Iowa Football is flying high after an emotional win against UMass last Saturday.
Excluding a few drops and a blocked punt, Iowa dominated in all three phases and put the game out of reach by the end of the first quarter.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski threw a touchdown pass two minutes into the game, followed by another touchdown pass seven minutes later. Both touchdown passes went to veteran wideout Seth Anderson.
Speedster Kaden Wetjen put the finishing touches on an explosive first quarter with a 20-yard rushing touchdown on an end-around, and added another score on a 95-yard punt return in the third quarter.
Iowa's offense was clicking, the defense was suffocating, and UMass could not keep up with a motivated Hawkeyes squad.
On Friday night, the Hawkeyes battle the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the road at SIH Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, for their first Big Ten Conference matchup. Here are three keys to victory for Iowa on Friday.
Pressure the quarterback early and often
The Iowa defense has been stifiling, but that has not translated into many sacks or turnovers.
Iowa ranks top 15 in the nation in total defense (No. 3), rushing defense (No. 6), passing yards allowed (No. 13), and scoring defense (T-No. 14), but they have not generated many turnovers.
Rutgers is without multiple starting offensive linemen, so the Hawkeyes should have a field day against a depleted front for the Scarlet Knights.
If the Hawkeyes' front four can put pressure on the quarterback, and if Phil Parker can dial up some blitzes, the Hawkeyes have the potential to have a two or more turnover performance on Friday night.
Air the ball out and hit some deep shots
Gronowski and the Iowa passing attack finally woke up against UMass last Saturday, but now the Hawkeyes need to replicate that performance against Rutgers.
Rutgers runs a similar defensive scheme to UMass, which includes a lot of man coverage and cover four packages, so the Hawkeyes again have the potential to hit on some deep shots in the passing game.
Gronowski's confidence has steadily grown over the first three weeks of the season, and now it is time to let him cook in the passing game.
Iowa must win the special teams battle
Uncharacteristically, the Iowa special teams unit has struggled through the first three weeks of the season.
It was evident during the game against Iowa State when Kaden Wetjen had a penalty on the first kickoff of the game, and punter Rhys Dakin shanked multiple punts.
Last weekend against UMass, Dakin had a punt blocked, and kicker Drew Stevens missed an extra point and a makeable field goal attempt.
Rutgers' placekicker Jai Patel is 5/5 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 44 yards, and punter Jakob Anderson averages 43.0 yards per punt this season, albeit on only two punts.
If Iowa wants to leave the East Coast with its first Big Ten Conference win, it will need to clean up the sloppiness in the kicking game.
Iowa enters Friday night's game with a chance to earn its fifth consecutive win in the series and secure its first Big Ten win of the year, but it will not be easy.