The Iowa Hawkeyes return to action at home against Purdue on Saturday. The Hawks opened Big Ten play with a win at Penn State and debuted in the top-25 this week. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says there is no danger of the Hawkeyes becoming over confident. He says they’re only 1-0 and could theoretically be 1-7 by the end of the conference schedule. Ferentz says they aren’t talented enough or smart enough to be able to take anything for granted and still will games. He says of they do that, they’re in trouble. Ferentz says the Hawkeyes have a difficult assignment in a good Purdue team that gave them a lot of trouble in moving the football last year. Iowa’s defense again yielded a lot of yards through the air and Ferentz says the only solution is to keep working hard. He says the guys are competing hard and he likes to see them working to improve. For the second time this season the Hawks squandered a big lead at Penn State but this time still managed to pull out a win. Ferentz says the Hawks need to get better at finishing off opponents but says it is a great problem to have. Ferentz feels the Hawks learned something from the Iowa State loss and feels they will learn something from Penn State’s comeback as well. Ferentz says after a disappointing loss to Iowa State, the Hawkeyes have shown they can handle adversity. After entering the top-25 this week the Hawks get to show they can handle prosperity. He says they’re happy to be ranked, but it doesn’t mean much now.
