Wow, can't believe how the sky is falling after we played one abysmal game. Yes, I said one game. Seems to me we have an entire portion of our fan base that lives in fear of the last 2 years. Sorry, don't see that happening, the leadership of this team seems quite different.
There are no teams that scare me left on the schedule, yet we can lose to just about any of them and you can be sure 1) the betting line will be a touchdown or less on all games except PU and 2) the opponents fan base EXPECTS them to beat NU. The game this weekend will tell us a lot. I watched this game on BTN and IMO Iowa is a good team, but not exceptional. They have a very nice QB that we will have to stop to win. Iowa's tackles really struggled and Illinois was getting pressure. Our D line will be critical in this one and I hope Doc sends the kitchen a few times to confuse them. On the other side of the ball, the Illini had guys open all day, make that wide open. If the Illini hadn't make some bonehead mistakes to kill drives they could have prevailed. McCall has to bring it this game, there are opportunities. Yes, a new wrinkle or two would be nice.
So NU fans, chillax! If ever there was a game to get up for, this is near the top. Just got slaughtered, were embarrassed by the same team last year, and for the West lead! I expect us to play very well. If not, I recommend all of the clientele of this board, hide the women and children before entering.
Iowa fan here. Back in 2004 we went out to play at ASU and got absolutely blasted. We couldn't do anything on offense, and our defense got destroyed through the air. One of the most lopsided losses of the Ferentz era. Anything ASU wanted to do, they did. Anything we wanted to do, they stopped. The next week, we had to go on the road to Michigan. We lost again, but at least this time there were some signs that things were getting corrected. We went on to run the table after that, claimed a Co-B1G title, and beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl . Anyone who watched the ASU game probably did not think we had much chance of winning another game, and probably would not have believed that the defense that got so badly abused in the desert would go on to be one of the best in the country and have several NFL players drafted from it. Not saying that the situations are exactly the same...but you can never tell too much from one game.
As far as Iowa weaknesses. Right now we are pretty banged up. Can't wait to get to the bye after we play you guys. This has really manifested itself in a couple places. First, our offensive tackles have been out with injury. Our starting LT missed the last two games with a stinger. Not sure if he will be back for you guys. His replacement has been pretty decent though, and not a major drop off, but he has only started the last two games, so his inexperience has led to some miscues. Our RT went out early against the Illini with a rolled ankle and did not return. We subbed him with a true frosh (James Daniels) whose natural position is center, but since we have a stud at center already we had been rotating him in at guard to get some experience, because he is just too good to keep off the field. But, he has relatively little experience out on the edge, and the Illini abused him. That is where the vast majority of the protection breakdowns came from. I would expect him to play better against NU if he is forced to play out there again, but he will definitely be a major concern for us, and a target for you guys to exploit. Hopefully we get one or both of our tackles back who have been out this week.
On defense, our pass rush has not been as good since Drew Ott got injured in our second game. He was a monster before his elbow injury, after that he just wasn't as effective without be able hand-fight as effectively, but he was still pretty good. Unfortunately for us, he tore his ACL against the Illini, so he is done for the year. We will still be pretty good setting the edge and stopping the run without him, but the pass rush will continue to suffer a bit, which as exposed our secondary a little. Our best corner, Desmond King, can be beat occasionally, but throw at him at your own risk. He is such a smart corner, he often runs the routes better than the WR and has been fantastic at generating turnovers. Our other corner can be had a little bit. He is a great physical corner, but his head isn't always in the game. Our LB's are good against the run, but can be beat through the air depending on who they get matched up with. Generally, tackling has been very good for Iowa, so teams don't get much in the way of YAC.
IF Northwestern can keep Thorston from being pressured, and IF he can hang in the pocket and take what the defense is giving him, then he has a chance to be effective. I haven't watched enough of NU to know how good of an arm he really has, but even with Iowa's relative deficiencies in pass defense, he will need a good one to take advantage (like Lunt). Lunt did a great job of being patient and not pressing the issue, and then taking a shot when it was there. Thorson will need to emulate that.
All that being said, as I posted in the other thread about Iowa, I don't think NU is going to be able to run the ball effectively, and I don't think Thorson is far enough along (and doesn't have the weapons at WR) to take the game over with his arm. I think NU will stifle Iowa's offense a bit, but over the course of the game I think Iowa will hit just enough big plays, run the ball well enough, and wear NU down and pull away late (not huge, but by 10-14 points at the end).
Anyway, however the game comes out, there is a lot left to play for for both teams, so hopefully we keep injuries to a minimum (none would be great). Always liked NU. Love the Io_a smack. Great example of smack talk executed the way it is meant to be. Good luck guys (not too much though).
