carry beating he took from a physical Penn State defense. 

Iowa was down to a true freshman middle linebacker in James Morris after Jeff Tarpinian missed Saturday’s game and Troy Johnson got knocked out of it early, so the time off will help restore depth at that vital position.

And the Hawkeyes have been in full-on football mode for eight weeks now. With eight weeks left in the regular season, the timing is just right.

“Personally right now I’m thrilled that we have a bye week,” Ferentz said. “Normally I’m not a big fan of them, but we need a little time to regroup here and get some of our guys that are nicked up back.”

It doesn’t hurt that the extra time comes right before Iowa plays one of the nation’s most dynamic players in Michigan’s Denard Robinson. While they haven’t officially gotten down to film study and looking that far ahead yet, it’s no secret that anybody could use extra time to prepare for him.

That will be a bit of a challenge, since Ferentz admitted that Iowa simply “doesn’t have anybody like him” to help emulate him in practice. But with the way the defense is playing, and with the likely return of Norm Parker to the team for the game, it’s a safe bet that Iowa will be well prepared for the Wolverines and their standout quarterback.

Having a better idea of who they are as a team now will help with the mental part of preparing for Michigan. Before the season, many pointed at the Arizona game as a measuring stick for where the Hawkeyes were.

With how that game played out, the focus instead shifted to this game, the Big Ten opener, to get a better feel for who Iowa is.

“We were kind of at a crossroad; we didn’t know where our team was,” Clayborn said. “We beat three teams we should of beat and we lost to Arizona. We figured this was the game to see where we were at.”

Now they know. Tied at the top of the Big Ten, with the best record possible after one conference game. Top 15 in the nation in the rankings.

And a defense ranked in the top five nationally, with, for the first time in years, an offense that can almost keep pace.

Heinemann on the Hawkeyes - Iowa vs. Penn State

Brian Heinemann, who covers Iowa football for the Herald, previews this week's game.

IOWA CITY ––––– Penn State hasn’t forgotten the last trip it made to Iowa City, in 2008.

That day cost the Nittany Lions a shot at the BCS National Championship game. A last-second field goal lifted Iowa to a 24-23 upset and a late-season derailing of Penn State’s season.

The stakes may not be quite as high this time around, this being the Big Ten opener for both teams, but that doesn’t mean much to a team looking for a measure of revenge.

“Two years ago, we win that game and we very well could be playing for a national championship,” Penn State running back Evan Royster said at the Big Ten Media Days in August. “It’s tough to think about, it really is. Looking at the season ahead, hopefully we’ll get some payback.”

This year is a bit different. After pulling off the upset two years in a row, Iowa will be the favorite Saturday. Neither team is undefeated and in the national championship hunt.

But it’s early, and Saturday is the first game of what Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz calls an “eight-week football race” for the Big Ten title. 

So far, it’s no secret who the team to catch in the Big Ten is. Penn State and Iowa know it. And to compete, to keep pace, both teams need a win Saturday.

“Historically, if you're hanging around waiting for Ohio State to lose three, four games, maybe even two, I think historically, that could be proven as a bad strategy,” Ferentz said. “If you're talking about playing at the top of the league, you better be at your best every week.”

Seemingly every time these teams get together, it turns into a knock-down, drag-out fight. The series couldn’t get more even, with each team winning 11 times, and both teams have been known for punishing, overpowering defenses.

Right now, the Hawkeyes have the No. 1 ranked defense in the entire nation. Ferentz and his Iowa players don’t put any stock in the numbers, but Penn State doesn’t need the statistics to know they are in for a fight.

“If it’s not the best defense we are going to play against, it’s certainly one of the five or six best in the country,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “They’re awfully good. 

“We’re not going to take the ball and jam it down their throat – they’re too good. We’re going to have to fight for our lives for every yard.”

Penn State’s fight is made a whole lot tougher having a true freshman quarterback under center. Robert Bolden has been under fire on the road already – his second game as a collegiate athlete was at Tuscaloosa in a loss to top-ranked Alabama – but this is something else altogether.

