In recent years the coaching carousel has been more of a staple in Wisconsin than cheese curds. With head coach Paul Chryst now leading the charge, the Badgers are on their third head coach in as many years. Contrast that with Iowa, a program that has had two coaches since 1979, and Wisconsin, not Iowa, seems like the program in a rut.
Yet, much to the chagrin of the Iowa faithful, the Hawkeyes (4-0), led by head coach Kirk Ferentz for the 17th straight season, are stuck in the doldrums of mediocrity. While Iowa has made a bowl game in six of the past seven seasons, Ferentz and his teams have seldom had any national relevance.
But after an undefeated non-conference record, the Hawkeyes are hoping to rise out of the cellar and contend in the Big Ten West.
The 2015 rendition of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks very different than the 2014 version, especially on the offensive side of the football. Back in spring practice, junior C.J. Beathard snatched the starting quarterback job away from Jake Rudock, who promptly transferred to the University of Michigan.
Questions emerged after spring camp, but Beathard has played consistently well and quelled most of his doubters. He has seven total touchdowns and only one interception on the season. Iowa has a two-headed running back tandem in senior Jordan Canzeri and junior LeShun Daniels. Coming out of spring camp, Canzeri was supposed to merely be the change-of-pace back, but with a nagging ankle injury to LeShun Daniels, has emerged as the lead ball carrier. After three games, the two had nearly identical stat lines. But after a 115-yard, four-touchdown performance against the University of North Texas, Canzeri will be the primary runner Saturday against the Badgers.
Much like Wisconsin, the strength of the Iowa program of late has been their offensive line play. Yet because of the departure of both Brandon Scherff and Andrew Donnal to the NFL, the Iowa line is also in a rare transitional state.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes have sported one of the best rushing defenses in the NCAA. After four games, Iowa is one of two schools in the FBS to not allow a rushing touchdown. Additionally, they have given up a mere 69 rushing yards in the fourth quarter all season. Schematically, the Hawkeyes continue to emphasize stopping the run on early downs and blitzing almost exclusively in passing situations.
But after four weeks of non-conference play, Iowa’s stout run defense is set to face its toughest test on the ground yet.
Last season against the Badgers, the Hawkeyes defense gave up 200 rushing yards alone to Melvin Gordon in a 26-24 loss, but it obviously won’t have to worry about him this time around. Joel Stave was a very different player last year as well. Stave played the role of game manager, finishing the game 11-of-14 for 139 yards and no touchdowns.
The Hawkeyes’ 2015 season highlight came when walk-on senior kicker Marshall Koehn drilled a 57-yard game-winning field goal against Pittsburgh. His initial attempt was well short of the goal post, but Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi attempted to ice Koehn, allowing him to get a second opportunity, which he capitalized on.
The Hawkeyes are coming to Madison looking for their first win in Camp Randall since 2009. Ferentz is hoping to pass Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez for sole possession of eighth place all-time in Big Ten Conference wins. If Ferentz does get win number 120 in his Big Ten career, he will do so with Alvarez in attendance and will snap the Hawkeyes’ four-season streak without beating a ranked team.
