Kirk Ferentz

Kirk Ferentz

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says defensive end Drew Ott will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The senior from Nebraska suffered the injury in the Hawkeyes’ 29-20 win over Illinois.

“When you lose a guy like Drew he is not only and excellent player but also a very strong leader for us. It’s a big void, said Ferentz. “This team has done a good job of handling adversity and if we are hurting in one area picking up the slack. That is a positive of the team so far. ”

Several other starts will be missing on Saturday when the 17th ranked Hawkeyes take a 6-0 record to 20th ranked Northwestern.

Offensive tackles Boone Myers and Ike Boetgger are expected to miss the game and receiver Tevaun Smith will miss his third straight game.