This is the Big Ten. This is an Iowa team that’s beaten Penn State seven of the last eight times they’ve met. 

Nobody outside of Pennsylvania expected the Nittany Lions to beat Alabama. With the way Iowa and Penn State have gone at it over the last decade, though, anything can happen at Kinnick Stadium.

“I'm not sure why they'd be considered the underdog,” Ferentz said. “Again, I'm looking at a team that's won 51 games, five years, they don't give up points. I mean, I think our biggest margin of victory in this series is 12 points back in '03. We've had tough games with them or we've gotten nailed pretty good. 

“I'm expecting this thing to be a real 60 minute game and hopefully we'll be in there in the fourth quarter.”

Who: No. 17 Iowa (3-1) vs. No. 22 Penn State (3-1)

When: 7:00 p.m. Saturday

Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

The series: Tied at 11-11

Last meeting: Iowa won 21-10 last year at State College

This week's challenge: Not digging themselves into a hole. Last year, Iowa fell behind the Nittany Lions by 10 before scoring 21 unanswered to pull away for the win. Two years ago, Iowa needed a last-second field goal to beat Penn State. Last year, Iowa showed it could play behind just fine. This year, in one opportunity, they showed that while they still can fight back, some of the magic might have run out. Iowa needs to take advantage of the home crowd and jump on Penn State early, forcing true freshman Robert Bolden to be the one attempting to lead a comeback.

To pull off an upset: The roles of the two quarterbacks would need to be reversed. If Ricky Stanzi plays like a freshman and makes bad decisions and Bolden plays like a seasoned veteran, Penn State will knock of the Hawkeyes. 

Players to watch: Penn State’s offensive line could be in trouble after losing senior tackle Lou Eliades for the season last week against Temple. His replacement at RT is junior Chima Okoli, who just this spring switched from defensive line to offensive tackle. He’ll have his hands full with Broderick Binns and, if Iowa moves their d-linemen around as they did last week, Adrian Clayborn or others. For Iowa, all attention should be focused on running back Adam Robinson. The last thing the Hawkeyes want is to throw the inexperienced duo of Marcus Coker or Brad Rogers in at running back against a strong Penn State defense, so Robinson needs to shoulder a heavy load.

Gettin' down with Brian (four keys for Saturday):

First down — Starting fast. In three games this season, the Hawkeyes jumped all over their opponents and cruised. In the other, they fell too far behind and couldn’t complete the comeback. Iowa needs a strong start on offense to set the tone, pounding Robinson right at Penn State and opening up the play-action for later in the game.

Second down — Getting to Bolden. It’s been a best case scenario for the Nittany Lions, as their true freshman quarterback has barely been touched. Bolden has been sacked all of one time this season, tying Penn State for tops in the nation, and it wasn’t even Alabama that got him. Iowa needs to get to Bolden relentlessly to force him into mistakes and bad plays.

Third down — Holding on to the ball. Normally, this would apply to running backs. They haven’t been a problem for Iowa, though. Ricky Stanzi, on snap exchanges, and the wide receivers, with drops, have been. Those kinds of mistakes will kill the Hawkeyes against a tough conference opponent.

Fourth down — Kick coverage, kick coverage, kick coverage. At this point, it’s like beating a dead horse. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make the problem go away. Iowa looked good on kick coverage against Ball State, but the overall team speed and strength ramps way up this week. Iowa can’t give up big plays in the return game; they need to make Bolden and the Penn State offense work for every yard they gain.

Trivial tidbit: Iowa has never lost to Penn State in a homecoming game. The Hawkeyes beat the Nittany Lions 19-0 in 1930 and 24-18 in 2001. Iowa has won eight of its last 10 homecoming contests.

Did you hear?: Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker is finally out of the hospital – he was released mid-week – and could rejoin the team in some capacity next week during the bye week.

