Heinemann on the Hawkeyes

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

IOWA CITY –––– They’ve been saying it for a calendar year now. Don’t look ahead. Don’t take anybody lightly.

Now, the time has finally come for the Iowa Hawkeyes to prove that they mean what they say, as they try to avoid another near-disaster in a season opening game against an FCS team when Eastern Illinois visits Kinnick Stadium tomorrow.

“Last year, I think that we came into the first game playing down to their level,” cornerback Micah Hyde said. “I think if we go out there and we know what we’ve got to do, then we’ll be fine.”

That was a common problem for the Hawkeyes last year. Despite the shiny 11-2 record and Orange Bowl win, Iowa had a tendency to play down to their competition in most contests. They can’t afford to do that in tomorrow’s opener. Not with national expectations for the team soaring. Not after last year.

“I think last year we definitely learned a lesson with how to prepare for your first game, not go in there and take anybody lightly,” quarterback Ricky Stanzi said. “We’re not going to do that this week.

“We have to take every team very seriously.”

If they do so, they’ll be fine this week. Eastern Illinois is a team riddled with suspensions and injuries, and, while they are ranked in the Top 20 in the FCS, they aren’t close to the caliber of team that UNI brought to Kinnick last season.

This is a chance for the Iowa offense to get off on the right foot, build momentum and avoid turnovers. Everyone knows what the defense can do, and with EIU’s offensive line and quarterback woes – three starters on the line could be out, and they’ll have a new quarterback under center – the defense is likely to dominate the Panthers.

The Hawkeyes say they are ready. They say they aren’t going to overlook a team that they are expected to easily handle. We’ll find out quickly how much they learned last season once the ball is kicked off to open the 2010 season.

“I think the moral of the story is there are just not a lot of easy games and if you go into a game thinking it’s going to be anything less than competitive, you’re going to suffer for that,” Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I’m not saying that we did that last year but as it turns out, we played a team that was very good and they were ready to play and we – I don’t think we looked great.”

They won’t need to look great to beat Eastern Illinois, but it surely wouldn’t hurt.

Who: Eastern Illinois (0-0) at Iowa (0-0)

When: 11:01am tomorrow

Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

The series: First meeting

Last meeting: N/A

This week's challenge: They already had several new faces, but with the loss of guard Adam Gettis (sprained ankle), center Josh Koeppel (injured in moped accident) and Gettis’ backup Cody Hundertmark (left team) this week, all eyes will be on the suddenly-thin Hawkeyes’ offensive line tomorrow to see how they handle the adversity.

To pull of an upset: Eastern Illinois’ corners, who have a nose for the ball, have to play the game of their lives and make Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s five-interception game against Indiana in 2009 look good by comparison.

Players to watch: Keep your eyes peeled for Iowa’s freshman tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz and junior defensive tackle Mike Daniels, and Eastern Illinois’ senior cornerbacks Rashad Haynes and CJ James, the latter of which had two pick-6s last year.

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

First down — Ricky Stanzi needs to show he’s learned from game tape this offseason and make sound decisions against a talented, but overmatched, EIU secondary.

Second down — The offensive line has an opportunity to gel and get much-needed experience against a lesser opponent, and needs to take advantage of it by paving the way for a strong rushing attack.

Third down — Iowa needs Adam Robinson to get enough carries that Paki O’Meara and Josh Smith barely touch the field, and do just enough to fill the gap until Jewel Hampton’s return next week.

Fourth down — The defense needs to consistently harass EIU quarterback Brandon Large, a sophomore taking his first Division 1 snap, to take some heat off the secondary, where Greg Castillo will be making only his second start in place of the injured Shaun Prater.

Trivial tidbit: Eastern Illinois hasn’t beaten a FBS team since 2004 and has lost four straight years to Big Ten teams, by an average of 36.5 points per game.

Did you hear?: Iowa’s Big Ten championship teams of 1960 and 1985 will be recognized   before the game tomorrow.

Bottom line: Don’t expect to see a repeat of last year’s Northern Iowa opener. The Hawkeyes are too strong in every aspect of the game for Eastern Illinois, and should get a good opportunity to build major momentum on both sides of the ball. Look for Eastern to get some points off either a Stanzi interception or backup running back fumble, but for the Hawkeyes defensive line to make life a nightmare for the Panthers. Expect to see a good dose of some young players and backups as the Hawkeyes pull away.

Final score: Iowa 38, Eastern Illinois 10