Iowa vs. Iowa State; which team has the advantage at each position
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa and Iowa State will meet for the 70th time on Saturday in a series dating back to 1894.
Iowa has won six of the last seven games in the series, including the last five games that were played in Ames, but Iowa State prevailed 10-7 at Kinnick Stadium last season, giving Matt Campbell his first win over the Hawkeyes.
A victory on Saturday would give Iowa head coach Krik Ferentz his 200th career win, although, it seems highly unlikely that Ferentz will mention that in his pre-game pep talk.
“Not a heck of a lot really, quite frankly, other than I’ve been doing it for a while,” Ferentz said when asked what 200 wins would mean to him. “It means I’ve been around good players and good people and in a good place. I’ve been really fortunate that way. At least I’m smart enough to know that.
“The only reason I know is because somebody reminds me of it, not frequently, but occasionally. Right now, all I know is we’re 1-0. That’s nice. That’s the best we could be. We’ve got a lot of work in front of us, that’s all I know.”
Iowa is 1-0 after having defeated Utah State 24-14 last Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, while Iowa State is also 1-0 after having defeated Northern Iowa 30-9 last Saturday at home.
And though Iowa has won six of the last seven games against the Cyclones, Iowa’s last four wins in the series were by a combined 24 points.
“If you look at the last five games, it’s basically been five points per average between the two teams,” Kirk Ferentz said. “All games have really been contested. Comes down to playing good, clean football. I’d expect more of that this week.”
Iowa will be playing on a grass surface on Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. The Hawkeyes have won their last five games on grass.
Iowa senior quarterback Cade McNamara, assuming he is healthy enough to play, will face the Cyclones for the first time on Saturday after having transferred from Michigan.
McNamara has been hampered by a soft-tissue injury that he suffered in the Kids Day practice on Aug. 12 at Kinnick Stadium.
“It’s getting better,” McNamara said this past Tuesday. “I just think it’s just going to be something that we’re just going to have to manage through. Some games are going to feel better than others. I’m just doing everything I can to get as healthy as I can for Saturday.”
McNamara’s health could go a long way in determining a winner on Saturday.
So, too, will the matchups at each of the other positions.
Here is a look at which team has the advantage at each position:
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Quarterback: Iowa State redshirt freshman Rocco Becht made his first career start in last Saturday’s victory over Northern Iowa, and he wasn’t asked to do much as he only completed 10-of-13 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Becht has appeared in four games overall, while Cade McNamara led Michigan to the Big Ten title in 2021 and to the college playoff while starting all 14 games that season.
So, McNamara clearly has the edge in experience and productivity, but he also has a soft-tissue injury that was noticeable in the season opener against Utah State, and that caused him to miss over a week of preseason practice.
This kind of injury can linger, but unless he suffers a setback, McNamara seems determined to play through it.
Iowa State also has a talented backup in true freshman J.J. Kohl from Ankeny. He came off the bench against Northern Iowa and completed 4-of-5 passes.
But to ask a true freshman to compete against a defense of Iowa’s caliber, probably would be asking too much.
Becht is playing sooner than expected as he replaced 2022 starter Hunter Dekkers, who was charged with tampering with records as part of the gambling investigation.
Advantage: Iowa
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Running back: Iowa used three running backs against Utah State and all three contributed in some fashion.
Sophomore Kaleb Johnson led Iowa with 63 rushing yards in the season opener and he also returned the opening kick of the game 54 yards.
Johnson set an Iowa freshman rushing record last season with 779 yards on 151 carries. He also scored six touchdowns.
Junior backup Leshon Williams only carried six times for 16 yards against Utah State, but he was also slowed by the heat and humidity, according to Kirk Ferentz.
Williams rushed for 413 yards last season, and he also had 11 receptions for 78 yards.
Iowa’s third running back is redshirt freshman Jaziun Patterson, who started to emerge at the end of last season.
Patterson had two receptions against Utah State, including one in the first quarter that gained 18 yards on a screen pass.
It isn’t easy playing three running backs, but Iowa seems determined to make Patterson part of the equation.
Iowa State, meanwhile, was hit hard by the loss of 2022 starter Jirehl Brock, who left the team in the preseason after being charged with tampering with records as part of the gambling investigation.
Sophomore Cartevious Norton carried 11 times for 49 yards against Northern Iowa, and he also appeared in eight games last season and rushed for 312 yards.
Sophomore Eli Sanders also appeared in eight games last season, and he carried nine times for 29 yards against Northern Iowa last Saturday.
