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IOWA CITY − In one of the most unexplained scheduling anomalies, Iowa football’s Big Ten Conference season will start on the road for the third year in a row and for the 18th time in Kirk Ferentz’s 26 seasons as head coach. That’s 69.2% of the time vs. 30.8% home openers.
Ferentz has always chuckled at the statistical absurdity. Hard to believe, in eight of his first nine seasons at Iowa, his teams opened league play on the road. In a later four-year stretch, from 2013 to 2016, Iowa started each Big Ten season on the road … and won each of those four games.
And now, the scheduling gods have doubled down on this silliness. For the first time since 1971, Iowa will open the Big Ten season with back-to-back road games: Saturday at Minnesota (6:30 p.m., NBC), then Oct. 5 at Ohio State.
For the record, the Hawkeyes are not alone in the new 18-team Big Ten on this front: Illinois (at Nebraska on Friday, at Penn State) also opens with two road games.
There’s no sense complaining about it. In an unbalanced schedule of nine conference games (with five being on the road for Iowa this year), a road-road start is not some kind of slap in the face. But the schedule formula does force the 2-1 Hawkeyes to face the reality of their situation: They absolutely need to be a good team away from Kinnick Stadium, where they won’t return until Oct. 12 against Washington, to have the type of season they desire.
There is definitely a must-win feel to this game for the Hawkeyes, who suffered a costly Week 2 home loss to Iowa State, 20-19. Considering a trip to No. 3 Ohio State follows this one after the first of two off weeks, Iowa could be facing an almost-assured 2-3 start to the season with a loss in Minneapolis.
“It’s going to be an awkward bye week if you come off a loss,” Iowa senior linebacker and co-captain Jay Higgins said. “So we’re trying to do everything in our power to win this game. You’ve got a week to rest. There’s no reason to hold back. Throw yourself on piles. Hit some guys. It’s going to be a physical game. We’re prepared to go in there and fight and compete and be as physical as possible. And we’ll rest the following week.”
Ferentz’s teams have won six of their last seven road games, a stretch that includes a 2022 win at Minnesota. Of course, that one loss was last year’s Big Ten road opener − a 31-0 loss at Penn State in which nothing went right in front of a “White Out” crowd in Happy Valley. Saturday’s game at Huntington Bank Stadium is a “Maroon Out” for Minnesota.
“Sometimes it’s almost good in a way,” said Ferentz, who is 8-9 in conference road openers. “Because it really forces you to be even more focused, if that’s possible, and not just assume, ‘Hey, we’ve got the comforts of home and the crowd is going to be behind us’ and all that. We know it’s going to be exactly the opposite of that.
“It gets down to being able to focus on what is important, realize it’s not a field trip. We’re going up there to do something, and there’s only 72 of us. … It’s basically us against whoever is there in the stadium.”
No, that wasn’t a veiled shot at referees. The past two years in the final minutes, a very controversial ruling went against the Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota. In 2022, Jack Campbell was ruled to have stepped out of bounds on an apparent interception-return touchdown. The replay seemed to show otherwise. Iowa won that game anyway, 13-10.
In 2023, the “It wasn’t a fair catch” controversy emerged after Cooper DeJean’s apparent punt-return touchdown was called back on a video review after it was determined he used an invalid fair catch signal. Stoking those embers a little bit this week, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck smiled in his press conference that, “We educate (punt returners) what the getaway signals mean, and all those valid and invalid fair catch signals.”
Iowa players, one by one, were asked about any motivation stemming from last year’s 12-10 home loss. Higgins said the loss “left a bad taste in our mouth.” Center Logan Jones was more upset about the Hawkeyes’ self-inflicted wounds, which included a minus-three turnover margin. Fixing all that on the road this year is a must to recapture the Floyd of Rosedale trophy … and for Iowa to have a good season.
“We just left so much out there,” Jones said of what separated Iowa from an 11-1 regular season. “It was just so frustrating, especially watching those guys walk off with the trophy. It hurts, right? It definitely lights a fire underneath you.”
Video: Kirk Ferentz on what it takes to be a successful road team
Kirk Ferentz discusses a variety of topics ahead of Iowa’s matchup with Minnesota.
One notable injury in an otherwise healthy first month
Three weeks into the season, Iowa is (knock on wood) so much healthier than it was a year ago at this time.
You remember the long medical list. Running back Kaleb Johnson was slowed with a high-ankle sprain suffered at Iowa State that lingered all year. In the first quarter of Week 3, tight end Luke Lachey was lost for the year with a broken lower leg. By Sept. 30, starting quarterback Cade McNamara was lost for the year with a torn ACL. Left tackle Mason Richman played through a leg fracture he suffered in early October, and tight end Erick All tore an ACL in mid-October. To top it all off, DeJean was lost for the year with a fluke lower-leg fracture suffered in an early-November practice.
Going into Big Ten play, no players who began the season as starters are sidelined for the Minnesota game. The only potential big contributor who has missed time is wide receiver Seth Anderson. That said, there was one new, notable injury Ferentz revealed Tuesday.
