Iowa beats Boston College 27-20 to become 2017 Pinstripe Bowl Champions

Iowa senior RB #25 Akrum Wadley helps lead Iowa to a 27-20 win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (8-5) finish the 2017 College Football season with a 27-20 win over Boston College (7-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium. Kirk Ferentz wins his 143rd game, as Iowa's head coach, tying him with Hayden Fry.

Kirk Ferentz ties Hayden Fry at 143 career wins, as head coach, with bowl win.

Game Day Iowa: Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy from Jack Trice Stadium, in Ames

The Iowa Hawkeyes won back the Cy-Hawk Trophy, after a
31-17 win over the Iowa State Cyclones in 2015. The Hawks
are seeking to make it three straight, in Ames and in the series.

Ames, IA -- The Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) are looking to carry off the Cy-Hawk Trophy for the third straight time, from the field of Jack Trice, as the Hawkeyes face the Iowa State Cyclones (1-0), with an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN2.

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is making his 2nd
appearance in the Cy-Hawk Game today.

It is Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz's 19th season, as head coach, and 28th season overall, connected with the Cy-Hawk Game, as part of the Hawkeyes coaching staff. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell heads into Round 2 of the series, after the 42-3 loss in Iowa City, in his first season at the helm, leading the Cyclones.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has been involved in 27 Cy-Hawk
games in his coaching resume, as an assistant and now leading.

The dean of college football enters the game tied 9-9 in the series, as head coach. The rubber match today should be a good one.

It was 40 years ago, since the renewal game was played in Iowa
City. The Hawkeyes were the underdog back in 1977, but Iowa
pulled out the win in an exciting 12-10 win, which included a
77 yard TD run by WB Dennis Mosley for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa generally wins 2 out of every 3 against the Cyclones, but after a 15 year win streak from 1983 to 1997, the Cyclones pulled off 27-9 win at Kinnick Stadium in 1998, to begin a five year win streak of their own.

The 2002 game may have done more to spice up
the Cy-Hawk Game, as the Cyclones won another
one in Iowa City, with a 36-31 win over what would
become a Top 10 Iowa Hawkeye team, under Kirk Ferentz.
The first of three straight Top 10 seasons for the Hawkeyes.

What could we see at Jack Trice on Saturday on offense?

• A back and forth game early on, unlike the affair last season, in Iowa City, where the Hawkeyes jumped off to an early 14-0 lead.
• Two young QBs, as both Iowa sophomore Nate Stanley and Iowa State junior Jacob Park make first starts in the Cy-Hawk Game today.
• Both Iowa and Iowa State have seasoned running backs, but none of them have had huge games in the Cy-Hawk Game, as of yet. Both Iowa senior RBs Akrum Wadley and James Butler will be making a debut at Jack Trice Stadium, while ISUs has sophomore David Montgomery and junior Mike Warren.
• ISU's top WR Allen Lazard is a senior, but he has never scored in a Cy-Hawk Game.
• Iowa's top WR Matt VandeBerg is fifth year senior, after having a career day as a senior last season in the Cy-Hawk Game. Suffering a season ending foot injury, after the game, he returns for one more stanza with ring already in hand.
• Let's not forget, both teams have others at wide receiver and tight end, who could step up and become Hawkeye or Cyclone legends today, in the Cy-Hawk Game ...
• It wouldn't be fair to two former offensive line coaches, as, they now lead their respective teams, if we didn't talk about the offensive lines today. The Hawkeyes have a veteran unit coming into Jack Trice, while Cyclones are younger, though senior LT Jake Campos returns from injury to make his final appearance today. Iowa hopes to see junior C James Daniels making his first start of 2017 today.

Iowa senior MLB 43 Josey Jewell is a pre-season all-American.

What could we see at Jack Trice on Saturday on defense?

