Northwestern Hosts Sixth Ranked Defense Iowa
(WSCR) - Northwestern seems to have lost their momentum, giving up 35 points in each of their last two losses. Saturday they take on Iowa and hope to overcome their tough defense.
By JEFF BARTL
(AP) -- Northwestern's win at Iowa last season didn't deter the BCS committee from inviting the Hawkeyes to the Orange Bowl.
Another defeat at the hands of the Wildcats may have far worse consequences.
One of four teams with one loss in Big Ten play, the No. 13 Hawkeyes try to stay in the race for the conference title when they visit Northwestern on Saturday.
At 9-0 and ranked fourth in the BCS standings, Iowa hosted unranked Northwestern on Nov. 7, 2009. The Hawkeyes committed four turnovers, lost quarterback Ricky Stanzi for the rest of the regular season to an ankle injury, and had their undefeated season ruined in a 17-10 loss.
Iowa fell 27-24 in overtime the following week at then-No. 10 Ohio State but still earned a BCS bid, defeating Georgia Tech 24-14 in Miami.
This season, the Hawkeyes may not be so lucky with two conference losses. Sixth-ranked Wisconsin, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 10 Michigan State all have a single Big Ten loss and are in the hunt for the conference title.
Iowa (7-2, 4-1) averted an upset last Saturday at Indiana, needing a late touchdown drive and defensive stand for a come-from-behind 18-13 victory. A second conference loss with the Buckeyes looming Nov. 20 may have all but ended the Hawkeyes' chances for a Big Ten title.
"Like every player on the field and every player on the sideline, I'm sure our stomachs were in knots," coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It was a little closer than I would have hoped it would be, but we won it."
Freshman Marcus Coker, starting in place of the injured Adam Robinson, ran 22 times for 129 yards. Robinson has rushed for 10 touchdowns and is expected to return to the lineup against the Wildcats after suffering a concussion in a 37-6 win over Michigan State on Oct. 30.
Stanzi, who finished 22 of 33 for 290 yards last weekend, led Iowa on a three-play, 88-yard drive capped by Marvin McNutt's 52-yard touchdown reception with 2:50 left. The Hoosiers then dropped a sure touchdown in the end zone on fourth down with under 30 seconds remaining, and Iowa was able to escape.
The Hawkeyes settled for four field goals in five trips to the red zone despite Indiana's defense ranking among the worst in the conference.
A repeat performance against the Wildcats (6-3, 2-3) may find Iowa on the losing end.
Northwestern's Dan Persa ranks 10th in the nation in passing efficiency and also has rushed for eight touchdowns. He threw for 201 yards and a TD and ran for 109 and two scores in a 35-21 loss at Penn State last Saturday.
The Wildcats, who blew a 21-0 second-quarter lead, have lost three of four by an average of 8.3 points since a 5-0 start.
"We lost momentum. (Penn State) played with a little bit more of a chip on their shoulder," coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "We've got to fix our attitude and be able to seize momentum back and put our guys in position to do that."
Northwestern may have its hands full with an Iowa defense which ranks sixth nationally with 14.3 points allowed per game. The Wildcats have given up 35 points in each of their last two losses and will hope to contain Stanzi, who is third in the nation with a 175.1 efficiency rating.
"When I study quarterbacks and I look at mistakes they make, I haven't seen one mistake that Ricky has made," Fitzgerald said. "I haven't watched every rep of the year but I have not seen him make a poor choice yet and that's what makes him so impressive."
Northwestern has won four of the last five meetings, but the visiting team has won the last four.
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