THE ROAD TO PASADENA: Northwestern at Iowa
By Brian Siguenza
As we head into the homestretch of the Big Ten regular season and games that will determine the conference champion, I’m changing Pigskin Preview’s name to “The Road to Pasadena.” I thought about naming it Pasadena Freeway, but figured that few people if any would get it.
That’s something the Iowa Hawkeyes have in common with the reference to State Route 110, literally the road to Pasadena from downtown Los Angeles. Even at 9-0, the national media continues to question whether Iowa is a legitimate contender for the national championship. The fans, meanwhile, have had to check their pulse many times this year to make sure they’re still alive.
So just how do you explain a team like the Hawkeyes?
“Our guys as far as these games go the full 60 minutes, and sometimes they go longer than that,” said head coach Kirk Ferentz. “One thing I don’t think we do or at least we haven’t done so far is panic.”
That was evident in Iowa’s game against Indiana last weekend. The Hawks looked terrible for three quarters before exploding for 28 points in the fourth to win, 42-24.(ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW THE PIC)
Now they must turn their attention to Northwestern, who in recent years has had success at Kinnick Stadium. The Wildcats’ head coach, Pat Fitzgerald, has won three times in Iowa City, once as a player. And their spread offense has given Iowa fits.
Quarterback Mike Kafka leads the Big Tenin passing yards and total offense. He helped keep last week’s game with Penn State close before leaving with a leg injury. The Nittany Lions were able to shut backup Dan Persa and the ‘Cats down en route to a 34-13 win.
But Ferentz expects to see Kafka under center on Saturday (11 a.m. on ESPN).
“For us to think anything else, that would be a mistake,” he acknowledges.
Not only will the Hawks have to deal with Kafka and Northwestern, they’ll have to avoid the dreaded Sports Illustrated cover jinx after Derrell Johnson-Koulianos appeared on the cover of this week’s edition.
“We’re on the cover?” Ferentz asked. “Isn’t the World Series going on right now?”
There are two different editions of SI circulating, the DJK cover is a regional edition, everyone else will see Derek Jeter at batagainst the Phillies in the World Series. Now there’s an argument against the cover jinx. Jeter is on the cover, so was Mariano Rivera last month. That didn’t stop the Yankees from picking up their 27th world championship.
Nothing appears to be stopping the Hawkeyes either, not even a game where they committed six turnovers and trailed by two scores going into the final quarter against the Hoosiers. Will a spread offense and magazine cover provide that stumbling block?
Brian’s pick: Iowa 27, Northwestern 19.
BONUS PICK: Penn State 23, Ohio State 21. A Penn State win coupled with an Iowa win puts the Hawkeyes in good position for Pasadena. The Nittany Lions have looked scary since their loss to Iowa. I see them getting it done in Happy Valley.
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