• The Hawkeyes are coming off a 24-3 win last Saturday over Wyoming, who were lead by NFL prospect in junior QB Josh Allen. The Hawkeyes defense played a very strong game to kickoff 2017. 
• The Hawkeyes rotated in eight defensive linemen, who will be tested heavily today at Jack Trice, with a duo threat in both the rushing and passing games, by the Cyclones. The senior is DT Nate Bazata, but the Hawkeyes debuted five-star true freshman DE A.J. Epenesa in Week 1 for ten snaps. Bazata lead the 4th down stand for the Hawkeyes against Cowboys last Saturday and will be a key player to watch today, as Iowa must stop the duo threat of run and pass from the Cyclones.
• The Cyclones are coming off a 42-24 home win against in-state Northern Iowa, where 14 points was fueled by two early Pick 6 interceptions by the Cyclones back 7.
• The Cyclones can play using a 3-4 defensive set, as well as a 4-3, so look for some different looks, especially with Iowa's QB only making his second collegiate start today. The Cyclones defensive line is anchored by JC transfer, sophomore NG Ray Lima.
• The Hawkeyes return three senior starters at LB in 2017, and last Saturday, they accounted for 38 tackles. Lead by the Outlaw ... MLB Josey Jewell, flanked by OLB Ben Niemann, a Cyclone legacy, and WLB Bo Bower.
• The Cyclones moved former starting QB senior Joel Lanning to MLB for the 2017 season, while junior WLB Willie Harvey is his counterpart in the middle of the ISU defense again.
• Both teams have solid secondaries, though the Hawkeyes are younger, they will see the return of sophomore CB Manny Rugamba today, after missing Week 1, due to a violation of team rules. The Cyclones are lead again by junior LC Brian Peavy and senior LS Kamari Cotton-Moya for 2017.

What could the special teams bring to the equation?

• Iowa is young at placekicker and punter, while ISU senior punter Colin Downing could provide  huge boost in flipping the field position today. 
• Field position is huge in this series ...
• Both teams have capable players in the return game.

Iowa sophomore QB 4 Nate Stanley is making his first road
start for Kirk Ferentz, following three other Hawkeye starters
during the KF era making it on the road against ISU.
(Nathan Chandler 2003, Jake Christensen 2007 and Jake Rudock 2013)
The previous three were 2-1, mirroring the average for Iowa-ISU games.

The two deep on the Iowa Hawkeyes:

The two deep for the Iowa State Cylcones:

Our Pick in Cy-Hawk Game today:

• Iowa 30
• Iowa State 17

The series has been very competitive, 50/50, for the most part during the Kirk Ferentz era. Like 2013 and 2015, look for the Hawkeyes to play better on the road, rather than some of the close wins, ISU has had recently in Iowa City, 2012 and 2014. Of course, the 2011 went to ISU in triple overtime, so often the close ones have bounced the way of the Cyclones. Separation is often important for Iowa ...

Can Iowa senior RB 25 Akrum Wadley pull a Dennis Mosley
game today? The former Iowa RB, had a great senior season,
including breakout game that lead to the first 1,000 yard season
by a Hawkeye in 1981. Iowa brings two 1,000 yard runners
to the game, with Wadley and Nevada grad transfer James Butler.

Iowa 45, Miami-OH 21, as Hawkeyes and Redhawks kickoff the 2016 season at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday

The Big Ten (Iowa) and the MAC (Miami-OH) both went back
to work as they kicked off the 2016 College Football season
in Kinnick Stadium, as the Hawkeyes win 45-21 over the Redhawks.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- In its season opener, the Miami University football team impressed on offense, outgaining the 18th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes with 424 yards in a 45-21 loss Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa built an early lead, with 21 points in the first quarter over Miami-OH. Iowa was physical, as Redhawks coach Chuck Martin expected heading into the season opener.

Miami-OH (0-1) held possession for over 36 minutes and gained 25 first downs, but the Iowa (1-0) scored three touchdowns off of Miami turnovers and converted on all six red zone opportunities.

