The Iowa Hawkeyes will try to solve a tough Michigan defense when they visit the second rated Wolverines in the Big Ten. First down is key, and the Hawks can’t be in second and long and third an long situations if they hope to post an upset.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says the Wolverines do a great job of getting pressure on the quarterback. He says Michigan puts opposing offenses in a lot of situations where they have second and long and third and long and that plays into the hands of the defense.
Ferentz says they need to give Drew Tate time to throw without limiting his options. He says they have to be smart in how they chose to protect Tate, but he says if they leave a lot of guys in to protect, it makes it harder to get receivers open.
Ferentz says the Michigan defense has been dominant, as he says they’re playing at a high level and are extremely impressive to see on film.
Iowa State hosts Texas Tech in the Big-12. Both teams have been struggling as of late, the Cyclones are 0-3 in conference play while the Red Raiders have suffered consecutive losses to Missouri and Colorado. I-S-U coach Dan McCarney says the Tech offense has been productive even though turnovers have hurt them.
I-S-U should have a better chance of putting together a productive run game. Tech is last in the Big-12 against the run. McCarney says if they are going to run off some wins, they need to run the ball better. McCarney expects the Tech defense to bring pressure after they see the problems his team has had with blitzes the last two weeks. The Cyclones are 3-4 overall.