Iowa hosts Illinois on Saturday and Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz says the Hawkeyes need to be ready to play despite the Illini’s 1-8 overall record and winless Big Ten mark. He says the Illini are playing hard and want to win. He says they made a run toward the end of last year and finished 4-2 and Ferentz says he’s sure they want to try and do the same thing this season. It’s also a team Ferentz hasn’t beaten as a coach since returning to Iowa.Iowa is one of six Big Ten teams in the top 25 and Ferentz says that makes every win a big one. He says there are lot of strong football teams making it a great conference which he says is “great for the fans, tough on the coaches.” Receiver Mo Brown is expected to play though Ferentz says it will be limited action. Brown has been out with an ankle injury since the September 13th win at Iowa State. He says it’s a matter of volume and what Brown can stand. He says they’re starting to increase his work on cutting and decelerating to see how much he can stand.