"It was a close game, should have been closer," said Miami-OH head coach Chuck Martin. "Without the dang turnovers, it's a really close game. We fought through more than we wanted to, but we did well."

Miami-OH sophomore quarterback Billy Bahl was strong in his 2016 debut, going 19-of-29 with 266 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore wide receiver James Gardner. Both Gardner and senior wide receiver Rokeem Williams pulled in six catches, with Williams racking up 113 yards. Five Miami rushers combined to post 158 yards on the ground, led by sophomore Maurice Thomas with 60 yards on nine carries.

"We ran the ball legitimately," said Martin. "Legitimate run plays. And passing, we moved the ball very efficiently, obviously except fumbling the ball three times. They know what they are doing and they did."

After Miami-OH punted on its opening possession, the Hawkeyes used a couple of major plays to power an 80-yard drive, culminating with a 1-yard touchdown run that put them up 7-0 with 9:07 remaining in the first quarter.

Iowa junior MLB Josey Jewell was disqualified in the first quarter after being flagged for targeting on a personal foul on the first change of possession of the game. It brought back an explosive punt return by senior Desmond King. Miami-OH coach Martin shared the Redhawks game planned to run offense away from both Iowa cornerback King in the passing game and Iowa senior DT Jaleel Johnson in the running game.

Iowa junior RB 25 Akrum Wadley lead the Iowa ground game with 121 yards,
including two of the Hawkeyes five rushing TDs to open the season. He also
had a critical fumble recovery in the 1st half to avoid a turnover in Iowa territory.

On its next outing, a fumble by Thomas quickly led to another Iowa touchdown run that extended its lead to 14-0 at the 7:14 mark. Bahl then found Williams for a 67-yard completion that put Miami-OH into the red zone, but the momentum was short-lived as Bahl fumbled as he was being sacked.

Iowa capitalized on a Miami-OH, with a 2 play drive, finished with a 43 yard
run by senior RB 29 LeShun Daniels, Jr. After the turnover, Iowa took advantage with
a nice flea flicker from senior QB C.J. Beathard to sophomore WR Jerminic Smith.

Once again, Iowa capitalized on the turnover with a 38-yard pass, followed by a 43-yard run that made the score, 21-0, with 5:41 left in the opening period.

"We're pleased to get the win," said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. "They're hard to come by, so I am happy about that.  We also appreciate the great crowd, they were in it right from the get-go.  We enjoyed that."

Miami-OH finally got on the scoreboard with a nearly seven-minute, 12-play drive, finished off by a 3-yard touchdown by sophomore running back Alonzo Smith. The drive was highlighted by three clutch third down conversions for the Redhawk offense.

Following punts by both teams, Iowa once again reached the red zone with a 36-yard pass. On the following play, Iowa senior wide receiver Riley McCarron appeared to fumble the ball into the end zone for a touchback, but the call was reversed following an official review. The Hawkeyes took advantage of the second opportunity, scoring on a 5-yard run to go up 28-7 with 7:15 left in the half.

"The turnover take away margin was good and I liked the way the offense capitalized on the takeaways, that's a positive," said Ferentz. "Like any game, you have things you're not quite pleased with.  There are some things we have to work on.

The Redhawks embarked on a 9-play, 39-yard drive, but came up empty after freshman kicker Samuel Sloman missed a 53-yard field goal. The half came to a close with an Iowa punt and a Miami run play as time expired.

Iowa began the second half with another long scoring drive, capped off by a 12-yard touchdown pass on fourth down that extended its lead to 35-7 at the 11:37 mark.

Miami-OH sophomore QB 5 Billy Bahl didn't always enjoy the physical
nature of the Iowa Hawkeyes, with Iowa senior DT 67 Jaleel Johnson,
who Redhawks coach Chuck Martin indicated they game planned against.
Bahl threw 2 touchdown passes against Iowa, with 266 yards passing
and a 67 yard explosive gain. He was also sacked 3 times for minus 19 yards.