Leshon Williams, Iowa’s leading rusher in 2023, won’t play at Minnesota. He hobbled off during Iowa’s 38-21 win against Troy. Ferentz said, “I don’t see him having a chance to return this week,” but seemed optimistic that Williams wouldn’t be out too long.
Williams has been Iowa’s third-down back, but an encouraging performance by Jaziun Patterson vs. Troy in his first action of the season (eight carries, 72 yards) offers comfort that the Hawkeyes are fine at running back, where Johnson is the main guy and leads FBS in rushing (with 479 yards). Ferentz also said Kamari Moulton, who began the season as Iowa’s starter and now shares the No. 2 line with Patterson, was OK after getting dinged on a second-half run vs. Troy.
All in all, it’s a pretty good Iowa health report heading into Big Ten play.
Video: Cade McNamara on Tim Lester, Big Ten opener vs. Minnesota
QB Cade McNamara discusses a variety of topics ahead of Iowa’s matchup with Minnesota.
Cade McNamara feeling good about his body, his game
After hitting 19 of 23 passes against Troy for 176 yards without a turnover, McNamara’s completion percentage is at 63.9%. Obviously, stiffer competition is ahead and he struggled in the final three quarters vs. Iowa State. But Iowa hasn’t had a quarterback reach 60% in a season since C.J. Beathard in 2015 (61.6%). McNamara completed only 51.1% of his passes in his abbreviated 2023 season as a Hawkeye.
“This is the best I’ve felt in a really long time, as far as my body and not even having to worry about my body,” McNamara said. “That’s just an overall sense of relief.”
This will be a big test Saturday, against a Minnesota team (2-1) that has posted back-to-back shutouts and ranks No. 5 nationally at 186.3 yards allowed per game.
McNamara deserves credit for his part in improving Iowa’s third-down conversion rate, a category offensive coordinator Tim Lester openly discussed improving. The Hawkeyes are at 44.4% on third-down conversions (20 of 45), good for 46th nationally. The sample size is small, but that’s a nice increase over Iowa’s woeful third-down rate over the past two seasons (27.8% in 2022, 29.4% in 2023). McNamara made several clutch throws against Troy – one to Jarriett Buie, one to Kaleb Brown – on third-and-long to extend what turned into touchdown drives.
“We’ve had some third-and-shorts, but we’ve also had some third-and-longs we’ve converted,” McNamara said. “Which is huge for us. Third-and-long, that’s as hard as it gets.”
McNamara on Tuesday provided more detail into one third down that Iowa missed on Saturday – a third-and-2 rollout pass that McNamara turned into a 1-yard scramble. It looked like he had Lachey open in the end zone for a possible touchdown throw, but McNamara kept the ball instead and was spotted short of the first down. On fourth-and-short, Iowa hurried to the line, and a handoff to Johnson was blown up for a loss. Ferentz called that fourth-down play a miscommunication.
Here is what McNamara said about that sequence.
On third down: “A fully called rollout. We were working kind of a newer play. I just decided I thought our best option was for me to try to get it. I maybe could have kept the play alive a little bit longer. I do think I was called a lot shorter (on the spot), and I definitely think it was a lot closer than what it was.”
On fourth down: “We anticipate some plays going into every single week like, ‘Hey, in certain situations, we might want to hurry up.’ Or if they’re substituting, we can go hurry-up. It all depends on the situation. In that situation, coach Lester wanted us to go hurry-up, and it was just unfortunate that we didn’t get it.”
Luke Lachey recalls his big play in Iowa’s 2022 Minnesota win
Lachey caught a 33-yard pass to set up Iowa’s winning field goal in an improbable 13-10 Hawkeyes victory in November 2022.
Two pass-catchers Iowa needs to unlock: Luke Lachey, Reece Vander Zee
In Iowa’s 40-0 season-opening win against Illinois State, both players looked like major pieces in the passing game. Lachey, an expected high NFL Draft pick, had six catches for 63 yards; Vander Zee, the true freshman, had five grabs for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
Their combined production in two games since: four catches, 25 yards. Lachey was shut out against Iowa State on four targets. Vander Zee was shut out against Troy with a drop.
To his selfless credit, Lachey said Tuesday, “I’m not too worried about whether or not I get the ball. I just want us to go out there, make yards and win.”
Teams obviously want to take Lachey away, and Iowa State did a great job of that with three talented safeties. But the Hawkeyes know they’re better when their best pass-catching weapon is heavily involved, like Lachey was two years ago at Minnesota with a clutch late catch after Sam LaPorta went out with a knee injury.
“As we continue to build this thing, we’re going to find ways to get the ball to Luke,” McNamara said. “And I definitely know that’s something on our minds, and it’s definitely on my mind when I’m dropping back to pass.”
As for Vander Zee, it’s not like he is lacking opportunity. He played 62 snaps against Iowa State and 44 against Troy but has only one catch for 10 yards in those games. Fellow receiver Jacob Gill – a Northwestern transfer who has become Iowa’s leading receiver through three games (12 catches, 137 yards) – provided a reassuring update.
“He’s a hard worker. He’s going out in practice and working his tail off,” Gill said. “At the end of the day, the ball will find you if you continue to work. He’s confident in that. He has no stress about it.”
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
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Publish date : 2024-09-17 10:11:00
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