Indiana @ Iowa preview
Kinnick Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 3, 2012 ) Iowa 21, Indiana 24
Iowa on Saturday returns to the field after an open date looking to stay unbeaten in Big Ten play when it hosts Indiana for homecoming. The Hoosiers are looking for their first conference victory after losing at home to Maryland in their Big Ten opener. The Hawkeyes allow just 93.2 rushing yards per game - seventh in the nation, but will be tested by an Indiana ground game that is eighth in the country at 300 yards.
The Hoosiers' average of 513.2 yards of total offense ranks third in the Big Ten, while Iowa ranks fourth in the league in total defense at 310.4 yards. The Hawkeyes' offense hasn't been able to put together a consistent attack, with quarterbacks Jake Rudock and C.J. Beathard splitting time under center. In fact, Iowa has trailed in each of its four wins this year before rallying, including three comebacks of 10-point deficits.
TV: Noon ET, ESPNU. LINE: Iowa -3.5
ABOUT INDIANA (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten): Indiana coach Kevin Wilson can see a difference in his team this year, with more confidence among his players. Sure, the win on the road over nationally ranked Missouri helped, but Wilson can see how the team as a whole is just more mature than in previous seasons. “I think our team's getting more confident just because we're slowly having a little bit more success; we're more mature,” Wilson told reporters. “There's more talent with the younger guys; the veteran guys have grown. They've been battle-tested and been on the road and played in games.”
ABOUT IOWA (4-1, 1-0): It's five games into the season, and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz still sounds like a coach being coy in the offseason about who his starting quarterback is going to be. While Rudock and Beathard have had their moments, neither has stuck out as the full-time signal caller yet, so Ferentz continues to try to figure out how best to use the duo. “We'll find out, I guess,” Ferentz told reporters when asked about how he plans to use the two against Indiana. “We're not even sure what the plan is, right now. Bottom line is, we have two guys we feel really good about. I sound like a broken record on this one. I apologize.”
EXTRA POINTS
1. Indiana RB Tevin Coleman has a streak of seven straight 100-yard rushing games, the longest streak in the nation and the third-longest in school history.
2. Hawkeyes WR Kevonte Martin-Manley is tied for eighth in the Big Ten in receptions with 26, and is 25 catches short of the school's all-time receptions record of 173.
3. Iowa leads the series 42-28-4, though Indiana won the last meeting 24-21 in 2012.
PREDICTION: Iowa 28, Indiana 24