Miami-OH responded with its most impressive possession of the game, a 13-play, 75-yard sequence that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. A 3-yard run by Smith on fourth down kept the drive alive, leading to an outstanding 29-yard touchdown pass from Bahl to Gardner. The catch was the first scoring play of his career and made the score, 35-14, with 4:41 to play in the third quarter.

Gardner's terrific day continued into the fourth quarter as Bahl found him in the front of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown, narrowing the deficit to 35-21 with 9:43 remaining in the game.

On Iowa's next possession, the Hawkeyes reached the Miami-OH 2-yard line, but the Redhawk defense was able to hold them to a 22-yard field goal, extending the score to 38-21 with 6:04 left to play.

Miami held the ball for three plays, before Bahl's second sack-fumble of the game gave Iowa the ball deep in Redhawk territory. The Hawkeyes proceeded to close out scoring for the day with a 5-yard run at the 3:08 mark. The Redhawks' final drive lasted six plays and over three minutes, but eventually stalled out at the Iowa 21-yard line.

"(It was an) overall awesome experience for our guys here in Iowa," said Martin. "It's just a great place to play and I'm very appreciative. I'd love to come back here."

Ten true freshmen played for Iowa today – LB Amani Jones, S Amani Hooker, CB Manny Rugamba, OLB Kristian Welch, PK Keith Duncan, WR Devonte Young, QB Nathan Stanley, RB Tokes Akinribade, TE Noah Fant, DT Cedrick Lattimore. Iowa lost 21 letter-winners from the 2015 Big Ten West division team that finished 12-2.

Iowa does return experience in 2016. Sophomores DE Matt Nelson and FS Brandon Snyder made their first career starts. Sophomore C James Daniels made his third career start today, his first at center.    

"Our run defense was not what it needs to be today. I want to give Miami credit, too," Ferentz said. "They're an improved football team based on the film we saw and they worked hard."

Miami-OH will open its home season on Saturday, Sept. 10 as it faces Eastern Illinois (0-1) at 2:30 p.m. at Yager Stadium. While the Iowa Hawkeyes, host Iowa State (0-1) for the Cy-Hawk Game, with a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at Kinnick Stadium.

#10 Iowa defeats Maryland 31-15 to move to 8-0 on the season ... Happy Halloween!

Iowa celebrates a Halloween victory at Kinnick on Saturday, as PGA
golfer Zach Johnson enjoys his day, as the Hawkeyes' honorary captain.

Kirk Ferentz said, after the
Northwestern win; it was
okay to dare to dream in
2015, as Iowa remains
undefeated on the season.

Iowa City, IA -- The #10 Iowa Hawkeyes (8-0, 4-0) defeated Maryland (2-6, 0-4) 31-15 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in front of a national audience on ABC and ESPN2 to remain on the path for a College Football Playoff bid, which will be played two months from tonight ... dare to dream Hawkeyes. Like honorary captain Zach Johnson, Iowa continues to play efficient in all three phases of the game to remain undefeated in 2015.

"If you look at all of our players, typically they play better their second, third, fourth years as players for us, and I think it's just a real -- what it tells you is he works hard and he's really paying attention to the little things that older players understand and appreciate, and again, I'll take it back to Zach Johnson when I talk about Zach. Zach is not an overpowering golfer. He's the first guy to tell you that, but boy, he really appreciates the fundamentals, the little details, so the way he approaches his craft and his sport, we can draw so much from that. Somebody threw an article on my desk yesterday saying he tended to be boring. Boring is okay. He's got the Jug, and that's okay," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz shared after the win over Maryland.

Iowa junior TE #46 George Kittle with a one-handed catch in the first half
of the 31-15 win over Maryland. It was a very physical game at Kinnick.

