Iowa @ Northwestern preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2014 ) Northwestern 7, Iowa 48

Iowa’s four wins against Power Five schools has the Hawkeyes in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten West, but a fifth such victory could easily propel them to their first undefeated regular season in school history. No. 17 Iowa attempts to continue its best start since 2009 and win for the first time in Evanston in eight years when it visits No. 21 Northwestern on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes defeated Illinois 29-20 last weekend to begin the conference schedule 2-0 for the third time in four years, but this season could easily have a different feel to it if they simply take care of business the rest of the way. Four of Iowa’s six remaining opponents have yet to notch their first conference win and one of the two foes with one victory (Minnesota) must travel to Iowa City on Nov. 14. The Wildcats were blanked for the first time since 2003 last weekend at No. 14 Michigan, dashing their own dreams of an unbeaten season. Northwestern has dropped three of its last four to the Hawkeyes, including its worst loss since 2010 in last year’s meeting – a 48-7 romp by the Hawkeyes to begin November.
TV: Noon ET, ABC/ESPN2. LINE: Iowa -2.5

ABOUT IOWA (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten): Running back Jordan Canzeri ranks third in the conference with 697 yards rushing and claimed Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts against Illinois, scoring twice while compiling a career-high 256 yards on a school-record 43 carries and adding two receptions for 15 more yards. The Hawkeyes are tied with Ohio State with a league-best eight interceptions, including a Big Ten-best five from cornerback Desmond King. Star defensive end Drew Ott, who led the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and was tied for first on the team with five sacks, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee last weekend and is out for the season.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (5-1, 1-1): Justin Jackson is fourth in the league in rushing (661 yards) and paces the Big Ten’s second-best ground game, which was held to a season-low 38 yards rushing last weekend – 210 below its previous average – including a career-low 25 from the sophomore running back. Defensive end Deonte Gibson was one of the few bright spots for the Wildcats, registering 2.5 sacks to move into a tie for the eighth-most in school history with 11. Northwestern lost Matthew Harris indefinitely after the starting cornerback suffered “a couple of broken bones in his face” upon taking a knee to the head during the second half of last weekend’s loss.

EXTRA POINTS
1. Northwestern and Iowa are meeting as ranked teams for the first time since 1996, when the Wildcats pounded the Hawkeyes 40-13 en route to a share of the Big Ten title.
2. Iowa is one of only three FBS schools that has allowed only one rushing touchdown this season.
3. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz has 121 wins as a member of the Big Ten, one shy of matching Lloyd Carr for eighth place all-time. Ferentz also needs one more victory to break a tie with John Cooper (70) for the eighth-most league victories.

PREDICTION: Northwestern 23, Iowa 17