Bottom line: Iowa is simply the better team in this one. Not by a wide margin, but significantly better in several key areas. The Nittany Lions will slow the Iowa offense, but not completely stop it, while the Hawkeyes defense will make Bolden and company struggle to get anything going. Evan Royster will be running with a purpose for Penn State, out to prove recent critics wrong and try to help carry his team past the Hawkeyes for the second time in his career, but it won’t be nearly enough as the Hawkeyes run defense should keep him well under 100 yards, forcing Bolden to beat them. He won’t.

Final score: Iowa 24, Penn State 6

No Hampton, no problem for Hawkeyes

By Brian Heinemann
For The Herald

IOWA CITY ––––– Running back was supposed to be a position of strength for the Iowa Hawkeyes this year.

It didn’t take long for it to become an area of concern after Jewel Hampton was lost to a torn ACL in last weekend’s 34-27 defeat at the hands of Arizona. Iowa was left with Adam Robinson and not a whole lot else.

Or so we thought. Much like last year, it was no Hampton, no problem for Iowa (3-1). The Hawkeyes ran the ball 44 times for 256 yards and throttled Ball State (1-3) 45-0 on a cold, rainy Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

“I think right now our plan is Adam will be our featured back like Shonn (Greene) was a couple years ago,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s our primary back, and we’ll do whatever it takes to fuel it around him.”

Robinson’s 115 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries were impressive. Perhaps more important was the emergence of running back-turned-fullback-turned-running back Brad Rogers, a redshirt freshman, and Marcus Coker, a true freshman. The duo ran 9 times for 66 yards and 10 times for 62 yards respectively.

Maybe, just maybe, running back is still a position of strength.

“I was very happy with the way they played,” quarterback Ricky Stanzi said of the freshmen. “Those guys, both very young, haven’t had a whole lot of experience. Marcus has had none; he had an injury in camp, so he’s seen very limited time. You can see the potential that’s there. You don’t just count on potential, you want to see production, and we were able to see that today from both of those guys.”

It helped that the offensive line was opening up “monster holes,” in Robinson’s words. It was an important bounce back from the 29 yards on 26 attempts the offense put up in the Arizona loss.

But run blocking was just half of the concern about the offensive line as we near Big Ten play. A week ago, they allowed their quarterback to get bounced around like a pinball, particularly on the final drive of the game.

Saturday, Stanzi couldn’t remember a single time he was even touched by a Ball State defender.

“We had all day to pass the ball,” he said.

With a homecoming date against Penn State looming, Iowa needed a quick turnaround after another failed trip west. 

They got it.

Special teams hunkered down, containing one of the best return men in the nation. The pass defense, torched by Arizona’s Nick Foles, allowed Ball State just 56 yards through the air.

But don’t call it bouncing back or righting the ship. Sure, the Arizona loss was a stumble.

That doesn’t mean it had to derail the Hawkeyes’ entire season. These Hawkeyes won’t let it.

“I wouldn’t say getting back on track,” Stanzi said. “I don’t think we were ever off the track – we just needed to do a couple things a little bit better. We were able to do that today and we came out with a big win.”

Iowa knows there’s still room for improvement. There were dropped passes, another fumbled snap and nine penalties. 

It’s hard to imagine the defense needing improvement after they pitched a shutout and allowed just 112 yards, thanks in large part to the play of the front four. The unit used some different looks and got huge production from junior tackle Mike Daniels, who leads the team in tackles for a loss after picking up four – and a sack – against Ball State.

“We see a lot of people have been scheming us, trying to get a bead on where we’re at,” Christian Ballard, who rotates with Daniels, said of the front four. “They’ve been sending a lot of running backs, a lot of tight ends to chip our ends. So, just to move them around a little bit so they can’t keep scheming us is going to be important going through the season.”

