Hawkeyes look to hit their mark on offense
The magic number for Iowa is 20.
The Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) have not lost since the start of the 2017 season when they’ve scored 20 or more points.
They’ll try to keep that streak intact Saturday (noon ET, ESPN2) when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face Indiana (4-2, 1-2) for the first time since 2015.
Iowa is on the road for the second straight week. The Hawkeyes revved up their offense last Saturday at Minnesota and handled the Gophers 48-31.
They were able to bounce back from a disappointing 28-17 loss on Sept. 22 at home to Wisconsin. That’s their only loss this season, and it came when they were held below 20 points.
Iowa’s offense, more specifically its passing game, has made strides in the past few weeks. Coach Kirk Ferentz was encouraged by the play last week of the Hawkeyes’ wide receivers, a much-maligned group that has struggled with inconsistency.
Nick Easley, Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette combined for 14 catches and two touchdowns against Minnesota.
“I would say as a whole we all played well,” Easley said. “That was the first time we had good games together, so that was good. We’re just taking that as a group and moving forward. We feel like we can take another step and be even better. That’s really our focus now.”
Smith had a career-high five receptions for 68 yards and Smith-Marsette caught three passes for 78 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown.
“Those two guys played a lot of football for us last year as true freshmen. We have seen continual improvement from both,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said on the team’s website. “I don’t think there was any doubt it was Brandon’s best game of his young career. He did a lot of good things and played aggressively. … Ihmir has done a lot of good things and he had another good game.”
Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley also has the luxury of throwing to two quality tight ends in the passing game. Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson combined for seven catches last week and each had a touchdown.
There has been some criticism of Iowa’s offense under-utilizing Fant, a preseason All-American.
“I really don’t have much to say about it,” Ferentz said. “We’re trying to do things that we think are best for the team, whether it’s how we sub on defense or on offense. The bottom line is we have two really good tight ends, and they both play really critical roles on our team.”
This week’s opponent comes home after a competitive 49-26 loss at No. 3 Ohio State.
“Indiana throws the ball around, much like the team we just played, and have some young players and they have played good football,” Ferentz said. “We know we’re walking into a situation and will have to be at our best.”
Iowa safety Jake Gervase sounded a lot like his coach when asked to assess Indiana. The Hawkeyes have been better stopping the run than the pass, giving up just 84.4 yards per game on the ground.
“I think this is going to be a good test for us,” Gervase said. “We’re going to have to do a good job of reading our keys. “Indiana is similar to Minnesota in the personnel they put on the field, not as many tight ends, not as many backs. We could see a similar game plan. Whoever’s on the field has got to be ready to go and make some plays.”