The Hawkeyes are 8-0 for the first time since 2009, the second time under Kirk Ferentz, and the second time in school history. Iowa started 9-0 in 2009, its best start in school history. Unlike 2002 and 2004, Iowa's two previous Big Ten titles under Ferentz, the Hawkeyes are on track to finish at a very high level in 2015. 

Each of Iowa's three running backs scored touchdowns in the first half, as Iowa
took a 21-0 lead at halftime. Here is sophomore RB #25 Akrum Wadley near
the goal line against the Michigan defense.

Iowa is 4-0 in the Big Ten for the third time under Kirk Ferentz. Iowa opened 4-0 in the Big Ten in 2009 (they opened 5-0) and went undefeated in conference play in 2002 (Iowa finished 8-0). The Hawkeyes can't afford to take anytime off, as there are four B1G games ahead moving into November play.

Kirk Ferentz is in his 17th season at Iowa. He entered the season with a lot of
outside noise, over the disappointments last year. The Hawkeyes have improved
in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams to open 8-0.

Iowa was plus-three in turnovers today and is plus-10 on the season. Iowa has 19 takeaways this season, and turned them into 71 points. Last year, the Hawkeyes were a minus 6 in takeaways.

Iowa senior DE #34 Nate Meier is having a career year. He was injured on the
final defensive series of the game, which will be a development to watch
next week, with Iowa hitting the road @ Indiana next Saturday in Bloomington.

The Hawkeyes had three interceptions today, two by Maryland natives (Taylor, Lomax). Iowa also had a fumble recovery (Taylor), as well. The biggest interception was a pick six, on a 88 yard interception return for a touchdown by junior CB Desmond King, who is among the leaders nationally in interceptions.

Iowa found the ground game and passing game difficult going in the second
half, after running up 240 yards in the first half, including this run by sophomore
RB #25 Akum Wadley, who made his first start of the season vs. Maryland.

Iowa ran 27 plays in Maryland territory in the first half, while Maryland ran just one play in Iowa territory. Iowa had 240 total yards in the first half and 53 in the second half. Maryland had 68 total yards in the first half and 173 yards in the second half.

Iowa redshirt freshman LB #31 Aaron Mends made a huge play on special
teams in the first half against Maryland with the block punt, which setup
a Hawkeye rushing touchdown.

Iowa held Maryland to 74 yards passing, the lowest total by an opponent since holding Purdue to 72 passing yards in 2014. The 74 passing yards allowed rank eighth under head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa junior QB #16 C.J. Beathard found the running challenging at times
against Maryland. He is banged up and will not be 100% in November.

Junior QB C.J. Beathard is 9-0 as Iowa’s starting quarterback, a record that includes a 4-0 mark on the road, a 5-0 mark at home, and a 5-0 mark in the Big Ten. Numbers include 143-of-247 passing for 1,843 yards, 10 touchdowns, and four interceptions, and 209 yards rushing with three rushing touchdowns. He is the first quarterback in school history to win his first eight career starts.

Iowa junior RB #29 LeShun Daniels Jr. returned from an ankle injury and broke
off an early explosive play in the first half against Maryland. 

Junior RB LeShun Daniels’ 1-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter was his first of the season, and second of his career. Daniels had 60 yards rushing today. Entering the game, he had 47 yards rushing yards combined from Week 3-7. He did not play in Week 6 or Week 7.

Former Maryland prep and sophomore Iowa SS #19 Miles Taylor had his biggest
game of his career, in the win over his home state program.

Iowa sophomore SS Miles Taylor recorded his first career interception and first career fumble recovery. The fumble recovery was turned into an Iowa touchdown. The interception was fumbled back to Maryland. Taylor recorded a career-best eight tackles. He also recovered his first career fumble.

SS Miles Taylor had a team-high and career-best eight tackles. DL Nathan Bazata (4) and DL Parker Hesse (6) matched their career highs in tackles.

Maryland junior QB #11 Perry Hills was smiling here on the sidelines in
Iowa City, but Iowa forced a fumble and three interceptions on him.