True freshman Abu Sama, who played for two-time defending Class 5A state champion Southeast Polk, carried six times for 40 yards in his Cyclone debut last Saturday. Sama was the 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year in Iowa, and he also broke the state long jump record, which stood since 1984, with a leap of 24 feet, 10 inches.
Iowa State’s fourth running back is Stanford transfer Arland Harris, a former four-star recruit from Missouri. Harris didn’t have any rushing attempts in last Saturday’s season opener.
This was tough decision, but the loss of Brock was just too much to overcome.
Advantage: Iowa
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Receiver: Iowa State’s three starting wide receivers – Jaylin Noel, Jaydin Higgins and Aidan Bitter – combined for just 36 receiving yards against Northern Iowa last Saturday.
Noel had four catches against the Panthers, but for just six yards.
He is more than capable, however, as he showed last season by catching 60 passes for 572 yards and three touchdowns.
Higgins played his first two seasons for Eastern Kentucky where he had 58 catches for 757 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. His 10 receiving touchdowns tied for 15th nationally.
Bitter saw action in all 12 games last season and had four catches for 26 yards.
Iowa worked hard in the transfer portal to build more depth at receiver, and it paid immediate dividends as sophomore Seth Anderson scored the first touchdown of the season on a 36-yard pass from Cade McNamara on the opening drive of the game against Utah State.
Sixth-year senior Nico Ragaini had two catches for 36 yards against Utah State, and he will enter Saturday’s game with 127 career receptions for 1,390 yards and four touchdowns.
Junior Diante Vines is now healthy after having a broken wrist that caused him to miss the first six games last season. Vines didn’t have any catches in the season opener, but he had 10 catches for 94 yards in seven games last season.
Junior walk-on Kaden Wetjen didn’t have any catches against Utah State, but he ran three times for 22 yards on sweep plays.
Ohio State transfer Kaleb Brown also didn’t have any catches against Utah State, but he is a former four-star recruit that was good enough to have been recruited by Ohio State.
So, look for him to get more involved as the season progresses.
Advantage: Iowa
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Tight end: Iowa State’s top three tight ends are fifth-year senior Easton Dean, redshirt freshman Gabe Burkle and true freshman Benjamin Brahmer.
Dean caught a career-high three passes for 21 yards against Northern Iowa last Saturday, and he had 10 catches for 129 yards while appearing 12 games last season.
Brahmer first career catch was a 36-yard touchdown against Northern Iowa.
Iowa, meanwhile, will counter with the dynamic one-two punch of junior Luke Lachey and Michigan transfer Erick All.
They combined for 10 of Iowa’s 17 receptions against Utah State, with the 6-foot-6, 253-pound Lachey catching seven passes for 73 yards, while All had a 3-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
Iowa only had seven touchdown catches last season, but Lachey had four of them.
All also had over 400 receiving yards for Michigan’s Big Ten championship team in 2021.
Advantage: Iowa
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Offensive line: Both units return multiple starters from last season, but it remains to be seen if that is a positive or a negative.
Iowa only averaged 94.9 rushing yards per game last season and had just 88 yards on 36 attempts against Utah State last Saturday, while Iowa State only averaged 3.3 yards per carry as a team last season.
Iowa State senior left guard Jarrod Hufford has made a team-best 21 consecutive starts, while fifth-year senior Darrell Simmons Jr. has made a team best 35 career starts overall.
Iowa junior left tackle Mason Richman has made 23 career starts.
Experience isn’t the problem with either offensive line. The problem has been performance, making this a difficult choice.
Advantage: Iowa State
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Defensive line: Both units have been impacted by the gambling investigation as Iowa senior defensive tackle Noah Shannon was suspended for the entire 2023 season, while former Iowa State nose guard Isaiah Lee left the team in August after being charged with tampering with records.
Shannon has made 27 career starts, so his loss is significant.
Lee started all 12 games last season for the Cyclones.
Redshirt junior J.R. Singleton is now Iowa State’s most experienced defensive lineman after having started seven games last season.
Domonique Orange, a 6-4, 335-pound sophomore, started at nose guard against Northern Iowa last Saturday and he also appeared in all 12 games last season.
Redshirt sophomore Tyler Onyedim started at defensive end against Northern Iowa last Saturday and finished with a career-high seven tackles.
Junior defensive end Joey Petersen made his first career start against Northern Iowa last Saturday after having played in all 12 games last season as a reserve. He has 20 career tackles and two quarterback hurries.
Iowa, even without Shannon, still has a deep and talented defensive line that is led by senior tackle Logan Lee, who will make his 29th consecutive start on Saturday.
Sixth-year senior defensive end Joe Evans, who grew up in Ames, has made 14 career starts and has 18.5 career sacks. The media named Evans second-team all-Big Ten last season.
