Fresh off another come-from-behind victory,
the eighth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes continue their magical season this weekend, as
they welcome the Northwestern Wildcats to Kinnick Stadium for a Big Ten
affair.
The Hawkeyes did it again, as they adverted a near upset at the hands of
Indiana by scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter of a 42-24 triumph last
weekend in Iowa City.
"They continue to battle and fight and find a way to be successful," said head
coach Kirk Ferentz of his club. "One thing they'll do, they'll play the entire
game. So it's just a real credit to their resolve and just very, very happy
for them."
Iowa has made a living by coming from behind, as it has trailed in eight of
its nine victories this season. The club needed back-to-back blocked field
goals to survive Northern Iowa in the opener, a last-second score to edge
Michigan State and now a clutch performance to rally past Indiana.
"Bottom line, the guys are finding a way to get it done," said coach Ferentz.
"Just really proud of their effort."
The Hawkeyes have outscored their opponents 100-38 in the four quarter this
season, helping them remain perfect at 9-0 and keeping them in contention for
the national title with the No. 4 spot in the BCS standings. Iowa owns a 13-
game winning streak, its longest since the early 1920's, but in order to
continue that run it must avoid looking past Northwestern and ahead to next
weekend's showdown with Ohio State.
Speaking of the Wildcats, they gave highly-ranked Penn State some resistance
last weekend before collapsing in the final quarter of a 34-13 decision.
"We've got to find a way to finish, we've got to find a way to get the plays
made that we need to make in the crunch time," said head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Northwestern has had struggles to close out games and that could prove costly,
as the team still needs one more win to become bowl-eligible. At 5-4, the
Wildcats wrap up their campaign at Illinois before hosting nationally-ranked
Wisconsin in their finale.
In a series that began in 1897, Iowa holds a 46-21-3 advantage over
Northwestern, including a 23-8 mark when playing in Iowa City. The Wildcats,
however, have won the past two meetings at Kinnick Stadium and that takes into
account a 22-17 triumph in last year's clash.
The Wildcats had success versus Penn State in the first half, holding a 13-10
edge at the break, but after quarterback Mike Kafka went down with an injury,
the offense went south. Kafka was in the midst of a terrific performance with
115 yards through the air and 42 and a score on the ground, but he left in the
second quarter with a leg injury and did not return.
"When Mike was in there, I don't think they stopped us once," said coach
Fitzgerald. "We stopped ourselves a couple times. I thought we had a good plan
and were executing it pretty well."
Kafka, who is listed as questionable, is a huge part of this offense and not
only is he completing 66.8 percent of his throws, but he is also leading the
team with 248 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Dan Persa stepped in for
Kafka last game and did a respectable job in throwing for 115 yards on 14-
of-23 tosses. He added 42 yards on the ground and would obviously get the call
if Kafka was unable to go this weekend.
No matter who does end up center, Zeke Markshausen and Andrew Brewer will be
the first looks in the passing attack. Markshausen leads the team with 67
receptions and 613 yards, while Brewer has 584 yards and a team-best five
touchdowns to his credit. The duo combined for 15 catches and 125 yards last
weekend against one of the top defensive units in the conference.
Defensively, the Wildcats did a nice job slowing down Penn State until the
fourth quarter, when the Nittany Lions scored three touchdowns to bust open a
13-13 tie. The three scoring drives totaled 180 yards, accounting for a chunk
of the 437 yards allowed by Northwestern in the game.
"In the last 15 minutes we gave up too many big plays and didn't move the
football," said Fitzgerald. "So at that point, there weren't a whole lot of
answers besides us not executing and us not doing the things we needed to do
both coaching- and playing-wise."
Northwestern allowed a 53-yard touchdown pass and 69-yard run for a score in
the final quarter, while failing to come up with a single takeaway. The
Wildcats have done a decent job in forcing 18 turnovers this season, so it was
a bit uncharacteristic to see them fail in that department last weekend.
Quentin Davie, who had seven stops in the loss, is regarded as one of the top
players on this defense and the junior linebacker tops the roster with 66
tackles, eight TFLs and four sacks for the season.
For the first three quarters against Indiana, quarterback Ricky Stanzi was
simply horrible and he looked completely out of place after throwing five
interceptions. The junior gunslinger, however, regrouped and came through in
the final frame, where he went 3-of-3 for 177 yards and two long touchdown
passes in a come from behind victory over the Hoosiers.
"Speaking of things I've never seen before, I don't know that I've ever seen a
quarterback struggle or have that much adversity and then come back and play,
you know, like he's not affected," said coach Ferentz. "And that's been Rick's
story line since he started playing for us a year plus ago."
Stanzi, who threw a last-second touchdown pass to beat Michigan State the
prior week, has certainly made a name for himself as a clutch performer and he
finished the game against Indiana with 337 yards on 13-of-26 tosses. He hasn't
posted great numbers, with 14 touchdowns against 13 picks, but when the game
in the line, there are very few players who have performed liked Stanzi.
Marvin McNutt and Darrell Johnson-Koulianos have come on to give Stanzi some
deep threats and they are averaging 21.7 and 19.6 yards per catch,
respectively. McNutt had a 92-yard touchdown catch and Johnson-Koulianos
hauled in a 66-yarder in last weekend's decisive fourth quarter and they
combined for 272 receiving yards on the day.
Another positive to take from last weekend's performance was the effort of
freshman Brandon Wegher, who rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns in his
first start. With usual starter Adam Robinson out for the season, Wegher will
now carry the load and he certainly proved capable of that last weekend.
Like the offense, Iowa's defense stepped up in the second half and recorded
three interceptions, including two in the fourth quarter. However, it was
Tyler Sash's third quarter interception that arguably saved the game. With the
Hawkeyes trailing 21-7 and Indiana on the verge of extending that lead, Sash
grabbed a caromed pass and took it 86 yards for a score and a big swing in
momentum.
"I thought that was a huge play," said coach Ferentz. "Certainly they're
knocking on the door going in. And next thing you know we've got seven points
on the board. And we're having a hard time getting points of any form or
fashion at that stage, and we have a hard time moving the ball, just hanging
on to the ball. So that was a huge thing."
The defense has been making big plays all season long, forcing 25 turnovers,
including an eye-popping 18 interceptions. That has certainly helped Iowa
limit opponents to a mere 297.6 total ypg.
For the season, Sash now has six interceptions to go with 64 stops, while Pat
Angerer continues to be the club's best tackler with 89 to his credit. Adrian
Clayborn is another player that can make a difference and he is the team's top
pass rusher, recording 6.5 sacks and 11 TFLs.
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