After a bit of a stress-filled week leading up to the Nevada game, which required an endurance test of nearly seven hours to get the win, the Iowa Hawkeyes put on their strongest performance of the year. The Hawkeyes routed the Wolf Pack 27-0 in a much needed win that saw some good things from all units.
This performance was good enough to see the Hawkeyes earn a spot inside the top 50 of USA TODAY Sports’ 1-131 re-rank. Iowa finds themselves sitting at No. 48 in the country per the rankings from Paul Myerberg.
The performance saw freshman Kaleb Johnson find the end zone twice, quarterback Spencer Petras connect on some down field shots, the re-entrance of receivers Keagan Johnson and Nico Ragaini into the lineup, along with a shutout from the defense and a practically perfect game from special teams with all field goals made and multiple punts pinned deep.
Iowa heads to Rutgers on Saturday to take on the Scarlet Knights who, sitting at 3-0, have more momentum than they have in past seasons. Rutgers finds themselves just behind the Hawkeyes at No. 52 in the re-rank this week.
Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano is expecting Iowa to present the biggest challenge the Scarlet Knights will have seen to date.
“They play very hard. They are physical. They are technically sound. So it’s a great challenge for our guys, great challenge for our coaching staff. You put all that together and throw it in this Saturday night, wearing red to the game and packing the place, that’s what college football is all about,” Schiano said.
With this game opening Big Ten play for both Iowa and Rutgers, the winner of this has a chance to get inside of the top 40 in these rankings and potentially catapult their way into the top 25, a place each team is striving for.
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