Michigan @ Iowa Preview

A crucial Big Ten clash will take place Saturday night under the lights in Iowa City as the Iowa Hawkeyes 5-0 (1-0 in conference play) host the Michigan Wolverines 4-1 (1-1 in conference play) in Iowa’s Homecoming game. Iowa has taken care of business so far this season with road wins at Penn State and Iowa State while defeating Northern Iowa, Arizona and Arkansas State at Kinnick Stadium. Meanwhile, the Wolverines have defeated Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Indiana in Ann Arbor while losing at Michigan State.

 

Michigan comes in with freshmen quarterback Tate Forcier having exceeded expectations. He has completed 71 of 119 pass attempts for 894 yards, nine scores and three interceptions while also rushing for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 53 attempts. Tail back Carlos Brown was on a roll until the loss to MSU last week but still has 336 yards and three touchdowns on 44 rushing attempts while adding 119 receiving yards and a score on eight catches. Forcier has spread the ball out to his wide outs but wide receiver Darryl Stonum has been hot as of late and has 161 yards and a touchdown on ten catches in only four games.

 

The Hawkeyes are led by quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who has completed 89 of 152 passing attempts for 1075 yards, seven touchdowns and eight picks. The running game is powered by tail back Adam Robinson, who has 359 yards and four touchdowns on 78 rushing attempts while also catching six balls for 30 yards on the season. Much like Forcier, Stanzi spreads the ball around but wide out Marvin McNutt is the best of the bunch with 242 yards and two scores on only 12 catches.

 

Here are some key facts heading into Saturday evening’s match up.

-Michigan has won eight of the last ten meetings, including four of the last five in Iowa City

-The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 12 in the country while Michigan is unranked.

-Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has a 2-4 record vs. U-M as the Iowa head coach while this is first meeting between U-M and Iowa since U-M head coach Rich Rodriguez took over.

-The Wolverines lead the all time series 40-10-4.

-The Hawkeyes are an eight point favorite.

-Michigan ranks 49^th in the country on total yards per game while Iowa ranks 74^th.

-The Wolverines rank 23^rd in the country in points scored per game while the Hawkeyes rank 77^th.

 

The temperature at kick off will be in the mid 40’s with clear skies. I have been way off on my predictions the last few weeks so here goes another shot in the dark. As much of a homer I am for the Maze and Blue, I do not see them winning on Saturday (I hope I’m wrong) but I do think they will keep it close. Hawkeyes, 28, Wolverines, 21.