CB Desmond King’s 88-yard interception return for touchdown ties for the seventh longest interception return for touchdown in school history (Bo Bower, 2015 vs. North Texas).

Iowa junior CB #14 Desmond King is a leader in interceptions in 2015.

CB Desmond King’s fourth quarter interception was his seventh interception of the season. He is the first Hawkeye since Kerry Burt in 1987 to have seven interceptions in a single season. King has 10 career interceptions, tying for 10th all-time.

Iowa senior WR #4 Tevaun Smith looked healthy again, after
making his return @ Northwestern in Game 7. Smith made
his first catches of the B1G season with 2 catches for 35 yards.

Iowa senior PK Marshall Koehn scored seven points today, including four PATs and one field goal (49). Koehn has 136 career points, 19th all-time.

Iowa senior WR #17 Jacob Hillyer played hard for the Hawks on an important
catch ahead of the end of the first half against Maryland.

Kirk Ferentz has 122 wins as a member of the Big Ten Conference, eighth all-time. Ferentz has 72 Big Ten wins, tying Duffy Daugherty (Michigan State) for eighth all-time.

Iowa moves to 8-0 and remains alive in the hunt for a Big Ten title and
the College Football Playoff hunt in 2015.

Iowa won the toss and received the opening kick. Iowa received the opening kickoff in seven of eight games this season (Wisconsin), and has outscored its opponents 43-13 in the first quarter. In 17 seasons as Iowa’s head coach, Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes received the opening kickoff in 169-of-208 games (102-67). Iowa has started the game on defense in 39-of-208 games under Ferentz (21-18).

Instant replay was not used today. The Hawkeyes play @ Indiana (4-4, 0-4 B1G East), who are coming off a bye week, on Saturday, Nov. 7th. Kickoff time has not been announced, due to television.

Maryland falls to 0-4 in the Big Ten, after falling in Iowa City to the Hawks.

Maryland will host Wisconsin (7-2, 4-1 B1G West) next Saturday for its annual Homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The Badgers beat Rutgers 48-10 fueled by the return of RB Corey Clement, who scored three touchdowns on Saturday.

Game Day Saturday: Iowa vs. Maryland at Kinnick Stadium

Iowa City, IA -- The #10 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 B1G West) return to action on Halloween, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Kinnick Stadium against the Maryland Terrapins (2-5, 0-3 B1G East). It is the first meeting ever in Iowa City, after last year's 38-31 Maryland win, in the inaugural game. This year's Iowa-Maryland game will be televised on ABC/ESPN2.

Maryland iHC Mike Locksley.

The Hawkeyes will face the second of three games against interim head coaches at home, in Big Ten play this season. This will be Maryland's second game lead by interim coach Mike Locksley, who has faced Iowa in the past, when he was an assistant coach under Ron Zook at Florida and at Illinois.

Locksley has been the Maryland offensive coordinator since 2011. He served as the head coach at New Mexico from 2009-11. He was an assistant coach at Florida when the Hawkeyes defeated the Gators in the

2004 Outback Bowl.

On playing Iowa:

The key to slowing Iowa's offense is eliminating the run. Iowa has had three

different running backs gain over 100 yards in 2015. The most recent one

was sophomore RB #25 Akrum Wadley, who ran for 204 yards and four

touchdowns in the 40-10 win @ Northwestern, ahead of Iowa's bye week.

“Their coach does a good job of keeping those guys very sound. When you look at them, they haven’t changed very much in their identity on offense or defense or special teams. They’ve always been really sound. They try not to do a lot in terms of tricking you or masking it. They line up and play good hard-nosed, clean football in all three phases. They play with great effort and when you look at them this year, the thing that jumps out to me is the balance they have. Traditionally when you face an Iowa team, you have to stop the run first and foremost, which we’ll have to do. Their balance is what gives them advantages and they’re playing really well right now," Maryland's Mike Locksley said during his press conference this week ahead of the Iowa game.

