The Wildcats will be entering this Saturday’s game with a 1-3 record after having two straight losses against Illinois State and Western Michigan, despite them losing by three points combined in those two games. Northwestern allowed 556 yards of total offense last Saturday against Nebraska, and their record dropped 1-3 after losing 24-13.
The Hawkeyes will enter the game with a 3-1 record after losing to North Dakota State in Week 1; they struggled last Saturday against the Rutgers and needed a touchdown to get a win, and they scored late in the fourth quarter to an unremarkable win 14-7.
About Northwestern: (1-3)
The Redshirt Freshmen QB Clayton Thorson is having a tough season. Last Saturday he threw two interceptions against Nebraska and had been sacked 15 times in that game and has been dropped on four different occasions last week. However, far as his dual-threat abilities go, he is only averaging 1.2 yards per rush.
Last year Running back Justin Jackson was considered one of the top rushers in the Big Ten. However, since the season-opener he has not had a game where he hit the 100-yard mark but he could be battling a leg injury. Jackson has not gotten a chance to get into the end zone in their last three games.
After losing against the Cornhuskers at home, last Saturday head coach Pat Fritzgerald voiced his dissatisfaction in the post-game press conference.
“These guys better figure it out quick,” he said. “They better walk out of the locker room, they better hug whoever they love, they better go to bed, wake up and get ready to have their rear ends coached off this week. Because that’s what’s gonna happen.
“I’m not gonna sit here and I’m not gonna accept it. So they better buckle it up. They better start hydrating right now. The way we’re playing is not acceptable. It starts and ends with me, and I’m going to fix it.”
About Iowa: (3-1)
In the last three meetings with Northwestern the Hawkeyes have won, their last two games combined a score of 88-17. In last year’s win running back, Akrum Wadley who ran for 204 yards including four touchdowns. The defense had an outstanding game with forcing three turnovers and held Northwestern to 198 yards.
In the last three games, Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard has only thrown the ball fewer than 200 times this season and has only completed 51.1 percent of his passes in the last two games.
The Hawkeyes would need to fix their rush defense, and it would be a good way to start when they face the Wildcats on Saturday whose quarterback Clayton Thorson is prone to making mistakes.
Iowa lost their leading receiver Matt Vandeberg who is currently out with a foot injury and could be possibly out for the season. Hawkeyes left tackle Cole Croston spoke out about losing Vandeberg the wide receiver,“To have Matt go down, we’re looking at that as an opportunity for the offensive line to establish the run game,” Croston said.
