No. 8 Iowa not looking past Northwestern

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)—Much of the buzz surrounding No. 8 Iowa has been about its resume, and whether the Hawkeyes can truly be considered national title contenders when they keep sneaking past everyone.

Throw in a showdown with No. 15 Ohio State in Columbus next week that could determine the Big Ten title and Saturday’s home date with Northwestern (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten) has all the makings of the classic trap game.

Let’s be honest, though. Every week’s a trap game for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0) have survived them all so far, despite key injuries and fourth-quarter deficits in four of the nine games.

“I think we’re getting great leadership,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I think the team overall gets it. I’m not taking anything for granted. But I think they understand we’re going to be up against it week in and week out.”

This weekend should be no different, even if the Wildcats’ hopes for an upset rest on the tender left hamstring of quarterback Mike Kafka.

Kafka tweaked the hamstring last week against No. 11 Penn State with the Wildcats ahead 10-3. Sophomore backup Dan Persa led Northwestern to just a field goal after that as the Nittany Lions rolled to a 34-13 win.

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said he expects Kafka to play, though Persa was listed as the co-starter on a depth chart released this week.

Few players in the Big Ten are as important to their team as Kafka is to Northwestern. He leads all Big Ten quarterbacks in passing yardage, completions, completion percentage and total offense, and he leads the Wildcats in rushing with 248 yards and six touchdowns.

Despite Kafka’s heroics, Northwestern ranks just 74th in the nation with 25.7 points per game and will face a stout Iowa defense Saturday.

Iowa allowed Indiana to score just 10 points following six Hawkeyes turnovers in last week’s 42-24 win. The Hawkeyes have also forced 26 turnovers this season, including 18 interceptions.

“Iowa is one of those teams you can set your watch by what they’re going to do from a schematic standpoint,” Fitzgerald said. “They do what they do very well.”

The Hawkeyes offense has been all over the map this season, which in many ways is related to the performance of quarterback Ricky Stanzi.

Stanzi had one of the worst quarters an Iowa signal caller has ever had last week, throwing four picks in the third as Indiana jumped ahead 24-14 and seemed poised to end the Hawkeyes dream season.

But with the unwavering support of Ferentz, Stanzi bounced back with two quick TD throws and Iowa scored 28 points in the fourth quarter—more than they had scored in all but two games up to that point.

The Hawkeyes, who have scored exactly as many points as Northwestern this season, have battled through injuries all season. They are down to their last proven running back, true freshman Brandon Wegher—though he responded with a career-best 118 yards rushing and three TDs last week.

“I think Brandon’s pretty comfortable and has been,” Ferentz said. “You have to be patient. I think that’s offense in general. You have to have patience and a lot of people don’t.”

Anyone who believes that Iowa will simply cruise past Northwestern at home clearly hasn’t seen the Hawkeyes play this season or doesn’t know the series’ recent history.

Northwestern has won three of the last four in the series, stopping Iowa four times inside the Wildcats 10-yard line late in a 22-17 win in Iowa City in 2008.

“We’re doing a good job of focusing on who we’ve got the next week,” said Iowa wide receiver Trey Stross. “Close games definitely make you a little nervous.”