By Tyler Devine

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Regardless of the outcome, Hawkeye fans can take comfort in knowing that Saturday's game against Northwestern will be Justin Jackson's last appearance against the Iowa football team.

Iowa will face Jackson for the fourth time when the Big Ten West rivals square off in Evanston, Ill.

And to say that Jackson has been a problem for the Iowa defense would be an understatement.

In his three previous games against Iowa, Jackson has combined for 297 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 60 carries. He also has caught 10 passes for 40 yards.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Jackson rushed for 171 yards and scored one a touchdown during Northwestern's 38-31 victory over Iowa last season at Kinnick Stadium.

“He’s another good Big Ten running back that you’ve got to prepare for quite a bit,” said Iowa senior linebacker Josey Jewell, who leads the Big Ten with 70 tackles after six games. “He can use his power in the run game and he can also use his lateral movement. He’s a powerful guy and we’re going to have to be able to be focused on him and be able to understand what he can do on the field.”

Jackson is coming off a victory against Maryland last Saturday in which he broke Northwestern’s all-time rushing record. Jackson will enter Saturday's game with 4,639 career rushing yards.

Former Northwestern running back Damien Anderson held the previous record.

Jackson’s performance against Iowa last season still stands out in the mind of senior linebacker Ben Niemann, particularly a couple of plays that Jackson broke for big gains.

“He’s a talented back,” Niemann said. “Probably one of the better ones we’ll see this year. He runs really hard, has good vision and he’s a tough guy to tackle. He exposed us a couple times last year and I think he just broke their all-time rushing record over there at Northwestern so we’re going to have to be ready to go.”

Iowa’s inability to consistently stop the run this season has been an issue and will surely be tested on Saturday.

Iowa is currently ranked ninth in the Big Ten and 57th nationally in rushing defense, allowing nearly 146 yards per game. Opponents also are averaging 4.5 yards per carry against the Hawkeyes.

Jackson figures to test that average on Saturday with his average of 4.7 yards per carry this season.

Niemann said Iowa has to be more sound playing the gaps in order to reach its goal of holding opponents to slightly more than three yards per carry as a team.

“Definitely trying to lower that number,” Niemann said. “It starts with the defensive line and then us as linebackers up front and just staying in our gaps, tackling well and not giving up yards after contact.

“Points wise we’ve done well I guess but we’ve given up some yards. We’ve been able to get stops in the red zone but we need to not let teams get down there in the first place. Really just flying to the ball and being fundamentally sound is what it comes down to and eliminating big plays.”

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz would like to see the statistics reversed between his offense and defense. Iowa is only averaging 3.7 yards per carry as team, which is nearly one yard less than what the Iowa defense is allowing per carry.

"Quite frankly, right now what we'd like to do is reverse them," Ferentz said. "Where we're at offensively and where we're at defensively, if we could flip-flop them. That may be tough to do over the next six weeks, but hopefully for the next six weeks if we look at those numbers just in a six-week basis, maybe we can get to flip those around."

Junior defensive lineman Parker Hesse hopes that by emphasizing the run during the bye week it will help the defense turn a corner in the second half of the season.

“Just stopping the run and being more stout against the run,” Hesse said. “That’s something we take pride in, that’s something we can always improve on. We’re not where we want to be right now as far as statistically but we want to start taking steps in the right direction with that and the turnover battle.”

Injury report: Senior running back James Butler returned to practice on Tuesday for the first time since injuring his right elbow against North Texas on Sept. 16 at Kinnick Stadium.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that Butler isn't expected to be ready for the Northwestern game.

"It won't be this week for sure, but it's just good to get him back in football movements a little bit and doing some things," Ferentz said. "We'll have to try to get him back into football shape, football speed, and like I said, go through the adjustment. But he's eager and willing to get going."

A graduate transfer from Nevada, Butler combined to rush for 158 yards in the first three games as Akrum Wadley's backup.

Ferentz also said that sophomore cornerback Manny Rugamba and senior offensive lineman Boone Myers are questionable for Saturday’s game against Northwestern because of injuries.

"They're both back working, so we'll see," Ferentz said. "We'll see how it goes. They're making progress."

Memory lane: Iowa's 40-10 victory at Northwestern in 2015 provided milestone moments for Wadley and for junior center James Daniels. 

Daniels made his first career start as a true freshman in that game and helped pave the way for Wadley, then a sophomore, to rush for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Wadley had to carrey the load that day after senior starter Jordan Canzeri suffered an ankle injury in the first half and didn't return.

"It was pretty cool because that was my first start two years ago," Daniels said. "Like when I'm old and stuff, I can tell my kids that I stated a Big Ten game as a freshman, which is pretty cool. But I did feel like it gave me confidence. I didn't play much after that game but I felt it did give me confidence if I did have to go in that I'd be able to do my job."

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Daniels used his experience against Northwestern as a teaching tool for true freshman tackle Tristan Wirfs, who made his first carer start against on Oct. 7th against Illinois.

Wirfs became the first true freshman to start at offensive tackle during the Ferentz era. The Mount Vernon native is also one of just four true freshmen to start at any position on the offensive line under Ferentz.

