Iowa enjoys a weekend off from football

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says now is the perfect time for the Hawkeyes to take some time off. The Hawks have this week off after a 23-20 overtime loss to Michigan and will return to action next week with a visit to Northwestern. He says some years are different as in 2002 they had a break near the end and that hurt them as they were playing well. He says this year it will be good to get a break and get away as the last three weeks will be tough. Ferentz says they plan ahead for bye weeks in terms of how much time the players have off. Iowa is 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten.