Category: Iowa Hawkeyes

College Football News shares Iowa Hawkeyes vs. UCLA Bruins prediction

Week 11 of the college football season gets underway on Friday night as the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) prepare to square off against a Big Ten newcomer, the UCLA Bruins (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten), in beautiful, sunny Pasadena, California, at the Rose …

Week 11 of the college football season gets underway on Friday night as the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) prepare to square off against a Big Ten newcomer, the UCLA Bruins (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten), in beautiful, sunny Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Iowa has found its groove the last two weeks with 40-point explosions on offense and defensive dominance. UCLA enters this game with newfound confidence after knocking off the Nebraska Cornhuskers last week.

With this game kicking off on Friday night to get the football weekend going early, College Football News’ Pete Fiutak dug into this Big Ten matchup and provided his thoughts on what is in store. Take a look at how he thinks this game may go along with a prediction.

CFN’s must-see rating: 3 (out of 5)

This has the intrigue and the draw for Iowa fans to tune into. The Hawkeyes have a changeup with a Friday night kickoff which has the schedules cleared for many. This game is also in one of the most beautiful settings in the world with the sun setting in the Rose Bowl.

As far as aesthetics, it won’t get much better than this, either. Iowa’s classic black and yellow against UCLA’s timeless light blue and gold will look sharp under the lights.

Now, for real football stuff, this game presents Iowa the opportunity to extend their winning streak to three and gives UCLA the chance to make a statement in their new conference.

Iowa wants to run the ball. It is no secret. UCLA happens to be stout against the run allowing only 100.4 yards per game. This matchup is going to be strength on strength and pit the Bruins’ run defense against Iowa’s run offense.

This is going to be a surprisingly physical battle and whoever controls this, controls the game.

UCLA is terrific against the run.

Iowa has enough of a passing game to come through once in a while, but it only threw ten passes in the win over Wisconsin and isn’t close to consistent. It’s all about the Hawkeye ground attack.

Iowa is 5-0 when running for 220 yards or more and 6-1 when coming up with 200 rushing yards or more.

No one has run for more than 153 yards on the UCLA defense.

The Bruin passing game has been great, the turnovers slowed, and …– Fiutak, CFN

The Hawkeyes have a real offense that can move the ball and score points in bunches. It is no aberration. It is real and it is beautiful.

Brendan Sullivan opens things up and helps Iowa stay a little more balanced with his mobility. If he can convert on crucial third downs to stay on the field, Iowa gets an advantage.

The Iowa offense really does work.

It hit the 40-point mark in three of the last four games and scored 38 or more in five games. When the offense gets to 31 points the team is 6-0, and it’s 0-3 when it doesn’t.

It starts with keeping the chains moving. UCLA is the worst team in the country at coming up with third down stops, and Iowa is strong on third downs converting 45% of its chase and keeping offenses to 32%.

The Hawkeye run defense is still great, UCLA is dead last in the nation in rushing, and …– Fiutak, CFN

Iowa has been a different team on the road. Their last two showings were dominant wins at home but those came after a very lackluster showing against Michigan State on the road.

Iowa is 1-2 on the road this year. This presents Kirk Ferentz and his squad the chance to show they can take their band on the road and have success, despite what has happened earlier this season.

Prediction: Iowa 27, UCLA 17

What Fiutak said:

Iowa’s running game won’t rumble like it needs to, but it’ll do enough to move the chains to control the game and clock to pull this off. It’s been a feast-or-famine thing for the Hawkeyes, but the blowout wins lately have come in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes lost at Michigan State, lost big at Ohio State – no shame there – and rumbled all over Minnesota, but it’ll struggle a bit to put this away in Pasadena with the passing attack struggling. – Fiutak, CFN

This game comes down to two areas. First, if Iowa can stop UCLA’s run game, which they should be able to as the Bruins are dead last in America at running the ball, the secondary is going to have to hold up. Iowa needs a big game from Jermari Harris, Quinn Schulte, Xavier Nwankpa, and Deshaun Lee.