Iowa junior QB #16 C.J. Beathard became the #1 QB after the Iowa bowl game.

It lead to Iowa's two year starter Jake Rudock to graduate and transfer to

Michigan. Iowa's overall game has elevated in all three phases in 2015.

“It starts with their execution. I know last year they had the quarterback situation where they were going back and forth between the two quarterbacks and the development of their team from one year to the next is hard to compare. I think what they’re doing now as a team is they’re executing at a very high level in all three phases, and their quarterback is playing well and protecting the football, and on the defensive side of the ball, they are stopping the runs,” said Locksley about Iowa.

Iowa's Kirk Ferentz on the upcoming game with Maryland

Iowa will need to play strong in pass protection, as Maryland's top defensive

lineman sacks the Penn State's QB in last Saturday's 20-19 game.

"Now our next challenge is to get ready for Maryland. And it's interesting, it's another team that we're playing that has new leadership. They played with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy the other day, played really well, and it was a really good ballgame to a very good Penn State team. They lost by one point to a team that's 6 and 2 having a good season," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said during his news conference ahead of this week's game with Maryland.

Maryland junior DE #7 Yannick Ngakoue is the Terrapins leader with

sacks and tackles for loss. The line of scrimmage will be a key for either team

as the Hawkeyes-Terrapins kickoff at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

"Maryland is a team that beat us last year. They've got a lot of good players from last year returning. They do have a new quarterback. He's playing really well; a dangerous runner. They've got a lot of backs that can run and good skill players, veteran guys up front defensively. They've got some good players up there too, and the guy up front, No. 7, the defensive end, really active, really hard player to block and contain. And they got one of the better DBs veteran in the back end, but one of the better DBs that we're going to see this season," Ferentz shared about the Terrapins.

Iowa plays in Kinnick Stadium which was named after 1939 Heisman Trophy winner

Nile  Kinnick. Junior William Likely surpassed Kinnick’s legendary 76-year-old single-game

Big Ten punt return yards record with 233 yards against Richmond in the 2015 season opener

for Maryland. Likely is a starting CB, who scored a pick 6 against Iowa last year.

"Same thing in the kicking game. They've got both their punter and kicker back. Both of them have done good jobs, and then we really feel like Likely is as good of a returner as there is in the country, not only in our conference but in the country. He's very dangerous, both in the punt and kick return game. So we've got a lot of challenges on our hands that way," Ferentz said about Maryland's special teams.

Maryland has moved to junior QB #11 Perry Hills, who can be highly effective

in the read option, as he scrambles for yardage against Penn State.

Last year, C.J. Brown hurt Iowa will his feet in the 38-31 Maryland win.

"They're coming off a bye week a week ago (Maryland), so to me I'm guessing they just look at this whole thing like a new season. Played an excellent football game last Saturday. As I mentioned, a one-point loss to a very good Penn State football team. So we expect their best certainly coming in this Saturday. Again, they beat us last year, so I'm sure they'll be confident coming in, and really, what it gets down to is we have to have a great week of preparation. We're off to a good start, but we need to really finish it up here this week and make sure we're ready to go at kickoff time," Ferentz went on to say, in describing the Hawkeyes upcoming opponent.

The line of scrimmage was a key element in Maryland's 38-31 win over

Iowa in 2014. It will be a key element again in 2015, as Maryland comes

to Iowa City for the first time in the series.

In the inaugural game last season in College Park, MD, the Terrapins took advantage of three Hawkeye turnovers that resulted in ten points. Iowa opened with a 14-0 run, but the Terrapins outscored the Hawkeyes 38-7 to take a 38-21 lead on the Hawkeyes, with under five minutes remaining. The Hawkeyes scored ten more points, in the 38-31 Terrapin win.