The Hawkeyes know their conference foes, starting with Penn State Saturday night, will be looking at what Arizona did to them, looking to exploit Iowa’s supposed weaknesses. Iowa had a chance Saturday to show improvement and tighten up some rough patches and, for the most part, they took full advantage.

The offensive line, special teams and the pass defense all looked greatly improved from where they were a week ago. And even though it was against a team that lost at home to Liberty, it was exactly what Iowa needed.

“We’ve been getting Big Ten ready,” guard Julian Vandervelde said. “It’s not something that you get in a week. I think we’re a little bit closer, and we’ve got a little more tape that we can look at now.

“We can kind of gauge the progression from Week 1 through Week 4 now, and see the sort of direction that we’re taking and the areas that we really need the most focus to improve to get ready for the Big Ten season.”

Heinemann on the Hawkeyes - Iowa vs. Ball State

Brian Heinemann, who covers Iowa football for the Herald, previews this week's game.

IOWA CITY ––––– Their own lack of discipline in coverage allowed Iowa State and Arizona to gash them.

Now, injuries have started gutting the Iowa Hawkeyes’ special teams unit. Iowa took quite a hit in last weekends loss to Arizona when both Paki O’Meara and Bruce Davis, standouts on kick coverage, went down to injury.

O’Meara may be back for the beginning of Big Ten play next weekend. Davis, who started the season opener at middle linebacker, is done for the year with a knee injury. 

The unit needs to rebound fast, because things aren’t going to get any easier from here on out.

“Not to beat a dead horse, but our special teams leave a lot to be desired right now,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “And any time that you give plays up that are unearned, what I would categorize as unearned, it makes it really difficult to win against anybody and particularly against a team that’s favored to beat you.”

Ball State (1-2) doesn’t exactly fit into that “favored to beat you” category, but they have one of the most explosive kick returners in the country in running back Eric Williams. And though Iowa may be heavy favorites, they can’t afford to give up the big plays on special teams and let the Cardinals hang around.

So, how do the No. 18 Hawkeyes (2-1) fix the problem? Strong safety Tyler Sash has volunteered himself for the kick coverage unit several times, and while his name may not be called, the sentiment of having some more experienced players or starters on the unit is exactly what Ferentz is looking for. 

“Two things have to happen,” Ferentz said. “Either way we have to mix in some veteran guys that have done it. That’s one option. Another is some guys have to step up and grow up a little bit, and historically we have had a tradition of that.”

Special teams isn’t the only place Iowa is in desperate need for somebody to step up at. Jewel Hampton’s season is over after tearing an ACL for the second straight season, and coupled with Brandon Wegher’s departure from the team in camp, the Hawkeyes have gone from a glut of quality running backs to Adam Robinson and not much else.

The door has prematurely swung open for two true freshman, Marcus Coker and De’Andre Johnson. Coker is likely the next man in at running back and figures to get a solid look on Saturday.

He’ll need it, because before this week, Coker had just one full week of practice as a Hawkeye after being plagued by a shoulder injury. 

Both Coker and Johnson bring something a little different to the Iowa running game, at least from what one of the guys paving the way for them has seen in spring and summer.

“I think that both De’Andre and Marcus have great vision,” guard Julian Vandervelde said. “I think that they have a tempo to their running that really lends itself well to a zone scheme, so I think it’ll add another dimension to the offense.”

Iowa needs something to spark the running game after gaining a paltry 1.1 yards per carry against the Wildcats. Whether that spark comes from Robinson, one of the freshman backs, or the offensive line remains to be seen.

The line knows it needs to be better in all facets. They stood out like a sore thumb for their failures on Iowa’s final drive against the Wildcats, as quarterback Ricky Stanzi was sacked three times in a row officially, with a fourth negated by a penalty.

“When Rick’s got to be looking over his shoulder all the time, he’s feeling the pressure from five different directions, there’s no way that he can be comfortable,” Vandervelde said. “That’s something that we as an offensive line have to come together, we have to focus on and fix this week.”