A big game from that group could lead to turnovers which leads into the second area. Iowa needs to win the field position game and make UCLA play their style of football. If they can do that, the Hawkeyes have the horses to outlast UCLA and take down the Bruins in the Rose Bowl.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7

What Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said about Ohio State postgame

Ferentz, as always, heaps praise on the opponent when it makes sense. #GoBucks

Ohio State ran its record to 5-0 on the season after a convincing and dominating win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. The start may have been a little slower than OSU fans wanted, but the Buckeyes came out in the second half and exerted their dominance on the way to a 35-7 victory.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz knew it would be an uphill climb to waltz into Ohio Stadium and find a way to go toe-to-tow with Ohio State, and in the end it was too much to ask.

Ferentz met with the media after the game to provide his assessment of his team’s play but also to give credit to the Buckeyes on how talented of a team they are. In case you missed any of his comments, we have them here thanks to our YouTube channel.

In it, Ferentz talks about freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the veteran and talented defensive line for OSU, the talent on the Ohio State sideline in general, and more.

It’s now time for Ohio State to prepare for what many thought would be the game of the year. The Buckeyes will practice this week in preparation for the road trip to Oregon, one that will be a top five matchup.

We’ll have coverage leading up to, during, and after the game as usual, so come back and check in with us often.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Cooper DeJean ready to play wherever for the Philadelphia Eagles

Cooper DeJean is good playing anywhere in Philadelphia’s defensive backfield.

One of the biggest debates about Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean has been about his position. Could he stay at the outside cornerback position where he became a unanimous consensus All-American, or would his skillset be better suited for a move to safety?

For the Philadelphia Eagles and Cooper DeJean, they couldn’t care less, just get him on the field.

On draft night, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman declined to give a specific position for his second-round draft pick.

“I think whatever he does he’s going to do at a high level,” Roseman said late Friday night. “Obviously, we’ll get him in here, and like everything else on this team, see how the pieces fit when Coach (Nick Sirianni) and his staff get their hands on these guys.”

Position changes aren’t anything new for DeJean. He came to Iowa as a safety after playing the position all throughout high school. Iowa would give him his first action on the field as a sophomore in their CASH position, the Hawkeyes’ special hybrid position that takes elements of the slot corner, safety, and linebacker positions.

DeJean excelled in the role early. Early that season, injuries to Iowa’s secondary forced DeJean to move to the outside, opposite of current Denver Bronco Riley Moss. Once again, DeJean excelled right away. The next year as a full-time starting outside cornerback, DeJean was named an unanimous consensus All-American.

Of course, this all comes after DeJean’s true passion in high school was being a quarterback. The Odebolt, Iowa, native was debating on going to schools smaller than Iowa to play quarterback until defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Phil Parker convinced him to become a Hawkeye.

For DeJean, those transitions are just normal. He isn’t locked down to one position. He’s simply a football player.

“I’m a football player,” DeJean said Friday during a Zoom interview. “You put me on the field and I’m going to go play football, whether it’s inside, outside, at safety, wherever it is.”

While he’s excited to simply get out on the field and play for the fans at Lincoln Financial Field, don’t think that DeJean wouldn’t love a shot to show everyone that he can be a lockdown corner.

But, ultimately, he’s ready to help wherever needed.

“If they put me out there, I’ll be excited to play out there on the edge at the corner position. If I don’t, there’s no hard feelings,” DeJean said.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

Follow Jacob on X:@Jacobkeppen

Iowa offensive is a massive wildcard in early Big Ten football power rankings reveal

The Iowa Hawkeyes are an extreme dark horse in a revamped Big Ten conference in 2024. Their offensive improvement is the key to competing.

It’s never too early for a “way too early” Big Ten power ranking! Things will change. Players will hurt the portal, players will transfer in, and injuries will happen but for the most part, we have a pretty good understanding of rosters after National Signing Day and so much transfer portal movement. 

