Ferentz
As the lone unbeaten team in the Big Ten, each of Iowa’s games take on added importance.
At 7-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play, the Hawkeyes control their own destiny in search of a trip to the Rose Bowl or potentially a berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
But head coach Kirk Ferentz said it’s too early to be thinking of things like that, with five Big Ten games yet to play with that run beginning Saturday against MSU at Spartan Stadium.
“It’s really early in the season, that’s my thinking right now,” Ferentz said. “The pressure for us is to do as well as we can this week and it’s kind of been that way every week for us.”
It’s been quite a run for the Hawkeyes after losing to MSU 16-13 at Spartan Stadium last October. Iowa since has lost just one game, won the Outback Bowl and started this season 7-0.
Iowa’s run of 11 straight wins is second-best in the nation behind Florida’s 16 straight, but it hasn’t been easy. The Hawkeyes needed two blocked field goals in the final seconds to hold on against Northern Iowa.
Outside of blowing out Iowa State, the Hawkeyes haven’t won a game by more than 11 points and beat Arkansas State by only three points in Iowa City, Iowa.
But avoiding the same mistakes that doomed them last year against the Spartans is key for Ferentz. Iowa lost two fumbles, quarterback Ricky Stanzi was intercepted once in the loss and running back Shonn Greene was stopped for a loss by an unblocked Adam Decker on a key fourth-and-one play late in the game.
“If we make some of those same errors that we made or let Michigan State force us into those same errors, we’ll have the same outcome,” Ferentz said, adding that the Spartans did a great job in forcing Iowa’s mistakes.
Although the atmosphere at Spartan Stadium will be intense Saturday, the Hawkeyes already have won in two of the Big Ten’s most hostile environments — a 21-10 win at Penn State on Sept. 26 and last week’s win at Wisconsin.
Ferentz said the key to winning on the road is simply playing well.
“That sounds like a pretty stupid answer, but it’s really true,” he said. “When you’re in conference play, every game is tough.”
“There are no gimmies out there, so you better be ready to play. If you have an experienced quarterback, that’s certainly an advantage, it helps. It’s not essential, but it helps.”
As for the Spartans, Ferentz said MSU is playing “excellent football” the last few weeks and hasn’t seen any big differences from MSU’s 1-3 start to where it stands now.
“Things are going their way right now and they’re making it that way,” Ferentz said.
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