Iowa Hawkeyes vs Iowa State Cyclones Football Preview

The Cy-Hawk Trophy is given to the winner of the annual September showdown between Iowa State and Iowa. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 30-point thumping of Eastern Illinois in their opener, and as a result, they should be plenty confident when they host their Big 12 competitors this Saturday afternoon.

The Cyclones of Iowa State were viewed as a potential upset victim against Northern Illinois, the team many are favoring to win the Mid-American Conference’s West Division. Yet, Iowa State turned back the Huskies last Thursday by a 27-10 score. ISU’s defense thwarted NIU throughout the evening, allowing just 93 passing yards and picking off Northern Illinois three times. Northern Illinois was just 3-of-13 on third downs, further proof of Iowa State’s defensive chops under the intense and driven defensive guru Paul Rhoads, formerly an assistant to Dave Wannstedt at the University of Pittsburgh.

Iowa does not have an explosive offense – a decent one, yes, but not a light-up-the-scoreboard juggernaut. If Iowa State can create a grinding defensive game and produce several timely turnovers plus two or three impact plays on special teams, the seeds of a major upset can be planted at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.

Why does Iowa State have to go above and beyond just to have an outside chance in this game? Plainly put, there’s simply an even better attitude on this 2010 Iowa team compared to last year, and last year’s team won the Orange Bowl. 

Last year, Iowa’s special season did not begin all that well. Coach Kirk Ferentz presided over a club that had a hard time getting out of its own way. Iowa labored through a difficult opening weekend in which it couldn’t shake the Northern Iowa Panthers. Iowa clung to a one-point lead in the final seconds, and committed a mistake which allowed Northern Iowa to re-kick a field goal that had been missed on its first attempt. Fortunately, the Hawkeyes were able to block to second try, and they held on for a 17-16 decision that allowed them to move forward.

Move ahead 12 months on the calendar, and it’s clear that the Hawkeye Nation never had to sweat bullets during the final minutes of this 2010 season opener. Iowa rocked Eastern Illinois –a team little different from Northern Iowa – by a 37-7 score. Iowa’s offense dominated, piling up 435 total yards.  Ricky Stanzi completed 18 of 23 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown, and Adam Robinson carried 24 times for 109 yards and a career-high three scores. Eastern Illinois managed just six first downs and 157 yards of total offense.  Running back Jimmy Potempa rushed for only 21 yards on 14 carries.

The Hawkeyes scored on their first two possessions, both ending on short touchdown runs by Robinson.  Iowa took a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter on Paki O’Meara’s return of a blocked punt. The fast start out of the gates was a reflection of this team’s experience, a hard-won byproduct of last year’s 11-2 campaign. Iowa knew it needed to establish a better tempo in its 2010 lid-lifter, and this performance against Eastern Illinois will give the Hawks more of a push as they prepare for Iowa State.

Basically, this team is ready to perform. Since it has better talent than Iowa State and is playing this game at home, it’s in very good shape. The Hawkeyes are thoroughly and comprehensively better at every position. They should be able to physically wear down ISU and dominate the second half.

Iowa State’s biggest win in 2009 was a 9-7 win at Big 12 North Division champion Nebraska. In that game, Iowa State registered eight takeaways, four of them inside the Nebraska red zone. It’s probably going to take a defensive effort on that scale to lift the Cyclones to an upset win on the road.

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