This is Iowa’s chance, because after Ball State – a team that has lost to Liberty and Purdue – Penn State rolls into town to start Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes are a team known for having tunnel vision, not looking ahead, keeping their focus where it needs to be.

That’s exactly what they need to do Saturday, because Iowa has one week, one chance, to figure out how to fix what went wrong in Arizona before those kinds of mistakes start digging them holes that can’t dig out of again.

Who: No. 18 Iowa (2-1) vs. Ball State (1-2)

When: 11:00 a.m. Saturday

Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

The series: Iowa leads 1-0

Last meeting: In their only previous meeting, Iowa beat Ball State 56-0 in 2005 at Kinnick Stadium

This week's challenge: Bouncing back. Iowa had a rough time out west in Arizona and has a lot to clean up before conference play starts next week. The challenge this week will be in how Iowa reacts after a disappointing loss and how they respond to key injuries. The offensive line was much maligned and the pass defense was nonexistent a week ago, both things Iowa needs to correct quickly.

To pull off an upset: Ball State is a huge underdog, and will need a lot to go right to topple the Hawkeyes. Special teams are where the Cardinals could do just that, as running back Eric Williams is one of the nation’s best kick returners so far this season at 36.1 yards per return. The Cardinals need their defensive line to do what Arizona did to the Hawkeyes offense on the final drive last Saturday night, pressuring Stanzi into sacks and mistakes, and the Ball State offense needs to find ways to score plenty of points and control the clock against the stalwart Iowa defense.

Players to watch: For Ball State, keep your eyes on the aforementioned Williams at running back and kick returns, and free safety Sean Baker, who leads the team with three interceptions in three games. For Iowa, most eyes will be squarely on special teams and the offensive line, but pay attention to whoever backs up Adam Robinson at running back, likely Marcus Coker. Coker is bigger than Iowa’s other backs and brings a different style, and this game presents an opportunity to get him solid playing time and experience before the brutal Big Ten slate begins.

Gettin' down with Brian (four keys for Saturday):

First down — Tightened special teams. Although Ball State is the weakest opponent Iowa will face the rest of the way, they have one of the better kick return units. Iowa’s coverage squads have to prove they can get the job done after two abysmal weeks in a row.

Second down — Domination from the offensive line. Despite what it looked like to outsiders, both Kirk Ferentz and Ricky Stanzi said the offensive line was pretty good against Arizona. They need to get back to doing what they did the first two weeks against Ball State though, opening gaping holes for Robinson and keeping Stanzi upright.

Third down — Putting the loss behind them. If Iowa plays hesitant or unsure because of the mistakes made in Arizona, the Cardinals could give them problems. While they don’t want to completely forget last week’s game, the way the team responds could be a defining moment for the rest of the season.

Fourth down — Holding coverage. Iowa’s defensive line hasn’t been the force it was expected to be this year, and the reason is simple – the corners aren’t holding coverage long enough. The line consistently gets pressure and gets close to making plays but is struggling to finish off quarterbacks for sacks. The corners need to hold longer against Ball State, letting Adrian Clayborn and company punish the Cardinals’ quarterback duo.

Trivial tidbit: For just the second time in team history, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be wearing throwback uniforms. The first was in 2004, when Iowa wore 1939 uniforms and defeated Kent State 39-7. Iowa will don 1960-era uniforms against Ball State in recognition of Iowa’s 1958 Big Ten championship and 1959 Rose Bowl victory.

Did you hear?: Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker has been in the hospital for several weeks now, and likely won’t be back with the team until the bye week heading into the Michigan games. That means that Hawkeyes will have been without him for Iowa State, Arizona, Ball State, and Penn State next weekend.

Bottom line: This is a game that should resemble Iowa’s first two wins of the season, not last week’s loss. Ball State simply isn’t a good team right now, and Iowa is going to be looking to bounce back in a big way. The defense needs to make a statement after Arizona passed all over it, and the offense should come out slinging the ball around to try to limit Robinson’s running load. Look for Iowa to open a big first half lead, allowing younger players to take over in the second half.

