The tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes begin a tough stretch to close out the season with a visit to 14th ranked Purdue. The Boilermakers have been a tough matchup for the Hawkeyes. A year ago, the Hawks needed a late touchdown catch by Dallas Clark to post a comeback victory in Iowa City. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says they got outplayed on offense and defense, but made some special teams plays and plays late in the ballgame to pull it out. He says the play of Altoona native Kyle Orton at quarterback has been a big plus for the Boilermakers. He says Orton plays like a senior quarterback. The Hawkeyes limited mistakes early in the season but with ten fumbles and six interceptions now stand a minus-one in turnover margin. Ferentz says the Hawks need to limit turnovers during the final stretch of the season. He says they don’t have much margin for error in the next few weeks, so they need to execute.
