Harty: Iowa should be too good to lose this game
IOWA CITY, Iowa – No disrespect to the Iowa State football team, but as usual, it looks inferior to rival Iowa on paper.
The 1-0 Hawkeyes are favored by 15 points heading into Saturday’s game for lots of reasons, not the least of which are talent and experience. Iowa is also playing in the friendly confines of home and in a rare night game at Kinnick Stadium.
It looks like a no-brainer, but logic and sure things don’t mean much in a rivalry where the Cyclones seem to overachieve as often as Iowa underachieves, evidenced by Iowa State’s 10-8 record against Iowa since 1998.
There have been times, though, when Iowa’s firepower was too much for any so-called Cyclone curse or jinx or whatever you want to call it.
As odd as this rivalry has been with its competitiveness, there is a pattern that makes sense.
Kirk Ferentz’s best teams almost always beat Iowa State. The one glaring exception was his 2002 team, which finished 11-2 and undefeated in the Big Ten. That team lost to Iowa State 36-31 at Kinnick Stadium despite leading 24-7 at halftime and despite having a star-studded roster filled with future NFL players.
What the 2002 team didn’t have was an answer for dual-threat quarterback Seneca Wallace, who torched Iowa that day and in 2001.
The 2002 squad is the only team under Ferentz at Iowa to have double-digit wins, but also a loss to Iowa State.
Ferentz’s other double-digit win teams in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2015 all prevailed against the Cyclones by a combined score of 123-51.
Last year’s game was tied at 17 until Iowa scored two late touchdowns to escape from Ames with a 31-17 victory. Iowa didn’t make a huge statement against the Cyclones last season, but it found a way to win and that’s all that matters at this stage in the rivalry.
If the current Iowa team is as good as advertised, it shouldn’t lose this game. It should dominate the line of scrimmage, even without injured center James Daniels, and win comfortably.
The Hawkeyes also should perform better on defense with Josey Jewell back at middle linebacker. Iowa looked suspect on defense at times during last Saturday’s 45-21 victory over Miami of Ohio. But Jewell only played in one defensive series before being disqualified from the game for targeting.
It would be hard for the Cyclones to play any worse than they did during last Saturday’s 25-20 loss to Northern Iowa in Ames when they were dreadful in Matt Campbell’s debut as head coach.
But it shouldn’t matter how well Iowa State performs if Iowa plays up to its potential for a change.
“Really what it gets down to is who plays the best on that given day,” Ferentz said. “That’s the challenge that’s ahead of us right now.”
Sometimes, though, it comes down to who has the most talent and experience. Iowa didn’t necessarily play up to its potential last season, but still found a way to prevail in Ames, thanks largely to quarterback C.J. Beathard’s playmaking skills.
Iowa would go on to win 12 games last season and now Beathard is determined to build on that accomplishment. He is also healthy and playing at home.
All signs point to Iowa defeating Iowa State, which sometimes can be the kiss of death.
But not this time, unless Iowa is overrated.
Iowa 31, Iowa State 20