In each part of this series, we will unveil where each of the 18 teams in the new look conference begins. We started at No. 1 with the revamped Ohio State Buckeyes. Then, the Oregon Ducks come in at the second spot. Coming in at No. 3 were the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines, who are in a bit of a transition period. 

At No. 4, we unveiled the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are returning a lot of talent from their 2023 roster. That makes way for the old reliable, the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

There is nothing flashy about the Hawkeyes, and there won’t be as long as Kirk Ferentz is their head coach. He has created a tough and physical program that is relentless. The overall talent may not stack up to some of the other programs in the Big Ten but Iowa is consistently in the top group from a record perspective because of their mentality and player development. 

On both sides of the football, Iowa brings back a good amount of experience. That includes on defense with players like linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson. As long as Phil Parker is the defensive coordinator, you can expect the team to have a stellar defensive unit. 

On offense, the Hawkeyes are in a bit of a much-needed transitional period. They welcomed former Western Michigan head coach and Green Bay Packer assistant Tim Lester as their new offensive coordinator. The team also welcomed Freshman All-American left tackle Kadyn Proctor after he transferred from Alabama this offseason. 

The quarterback position, which should be a battle between Cade McNamara, Deacon Hill, and Marco Lainez should determine whether this is your typical Iowa team that is good but not quite good enough offensively, or one that could potentially push for the conference. Offensive growth will be the key. 

Full Big Ten Rankings

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes
  2. Oregon Ducks
  3. Michigan Wolverines
  4. Penn State Nittany Lions
  5. Iowa Hawkeyes 
  6. TBD
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Iowa’s Caitlin Clark makes history, what’s next?

Caitlin Clark is now chasing the Hall of Famer, “Pistol” Pete Maravich.

Unless you were sleeping under a rock yesterday, you saw or heard about the history-making performance by Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark.

Clark was only eight points away from history and of course, it was a three-ball from way downtown that set the record. It happened in under three minutes into the game. She wasn’t done as the Iowa native poured in another 41 points in the contest. Clark recorded a double-double as she dished out 13 assists as well. Iowa took care of business in the 106-89 victory over Michigan.

Caitlin Clark officially stands alone as the all-time scoring leader in NCAA women’s basketball history. That number will only continue to grow as the Hawkeyes have four more games in the regular season.

As for what is next, Clark has her eyes on the men’s all-time record set by the Hall of Famer, “Pistol” Pete Maravich. His mark of 44.2 points per game is clearly out of reach, but she can pass his mark for career points. The mark sits at 3,667.

Currently, Clark has 3,569 points which is just 98 behind Maravich. Given that she averages 32.8 points per game, she should certainly be able to break that mark before the regular season comes to a close on Mar. 3.

Even though the women’s crown now belongs to Caitlin Clark, we will all have our eyes on one of the records we thought would never be broken.

Caitlin Clark is 103 points from the all-time record

Only one name left to pass for Caitlin Clark in the chase for 3,527

Very few players have achieved rockstar status like Caitlin Clark has in a short time. Especially in a sport that hasn’t been on the same level as their male counterparts, until now.

Millions of people tuned in last season for an epic showdown between Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers. Almost 10 million viewers tuned in for the game and it peaked at 12.6 million viewers making the national championship the most-watched women’s game on record.

This season, whether at home or on the road, fans are selling out arenas to get a chance to watch history in the making. Caitlin Clark now sits at No. 2 all-time behind former Washington basketball star Kelsey Plum. Clark is just 103 points away from tying the all-time mark. Given that the Iowa star is averaging 32.1 points per game, the math says roughly over three games.

Over the last five outings, Clark has been on fire averaging 36 points per game. Against the Wildcats, she was able to score 35 points to go with 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Clark passed Jackie Stiles (3,393) and Kelsey Mitchell (3,402) to put herself firmly in the No. 2 spot.

