The Iowa Hawkeyes are on the road in the Big Ten to take on Indiana. The Hawkeyes are 5-1 and ranked 13th but coach Kirk Ferentz says his team won’t get caught looking ahead to next week’s visit to Michigan and says last year’s game against the Hoosiers is a major reason as they were fighting for their lives in the fourth quarter of last year’s game.
Ferentz wants special teams play to become more of a factor and says it starts with the kickoff team. He says they’ve had success over the years, but he says things aren’t where they want them to be.
The Hawks have yet to score on an opening drive this season but don’t look for the Hawkeyes to turn down the chance to start on offense even on a windy day. Ferentz says you can outsmart yourself by taking the wind. Ferentz says unless it’s a really severe wind, they’ll take the football. Indiana is 3-3.
Iowa State visits Oklahoma and the Cyclones will be looking to slow down the Sooner’s rushing attack led by Heisman Trophy candidate Adrian Peterson. I-S-U coach Dan McCarney says he hasn’t seen a back who plays harder than Peterson.
McCarney says you can’t afford to forget about the passing of Sooner quarterback Paul Thompson. He says Thompson has completed 61-percent of his passes and McCarney says he made some great throws against Texas.
The Cyclones are looking to avoid another 0-3 start to Big-12 play. McCarney says they don’t go into the game any different than any other, they just go in with an outstanding opportunity to win and see if they’re good enough. The Cyclones are 3-3.