Iowa @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2009 ) Arizona 17, Iowa 27

You can bet that when teams were debating shifting conferences in the offseason that Arizona never once thought about jumping to the Big Ten.

The 18th-ranked Wildcats have lost seven straight games to Big Ten opponents. They get a chance to snap that streak Saturday night when they host No. 10 Iowa in Tucson.

The early season competition gets a severe upgrade for Arizona this week. After rolling to a pair of wins against overmatched opponents the Wildcats put their 2-0 mark on the line against the unbeaten Hawkeyes (2-0).

Paced by quarterback Nick Foles and running back Nic Grigsby, Arizona has outscored its first two opponents 93-8. Foles has thrown four touchdown passes, three of them coming at Toledo in the season opener.

Grigsby scored three touchdowns last week in just a little over a half against The Citadel. He scored twice in the opener.

Things will be much tougher this week.

A year ago Iowa’s defense shut down the Arizona offense on the way to a 27-17 victory at Iowa City. The Hawkeyes took a 17-10 lead early in the third quarter and then dominated the ball the rest of the way.

The Hawkeyes’ defense might be playing with a greater sense of purpose Saturday. During the week, defensive coordinator Norm Parker was hospitalized with complications from diabetes.

Parker won’t be with the team in Tucson but his motivated defense will be. The Hawkeyes have allowed an average of just seven points.

They’ve ranked in the top 10 nationally over the past two seasons employing Parker’s motto of “six seconds of hell.”

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said that Parker had complications since last year when he had one of his toes amputated.

Iowa crushed Eastern Illinois 37-7 in its opener and then dispatched of rival Iowa State 35-7 last week. The Hawkeyes got a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown from Adam Robinson against the Cyclones.

The Wildcats have spent a large part of preparation for this game in stopping the veteran Hawkeye defensive front. Iowa returns all four starters and was ranked the top unit in the nation by one preseason publication. The group combined for 27 sacks and 52 tackles for loss last season.

Adrian Clayborn leads the pack. At 6-4, 285 pounds, Clayborn is a prototypical NFL defensive end who was named the MVP of last year’s Orange Bowl.

Iowa, however, hasn’t had much success out West. The Hawkeyes have lost their last seven road games west of Iowa, including its last meeting in Tucson, 35-11 in 1998. The Hawkeyes last won at Arizona in 1987.