Final score: Iowa 42, Ball State 3

Heinemann on the Hawkeyes - Iowa at Arizona

Brian Heinemann, who covers Iowa football for the Herald, previews this week's game.

IOWA CITY ––––– This is a totally different Iowa Hawkeyes football team than the one that fell flat on its face the last time it traveled to Arizona.

Not one current player was on the roster back in 2004, when the Hawkeyes received a 44-7 whipping at the hands of Arizona State. It doesn’t matter that this is a new opponent or a new Hawkeyes team – the lessons of that game haven’t been lost on head coach Kirk Ferentz.

“We had beaten Arizona State the year before at home,” Ferentz said. “And, I think we probably underestimated what the game was going to be. Boy, that’s a bad thing to do in sports.

“If we do that this week we’ll be beaten by 60. It will be ugly.”

It’s the same scenario. The No. 9 Hawkeyes (2-0) rarely travel west, and they are coming off a 27-17 home win against Arizona last year. Like Iowa, Arizona missed out on the Rose Bowl in 2009 only by an overtime loss.

Like Iowa, No. 24 Arizona (2-0) has started strong, beating Toledo 41-2 and The Citadel 52-6. 

“They’re going to be tough this year; it’s going to be tough at their place,” Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi said after beating Iowa State. “To be 3-0, we have to work very hard. It’s not going to be easy. They’re a great football team. If we want to even give ourselves a chance to win the ball game over there in their place, we have to have a great week of practice.”

Neither team has faced competition anywhere near the level that they’ll see tomorrow night. Both have been impressive against inferior teams, racking up numbers offensively and stifling their opponents with stingy, overpowering defense.

But this is the first true test for either team, a battle of ranked foes that will shed a whole lot of light on the identity of each.

“None of us really know how good we are at this point,” Ferentz said. “It’s going to be a heck of a test. Regardless of who we played the last two weeks or who they played, they’re an excellent football team. We hope to be a good team. And we certainly are going to learn a lot about our football team this week.”

A lot has been made of the fact that this isn’t just a regular road game for the Hawkeyes. Concerns about the weather and about the late start time – 9:30 p.m. Iowa time – have swayed some of the experts to the side of the Wildcats and have left Iowa a miniscule 1-point favorite despite being the higher ranked team.

The Hawkeyes don’t really buy into any of that talk, though. They know what they have to do, and they are treating this like any other road trip.

“I think that’s just something else to talk about,” right tackle Marcus Zusevics said. “It doesn’t matter. We’re still going to be playing football, we’re still going to be ready to go and prepared.”

The one area Iowa has been focusing on, preparing for, is special teams. The offense and the defense have been fine through two games, albeit not completely mistake-free. But special teams was a sore spot for Iowa after last week’s win.

If they have the same kind of lackluster performance again in any facet of special teams, they could be in trouble quick. Arizona has fantastic return units, and the Hawkeyes know it. They are considering putting starters back on their kick coverage team – a few part-time starters have already been shifted back to that role.

“It was pretty pathetic the other day. It was really bad,” Ferentz said of the special teams’ play a week ago. “And I’m not discrediting (Iowa State) – they did a nice job. They did what they’re supposed to do. And we certainly let them get some big plays and that’s not good.

“We better be the Monsters of the Midway on defense. If we try that on Saturday, too, we’ll be down by about 28 points in the first half.”

Who: No. 9 Iowa (2-0) at No. 24 Arizona (2-0)

When: 9:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.

The series: Tied at 6-6

Last meeting: Iowa won 27-17 last year at Kinnick Stadium

This week's challenge: Keeping composure if things don’t go right. Iowa imposed its will on Eastern Illinois and Iowa State, but this stands to be a different kind of game. If Iowa struggles on either side of the ball, the key will be how well they maintain composure and stick to their game plan against one of the better opponents on their schedule.