Junior defensive end Deontae Craig made his first career start against Utah State last season, but he was a key contributor as a reserve last season as he had 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
Junior Yahay Black has replaced Shannon as the other starter at defensive tackle and he had three tackles against Utah State last Saturday.
Sophomore Aaron Graves is also part of the rotation at defensive tackle for Iowa and he had five tackles against Utah State and has appeared in 13 games overall.
Advantage: Iowa
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Linebacker: The Cyclones have a true freshman (Jack Sadowsky) and a redshirt freshman (Carson Willich) listed as starters for Saturday’s game, so, it’s hard to evaluate them at linebacker. Iowa State’s most experienced linebacker is redshirt senior Gerry Vaughn, who has made 16 consecutive starts, which is the second longest streak on the team.
Iowa suffered two huge losses at linebacker from last season with 2022 Butkus Award winner Jack Campbell and three-year starter Seth Benson both having graduated.
The lack of depth and experience at linebacker caused Kirk Ferentz to hit the transfer portal where he landed former Virginia linebacker Nick Jackson, who started 34 of the 47 games in which he played for Virginia. Jackson finished his Virginia career with 359 tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He also made second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference last season.
Iowa’s other starting linebacker is senior Jay Higgins, who had a career-high 16 tackles against Utah State last Saturday. Higgins has appeared in 33 games as a Hawkeye, and he had 39 tackles last season.
Advantage: Iowa
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Defensive backfield: Iowa will be without junior cornerback Jermari Harris for a second consecutive game on Saturday.
His loss is significant when trying to choose which of these units has the advantage because they’re both loaded with depth and experience.
Both units are led by two of the top cornerbacks in the country in Iowa State senior T.J. Tampa and Iowa junior Cooper DeJean.
Tampa made second-team All-Big 12 last season and he had a team-best nine pass breakups, while DeJean made first-team all-Big Ten a year ago and set a school record with three pick sixes.
Sophomore free safety Jeremiah Cooper was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week this week after having two interceptions against Northern Iowa, including a pick six in the first quarter. Cooper also started seven games as true freshman last season.
Junior Beau Freyler (6-2, 220) is built more like a linebacker, and he brings a physical presence to the Iowa State secondary. He had seven tackles in the victory over Northern Iowa last Saturday. He played in 11 of 12 games last season and started every game in which he played. He also played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2021, making one start.
Freyler posted a career-best 15 tackles versus Clemson in the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl, which is the third most by a Cyclone in a bowl game and most ever by a rookie.
Junior cornerback Myles Purchase had seven tackles in the win over Northern Iowa last Saturday and he started all 12 games last season. He also appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2021 and made one start.
Iowa, meanwhile, has senior Quinn Schulte preparing to make his 15th consecutive start at free safety. He finished with 71 tackles last season, and he had five tackles and one pass breakup against Utah State last Saturday.
Heralded sophomore Xavier Nwankpa, a former five-star recruit from Southeast Polk, will make his third career start at strong safety for Iowa on Saturday. He had his second career interception against Utah State last Saturday and he also had a pick six in the 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl last season.
Redshirt freshman DeShaun Lee is expected to start at the other cornerback position for Iowa. He made his first career start against Utah State and had six tackles.
This was by far the toughest decision of all the positions because both units are rock solid.
Advantage: Iowa State
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Special teams: Iowa has arguably the best punter/kicker combination in the country in senor punter Tory Taylor and sophomore kicker Drew Stevens.
Taylor punted six times for a 48.7 average against Utah State and he has a 45.5 career average on 208 punts. The Melbourne, Australia native, who is 26 years old, was also named first-team All-America by three outlets in 2022.
Stevens made 16-of-18 field-goal attempts as a true freshman last season. His 16 field goals are the most by an Iowa freshman.
He made his only field-goal attempt against Utah State last Saturday, and he also handles kickoff for Iowa.
Iowa State sophomore punter Tyler Perkins isn’t nearly as accomplished as Taylor, but Perkins is showing star potential as he had a 70-yard punt against Northern Iowa last Saturday. He punted four times for a 53.6 average against Northern Iowa. He also averaged 42.2 yards on 50 punts last season.
Redshirt senior kicker Chase Contreraz made his Cyclone debut last Saturday after transferring from Nebraska and he made it a memorable one by converting a 56-yard field goal, the fifth longest in Cyclone history.
Jaylin Noel gives Iowa State a dangerous punt returner, while DeJean does the same for Iowa.
Kaleb Johnson also excels as a kicker returner for Iowa as he showed last Saturday by returning the opening kick 54 yards.
Advantage: Iowa