Kirk Ferentz is in his 20th year as a college head coach and his 17th year as Iowa’s

head coach. His career record is 134-106 and he is 122-85 at Iowa. He is tied for eighth

in the Big Ten Conference in coaching wins. Pictured last year @ Maryland.

Iowa won three of the first four B1G games last season, with the loss at Maryland. Maryland won two of the first four B1G games. Both programs are clearly on different paths so far, with Iowa 3-0 and Maryland 0-3 to kickoff the 2015 Big Ten season. Iowa is coming off a bye week. Last year, Maryland enjoyed a bye week, ahead of the game with the Hawkeyes.

On Iowa’s transformation from last season:

Iowa's defense has really stepped up in 2015, coming off a rough 7-6 record

last season, including the disappointing inaugural loss at Maryland.

“A lot of their schemes and formations are the same but they have different personnel so it is a little different from last year,” Maryland junior wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo said about Iowa.

Maryland junior WR #84 Amba Etta-Tawo against Iowa in last year's game.

Iowa's senior FS #27 Jordan Lomax and junior CB #13 Greg Mabin tackling.

On Iowa’s defense:

Iowa senior FS #27 Jordan Lomax is one of six Maryland preps on the

Hawkeyes roster in 2015. Sophomore SS Miles Taylor is also from MD.

“They have a great defense. They are not going to give up many points. I think they average 15 points per game. We just have to find every opportunity we can. We cannot make many mistakes like we did on Saturday. If we have good field position we have to push the ball into the end zone. We have to limit our turnovers. We feel with our offense we are capable of putting up points,” Maryland junior left tackle Michael Dunn said about the Iowa defense.

TALE OF THE TAPE
MD CATEGORY IOWA

25.1 Scoring Offense 32.9

34.1 Scoring Defense 15.3

186.7 Rushing Offense 214.4

172.4 Passing Offense 206.7

359.1 Total Offense 421.1

175.6 Rushing Defense 74.1

268.6 Passing Defense 220.1

444.1 Total Defense 294.3

Iowa junior CB and RS Desmond King is a key performer on Saturday.

The Washington Post previews the Iowa-Maryland game - link

The Questions facing Maryland ...

Maryland senior RB #45 Brandon Ross against the Buckeyes in Columbus.

Ohio State won 49-28. The Terrapins have a 1-2 punch at RB again.

• Can Perry Hills cut down on the turnovers?
• Can Maryland establish the run?
• Will Maryland’s defense bounce back? 

The Terrapins are set to face their third ranked opponent in their last four games as they take on the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes Saturday. Including Iowa, the collective record of the four Big Ten teams Maryland has faced is 26-4.

The health of Iowa QB #16 C.J. Beathard will be one of the questions coming

off the bye week. Beathard has helped Iowa with his feet, as well as in the

passing game, especially ahead of Big Ten play. He is playing with a hip and groin

injury and was held out of practice much of the week ahead of the NW game.

7 GOING ON 8
Iowa is trying to improve to 8-0 for just the second time in school history. The Hawkeyes were 7-0 in 1985, 1922, and 1921, and opened the season 9-0 in 2009, its best start in school history.

POWER OF 3
Three different Hawkeyes have rushed for over 100 yards in a game this season: Jordan Canzeri (4x), and LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley once each. The last time the Hawkeyes had three different players rush for over 100 yards in a game in the same season was 2005: Albert Young (8x), and Shonn Greene and Damian Sims once each. The Hawkeyes also have three receivers with 100-yard receiving games: Matt VandeBerg (1), Tevaun Smith (1), and Jerminic Smith (1). It is the first time since 1995 three different Hawkeyes recorded 100-yard receiving games: Tim Dwight (2x), Demo Odems (1), Scott Slutzker (1).

Iowa senior WR #17 Jacob Hillyer scored a TD against Maryland last year.

Our pick: Iowa Hawkeyes 31, Maryland 14 - Week 1 after the bye week.
Can the Hawkeyes resume Big Ten play, with a outcome like the season opener?