Hawk Fanatic Week 6 predictions:
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the Iowa football team, Saturday’s game against Purdue at Kinnick Stadium will mark the halfway point of the regular season.
The Hawkeyes are 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play, but they also have been rocked by injuries with the latest being Cade McNamara’s season-ending knee injury.
Sophomore Deacon Hill has replaced McNamara as the starting quarterback, and fans saw what the 6-foot-3, 258-pound Hill could do in the three-plus quarters he played against Michigan State last Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
Hill passed for 115 yards in the 26-16 victory over Michigan State, and though he only completed 11-of-27 passes, at least six were dropped.
Purdue, meanwhile, is coming off a resounding 44-19 victory over Illinois, improving to 2-3 under first-year head coach and former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters.
The Boilermakers had over 400 yards, and were better than 60 percent on third down.
Texas transfer Hudson Card gives Purdue yet another productive passer, but he also can use his feet to gain yards, as can former Iowa receiver Tyrone Tracy Jr., who now plays running back for Purdue.
A first-year head coach versus a coach in his 25th season as the head Hawk, Saturday’s game matches two programs in much different situations.
As for our panel of pickers, Dallas Jones has led pretty much from start to finish and currently has a 21-4 record.
But as Kirk Ferentz would say; there’s a lot of season left.
One week, and one prediction at a time.
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Pat Harty
Iowa 23, Purdue 21: Prediction: Drew Stevens makes a Kinnick Stadium record 59-yard field foal as times expires, and then says afterwards that field goals from beyond 55 yards should be worth five points.
Illinois 24, Nebraska 21: Bret Bielema spelled backwards is Terb Ameleib.
Ohio State 38, Maryland 21: Buckeye fans start chanting “Fire Ryan” when the lead is cut to 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin 27, Rutgers 17: Luke Fickell is determined to show that Wisconsin is not a women’s volleyball school, and to dispel rumors that he has Barry Alvarez on speed dial.
TCU 34, Iowa State 30: Matt Campbell should’ve listened to rock icon Steve Miller and taken the money and run.
Last week: 5-0
Overall: 18-7
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Dallas Jones
Iowa 23, Purdue 17: Deacon Hill legacy game.
Illinois 17, Nebraska 3: ewh.
Ohio State 44, Maryland 30: yay points!
Rutgers, 23, Wisconsin 17: Ewh part two?
Iowa State 31, TCU 20: Feels like a game Iowa State has no business winning, but they will.
Last week: 5-0
Overall: 21-4
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Rob Howe
Iowa 19, Purdue 10: Punting is Winning.
Illinois 16, Nebraska 13: The Big Ten West is offensive. Not in a good way.
Ohio State 34, Maryland 17: Lou Holtz dots the eye before being tackled by Ryan Day.
Wisconsin 26, Rutgers 16: #barryalvarezhasstinkyfeet
TCU 34, Iowa State 31: : Who cares. I’m just glad Notre Dame isn’t in this week’s picks. And I’m not blaming the Irish for my poor performance to date. I’m still crafting an excuse.
Last week: 3-2
Overall: 16-9
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Alex Pruismann
Iowa 23, Purdue 17: Iowa keeps pulling out wins but is teetering with the 25 a game necessity. Wins > PPG.
Illinois 34, Nebraska 31: I will never pick in favor of Nebraska. Ever.
Ohio State 54, Maryland 41: High scoring, exciting game. Ryan Day gets it done again.
Wisconsin 21, Rutgers 17: Wisconsin. Rutgers comes down to earth a bit, they remember who they are.
TCU 28, Iowa State 24: I just like horned frogs.
Last week: 4-1
Overall: 15-5