"He doesn't need it now," Daniels said. "But i just told him before you start, make sure you're ready because if you're not ready and they call your name, it's over. There is nothing you can do about it. But I just made sure that he was ready and you know all your assignments, and he's been doing real good at that.

"I'm sure I was ready, but I did know my assignments. Because if you don't know your assignmentss that's how mistakes happen and how you get tackled for losses because you go the wrong way."

Wadley's breakout performance against Northwestern two years ago came a time when his career was at a crossroads. He had struggled with holding on to the football and was buried on the depth chart.

Wadley remembers vividly when his number was called. He was confident that he could meet the challenge and he knew that his future as a Hawkeye would be greatly impacted by his performance that day, especially after speaking with former running back coach Chris White.

"I remember Jordan going down," Wadley said. "And I remember coach White told me 'this is it,'"Wadley said. "He said no pressure, but that put the pressure on and I played a good game.

"I already knew that I was built for it. I worked really hard the weeks prior to that and I didn't drop the ball, that was the big deal, so I was really confident going in."

Beathard no longer a backup: C.J. Beathard did something on Sunday that no former Iowa quarterback had done in over a quarter century.

Beathard replaced starter Bryan Hoyer and finished with 245 passing yards and one touchdown for the San Francisco 49ers. His team still lost the game, but Beathard has won the starting position, with San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan announcing after the game that Beathard would be the starter moving forward.

Iowa sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley served as Beathard's backup last season and still keeps close tabs on his former teammate.

“I didn’t see any of the game, but I got the updates on my phone,” Stanley said. “I’m super happy for him. He put in a lot of time and he worked super hard at his craft. For him to be able to have that opportunity and obviously do something with it is pretty special.”

Hooker switching it up: Sophomore Amani Hooker was named the co-starter at strong safety this week, along with senior Miles Taylor.

Hooker also has spent time at free safety, although, playing time at that position might be hard to come by with the return of junior Brandon Snyder, who played for the first time this season against Illinois after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in spring practice.

For the 6-foot, 210-pound Hooker, adjusting to a different side of the field isn't difficult, just different.

“It’s pretty similar,” Hooker said. “I mean, they have different names and different calls but the same style and same technique. It’s just a shorter field when you’re a free safety. When you’re a strong safety you have a wider field to cover.”

Hooker gave credit to Snyder for playing a big role in his success.

“Snyder helps me out all the time and has been a great leader and communicator back there,” Hooker said.

Edds becoming administrator: The Big Ten announced on Tuesday that it has hired former Iowa linebacker A.J. Edds as an assistant director of sports administration.

Edds was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2009 and then played six years in the NFL for five different teams: the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.

He was also an Academic All-Big Ten selection in 2009.

Almost Hawkeyes: Justin Jackson and Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson are familiar to Ferentz in more ways than just having to coach against them.

Iowa actively recruited both players and had them both on campus for visits. Jackson and Thorson both grew up near Chicago and were ranked as four-star recruits by Rivals.

Thorson enters Saturday's game as Northwestern's fourth all-time leading passer with 6,200 yards. He also has thrown 37 touchdown passes and needs just seven more to tie the program record of 44, which is held by Bret Basanez (2002-05) and Len Williams (1990-93).

Thorson is also a threat to run as evidenced by his 13 career rushing touchdowns.

"What (Thorson) is doing right now is not a surprise to us," Ferentz said. "We really thought he was a top-rate quarterback prospect. I think we've all seen him develop with each step of the way. He's certainly a much better player today than 2015, and that's what you'd expect.

"That's another swing and a miss (on Jackson). That's two strikes right there. We'll leave it right there. He's a tremendous young man. Again, that was no big secret. He was a really good player and just kept on going."

Iowa-Northwestern series: Iowa holds a 50-25-3 advantage in the series dating back to 1897.

However, Northwestern holds an 11-9 advantage since snapping an Iowa 21-game win streak in 1995.

Prior to 2016, Iowa had won three consecutive games in the series.

Ferentz is 8-8 against Northwestern, while Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is 6-5 against Iowa. 

"The games have gone back and forth, they've been hard-fought," Ferentz said. "There's been a couple that have gone either way, but for the most part they've gone right down to the wire.

"I guess for me, my modern-day Northwestern experience is Randy Walker, who was a tremendous coach, tremendous person, and now you've got Pat, who was an outstanding player at Northwestern. That's his school, and now he's running the program, coaching the team. He and his staff have done a great job. They're very stable, they're very consistent. They're sound and they play hard, everything a football team should do.

"We know we're going to have a real challenge on our handa, and there's been ups and downs, but typically it goes right down to the last series, last play, that type of deal."

Quick hitters: Ferentz is four wins from tying Hayden Fry as Iowa's all-time winningest coach…Iowa has outscored its opponents 70-20 in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley has a 189.8 passing efficiency in the fourth quarter and overtime. His numbers include 24-of-39 passing for 399 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. Overall, Stanley is second in the Big Ten and tied for 15th nationally with 15 touchdown passes…Jewell's 9.5 tackles-for-loss ranks second in the Big Ten. He has 42 tackles over the last three games…Wadley is 26 yards from passing Ronnie Harmon for ninth all-time in rushing yards at Iowa.