Iowa’s upcoming schedule:

At the very latest, Clark should set the all-time mark against the Wolverines at home the day after Valentine’s.

Ohio State vs. Iowa was most watched regular-season women’s basketball game since 2010

Impressive numbers for the Lady Bucks win over Iowa last weekend. #GoBucks

It was one whale of a game, and now we know that many were tuned in to see it all unfold.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team hosted No. 2 Iowa this past weekend and won in exhilarating fashion in overtime to move to just 1/2 game behind first place in the Big Ten and start to make a push for national recognition.

And it wasn’t just Buckeyes and Hawkeyes that seemed to tune into the thrilling matchup. According to NBC Sports PR, OSU vs. Iowa was the most-watched regular season women’s college basketball game since 2010. If you’re doing the quick math, that’s 14 years of games (on any network), which is mighty, mighty impressive. The game drew a whopping 1.93 million viewers on average.

Things peaked at 3.9 million viewers when the game went to overtime and saw the Buckeyes take control thanks to a 17-9 scoring margin to put the game away.

The Lady Bucks will now try to corral this momentum and take it on the road against Illinois on Thursday.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Caitlin Clark run over by fan storming the court after Ohio State upsets Iowa

Caitlin Clark was run over by an Ohio State fan storming the court following the Hawkeyes’ overtime loss.

Caitlin Clark and No. 2 Iowa faced No. 18 Ohio State this afternoon in a game that did not disappoint. Ohio State upset the Hawkeyes in an overtime thriller by the final score of 100-92. However, the main story of this game became an event that happened after the final buzzer.

Buckeyes fans in attendance stormed the court following the upset. In the mass hysteria on the hardwood, Caitlin Clark was run over by an Ohio State fan, causing her to fall and remain on the floor for an extended amount of time.

The 2023 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year was immediately surrounded by her coaching staff and teammates while the Buckeyes and their supporters celebrated the victory at half-court.

Luckily for the Hawkeyes, Clark was able to get back to her feet and exit the court. She then talked to the media about the situation and how she was doing. Clark stated that it was a “scary situation that could have caused a serious injury.”

Fortunately, Clark said that it just knocked the wind out of her and that the Ohio State athletic department had already come to apologize and check on her. Clark, who put up 45 in the loss to the Buckeyes, will have until Saturday, Jan. 27 to rest, when the Hawkeyes try to bounce back from this loss against Nebraska at home.

Best photos of Ohio State women’s basketball’s win over Iowa

The Ohio State women’s basketball team took down No. 2 Iowa in Columbus on Sunday. Here are some of the best photos from the game.

Well, that was fun.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team welcomed in No. 2 Iowa and star Caitlin Clark on Sunday and Value City Arena was hopping with the anticipation of a potential upset.

An upset it was, as the Buckeyes used a late surge in overtime to get by the visiting Hawkeyes by a score of 100-92. With the win, Ohio State moves to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in the conference, just 1/2 game behind both Iowa and Indiana.

It was a sold-out crowd and the environment made for some pretty amazing pictures and we pulled out some of the best ones to share with you. From start to finish, it was probably one of the best environments the Schottenstein Center has seen in quite some time.

Even better was the result. Check out the scrolling gallery.

 

How to buy Iowa vs. No. 2 Purdue college basketball tickets

Want to watch the Hawkeyes host the No. 2 team in the country? Tickets still remain for Iowa vs. No. 2 Purdue for as little as $11.

Don’t look now, but the Iowa men’s basketball team has won three Big Ten games in a row.

Even with all the fanfare surrounding Monday’s win at Minnesota, a fourth-consecutive win might be more important given the caliber of opponent.

Iowa hosts No. 2 Purdue on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

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If you want to be a part of the action in person, tickets still remain to watch Iowa host the top team in the conference.

At the time of publication, the cheapest ticket available for the game is just $11.

If you’re looking for a more luxurious experience, the most expensive ticket to Saturday’s game will cost you $286.

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