To pull off an upset: Iowa is favored in this game, but barely. For Arizona to pull off the “upset” at home, they’ll need Nic Grigsby to escape the Hawkeyes defense and have a big game, while their defense contains Iowa’s rush attack, forcing Ricky Stanzi to beat them through the air. Stanzi can do that, so disguising coverages and forcing him into mistakes will be crucial in slowing down the Hawkeyes’ efficient offense.

Players to watch: If you don’t know Arizona’s Juron Criner yet, you probably will Saturday night. The junior receiver poses big match up problems with the Hawkeyes corners. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Criner has emerged as the Wildcats’ big-play threat, with the speed and hands to make life miserable for a secondary. For the Hawkeyes, center James Ferentz will be the key. Ferentz makes all the adjustments on the offensive line, and this is his first true test against a stout defense and on the road, so much of the Iowa offense’s success will rest on how he responds.

Gettin' down with Brian (four keys for Saturday):

First down — Keeping Arizona running back Nic Grigsby bottled up. Kirk Ferentz said this week that he secretly hoped Grigsby would turn pro after last season so the Hawkeyes wouldn’t have to face him again, and there’s a reason for it. He rushed 11 times for 75 yards last year against Iowa – not mind-blowing numbers – but his speed and shiftiness make him a threat every time he touches the ball.

Second down — Converting third downs. Iowa’s offense has been incredibly efficient to start the season, sustaining drives and keeping the defense off the field. With Arizona’s explosive offense, Iowa will want to do the same to help out their defense.

Third down — Discipline from the back end. Nick Foles is one of the best quarterbacks Iowa will see this year, and with solid receivers and a strong running game, Iowa’s safeties will need to keep to their assignments and not lose focus. Staying over the top of Juron Criner is essential, but quick reaction to running plays to help keep the ground game in check will also be crucial.

Fourth down — Ricky Stanzi’s decision-making. In the spring and throughout camp, Stanzi constantly talked about how he’s learned from his mistakes last year, and knows he doesn’t have to go for a big play all the time. He’s backed up his words through two games. Even if it means dumping off to a back and coming up short on third, Stanzi would be better suited living to fight another day than risking a turnover against the Wildcats.

Trivial tidbit: Iowa is the only Division 1 program in the entire nation that will play two regular season games that feature an opposing head coach coaching against his alma mater. The first is this game, against Mike Stoops. The second is the Wisconsin game, against Bret Bielema.

Did you hear?: Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker hasn’t been with the team since last Friday and won’t be making the trip to Arizona. Parker has been hospitalized for complications from diabetes, and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he hopes Parker can get out of the hospital some time next week.

Bottom line: Despite impressive wins to open the season, there is still a lot of doubt about the 2010 Iowa Hawkeyes. Tomorrow night, they’ll lay that doubt to rest. A year ago, Iowa’s chances traveling to Arizona may have been significantly worse. But with this team, with how they’ve come together and played two nearly complete, dominant games, it’s a different story. The offense may get slowed down a bit against the better competition, but the defense, despite missing Parker, should be fired up to face such talent on the opposite side of the ball. Both Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton will find running room against the relatively inexperienced Wildcats defense, and the Iowa defense should put a massive dent in Arizona’s 46.5 point-per-game average en route to a 3-0 start for Iowa and their first marquee win of the year.

Final score: Iowa 24, Arizona 13

Hawkeyes make a statement against instate rivals

By Brian Heinemann

For The Herald

IOWA CITY ---- They may have the same record after the opening two games as they did last year, but there is something special, something different about the 2010 Iowa Hawkeyes.

This year’s Hawkeyes are relentless, merciless, and efficient, exemplified by a 35-7 beat-down of instate rival Iowa State in one of the teams’ most complete games in years. Last year, Iowa barely scraped by Northern Iowa and a host of supposedly inferior teams. 

Iowa’s margin of victory was actually larger against the Cyclones last year, at 32 points. This time, the Hawkeyes were infinitely more impressive.

