Iowa Football: Staying Alive In Big Ten West At Stake For Hawkeyes And Wildcats

With the way the first half of the Big Ten schedule has played out. It appears that the Wisconsin Badgers are the team that most likely will be representing the west in Indianapolis. But, plenty of football is left, and the Wildcats and Hawkeyes are still in the hunt.

Pat Fitzgerald despite his many successes as head coach of his alma mater, has yet to take his team to the title game, as no team has been from the West except Iowa and Wisconsin.

The Wildcats are coming off a good win against Maryland to avoid a three game losing streak, and get their first Big Ten win. Northwestern was beaten by two top ten teams in Penn State and Wisconsin previously.

The Wildcats are led by quarterback Clayton Thorson and running back Justin Jackson who became NU’s all time leading rusher passing Damien Anderson’s mark.

Thorson led the Wildcats to a win in Kinnick Stadium last year, throwing three touchdowns. The Hawkeyes were among the teams that the quarterback considered as Kirk Ferentz explained to Hawkeye Sports:

"Yeah, it wasn’t like we discovered anything there. He was a really good football player in high school, and it was very obvious, very apparent. So he really stood out in our minds as a top prospect, tremendous young man, tremendous family. So check all the boxes there, just an outstanding young man, and unfortunately we came up short.What he’s doing right now is not a surprise to us. We really thought he was a top-rate quarterback prospect. I think we’ve all seen him develop with each step of the way. He’s certainly a much better player today than 2015, and that’s what you’d expect."

Kirk Ferentz has had varying degrees of success in his time against Northwestern in his tenure. Overall, he is 7-9 against the late Randy Walker, and now Pat Fitzgerald. The longest winning streak in the series for Ferentz was three from 2013-2015, and 2000-2002. The longest losing streak came from 2008-2010. That spell included the heartbreaking losses of a perfect season, and a last second heave from Wildcat QB Dan Persa.

But, this years incarnation of the game could go either way. Both teams won their last games to get one victory in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes are relatively healthy coming into the game, even though running back James Butler will still be out with an injured elbow.

Predictions

Season Review:

Patrick Mooney (Dear Old Gold) 46-11

Devin Keller (Dear Old Gold) 46-11

Joe Favia (Dear Old Gold) 44-13

Brendan Stiles ( Hawkeye Expert) 43-14

Derrick Mitchell (Former Iowa Running Back/RB Incarnate Word) 42-15

Bryan Dietzler (Dear Old Gold) 4-2

Iowa Hawkeyes At Northwestern Wildcats

Everyone- Iowa

Purdue Boilermakers At Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Everyone- Purdue

 Maryland Terrapins At Wisconsin Badgers

Everyone- Wisconsin

Indiana Hoosiers At Michigan State Spartans

Devin, Patrick, Bryan, Derrick, Brendan- Michigan State

Joe- Indiana

Illinois Fighting Illini At Minnesota Golden Gophers

Everyone- Minnesota

Michigan Wolverines At Penn State Nittany Lions

Everyone- Penn State