Iowa has enjoyed some nice victories in Ann Arbor over Michigan. The 1981 game in coach J. Hayden Fry's third season was a huge 9-7 win for the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes won in 1990 by the score of 24-23, with a late TD, then a interception to seal the game for Iowa.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz in his fourth season at the helm picked up a huge win in Ann Arbor. The 2002 Hawkeyes beat Michigan 34-9 in Ann Arbor.
Now, we have #13 Iowa (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) @ Michigan (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) for the Wolverines Homecoming game. Will Iowa pull off another Homecoming game win against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor? They did in 2002, as Hawkeyes took it to the Wolverines in the second half on way to Iowa's lone 8-0 season in Big Ten play and a share of the Big Ten title.
How strong will Iowa's veteran team play in Ann Arbor on Saturday? None of the Iowa players have played at Ann Arbor, since Iowa's last game in the Big House was in 2006. Iowa is coming off a bye week, so will the Hawkeyes get off to a strong start or will they start slow?
Iowa senior QB Ricky Stanzi is 21-5 as a starting QB, while Michigan sophomore QB Denard Robinson is 5-1 as a starter. Stanzi is #3 in the country in QB rating, while Robinson is the top dual threat QB in the country right now.
Iowa sophomore RB Adam Robinson is the #1 guy for the Hawkeyes now. He didn't have a good outing in his first road game of the season at Arizona. Iowa needs their Robinson to play well. Michigan's sophomore RB Vincent Smith and junior RB Michael Shaw haven't made the yards on the ground that Denard Robinson has, but could they figure more into the offense vs. Iowa?
Iowa has a talented group of receivers and tight ends. Senior WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos could become the leading receiver lifetime in either yards or receptions for the Hawkeyes today in Ann Arbor. TE Tony Moeaki is playing on Sunday's now, but look for the Iowa TEs to play a huge role in Ann Arbor. Success at TE may be the difference as Iowa looks to click on offense in the Big House. Senior Allen Reisner and junior Brad Herman are players to watch on Saturday.
The Hawkeye defense is missing two outstanding LBs from last season. Thus far, the Hawkeyes have not yielded a scoring TD on the ground on defense this season. Will Denard Robinson and the Michigan Wolverines make Iowa pay on the ground on Homecoming? Iowa has one of the outstanding defensive lines in the country in 2010.
The linebackers are the key in Saturday's game at Ann Arbor. Will senior MLB Jeff Tarparian play, after injury knocks him out of back to back games? Will Iowa see true freshman James Morris leading the team in Ann Arbor? Tall order, if the youngster must step in and play for 60 minutes.
Iowa over Michigan has a nice ring to it. Illinois pulled off a big win at Penn State last week and we are taking Iowa @ Michigan by the same score. Defense trumps Michigan's offense. Look for Iowa to take control in the second half and beat Michigan in Ann Arbor to spoil the Wolverines Homecoming.
Prediction:
#13 Iowa 33
Michigan 13
in the Big House<>
peace
peace
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