This year, Iowa looks like a team worthy of their Top 10 ranking.

“Top to bottom, there are no weaknesses,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said of the Hawkeyes. “They have the ability to run it. They have the ability to throw it. People are not going to score very many points on them.”

Rhoads said that Iowa was definitely the best team he’s faced since arriving at Iowa State (1-1), but he wasn’t done heaping praise on the team that had just finished manhandling his squad.

“I thought we played a hell of a football team,” Rhoads said. “They’re talking about Iowa contending for a national championship, and they should. That’s a good football team.

“They’re 12 years into their program. They look like it, they play like it, they run like it, they hit like it, they tackle like it.”

For their part, the Hawkeyes (2-0) would scoff at the championship talk. Beating Eastern Illinois and Iowa State handily isn’t the most impressive of feats, but there is no denying that Iowa has looked much more impressive through two games than they did last year.

Sure, for the first time in four years, Iowa State scored a touchdown against the Hawkeyes. But it hardly mattered, and it came against what defensive end Adrian Clayborn said was the “third or fourth” string Hawkeyes defense. 

This was a dominant performance from start to finish, and it started in the trenches, a place where Iowa struggled against the Cyclones a year ago.

Adam Robinson ran 14 times for 158 yards, Jewel Hampton made his return with a 20-carry, 87-yard performance, and the line protected quarterback Ricky Stanzi well enough to allow him to methodically pick apart Iowa State, throwing for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

“We wanted to come out and make a statement, and get another win,” Robinson said. “I think we did that. The o-line did a great job, as they did last week; I think they even stepped up a little bit.”

The offense has been the surprise so far this year. Everybody knew coming in that the Hawkeyes defense would once again be among the nations’ elite. But the offense, plagued by mistakes and a subpar running game, was carried all last year by their counterparts on the other side of the ball.

Not so much this year. The offense was so efficient, so precise, that the defense only made it onto the field for three plays in the first 17 minutes of the game Saturday.

“First drive, what’d they take, like six minutes off the clock, maybe more?” defensive tackle Karl Klug said. “That’s what you’re looking for. You want the defense to stay off the field; they did a hell of a job.”

They did so with a suddenly potent running attack, led by the power-running Robinson and complemented by Hampton. 

“Adam and Jewel are both real tough runners,” guard Nolan MacMillan said. “They’re willing to get their nose dirty, and they’ll stick their head in their and they’ll punish anybody trying to tackle them.”

The defense did their share of punishing, too, stuffing the Cyclones’ running game – they ran 25 times for 78 yards, a far cry from 2009’s 190 yards on the ground – and making Austen Arnaud’s life miserable, intercepting him three times, sacking him twice and harassing him all day.

It was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball, and, for a change, stayed that way throughout the game.

“There were glimpses last year, but I don’t think we put a full one together like we did today,” Robinson said. “That just came from concentration from everybody on the field.”

There’s no denying that the competition hasn’t been up to par with what the Hawkeyes are going to face the rest of the year, starting with Saturday night in Arizona. Iowa has given themselves a heck of a lot of momentum, though, after executing their game plan nearly to perfection for the better part of both games.

“Going on the road, it’s always a challenge, a different environment,” safety Brett Greenwood said. “Nobody’s really been down there to Arizona, so it’s going to be all new to us. And on top of it, they’re a very good team, so it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Last year, Iowa faced some different types of challenges. They had to be resilient. They had to fight tooth-and-nail to eek out wins against teams that should have been overmatched. Teams they should have put away early.

This year, so far, the only challenge has been whether or not the Hawkeyes could stay focused enough to keep their foot on the gas and take it to the opposition. They let up a bit in the middle of the Eastern Illinois game. 

They never did let up on Iowa State, late touchdown notwithstanding.

“We wanted to make a statement as a team that we’re for real and we can compete with anybody,” Robinson said. “I think we did a good job today.”