With the injury to QB Ricky Stanzi, it seems like most people have given up all hope on the Iowa football team. I say don’t panic just yet. Iowa still has a great chance in any game with one of the nations best defenses and turnover machine. Iowa is first in the nation with 19 interceptions and Tyler Sash has brought in 6 of those which is good for 3rd in nation. Pat Angerer has amassed 106 tackles which puts him at number 4 in the country. The Hawks play great defense,rarely give up the big play and are playing an Ohio State team that has had difficulties this year and is coming off a brawl with Penn State.
The biggest challenge this coming Saturday will be scoring on offense. Ohio State manhandled Penn State last week which admittedly has a much better offense than Iowa. The injury Stanzi does not help, but I did see some potential in the back-up QB James Vandenberg. Vandenberg has a very strong arm and he will be getting the majority of the reps in practice this week. He went just 9 of 27 last week, but the wind played a huge factor in that with Iowa trying for too many deep balls. If the offensive line can open some holes for RB Brandon Wegher, it will take some pressure off of the passing game.
On defense the biggest threat is the legs of Terelle Pryor. Pryor is not a great passer and tends to lob up the deep balls. Luckily for Iowa, they have 2 of the best ends in the league which I don’t see having a problem containing the scramble. Iowa also has Pat Angerer to make Pryor think twice before taking off for a run or throwing over the middle. The Hawks really just need to keep doing what they have been doing all year it should take care of itself.
As of now I say if it’s a close game I give the edge to Iowa especially with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line, but if they secondary breaks down it could be a long day.
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