Fresh off a historic beatdown of then-No. 9 Illinois, No. 11 Indiana football (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) looks to add another statement win to its flawless resume when it faces Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon. Curt Cignetti is searching for his second straight 5-0 start at Indiana, but he and Indiana’s players alike know their first road game will be anything but easy.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is in his 27th season at the helm in Iowa City, standing alone as the winningest Big Ten head coach of all time.
“I have a lot of respect for coach Ferentz,” Cignetti said Monday. “Iowa is a tough place to play. It’s loud, so we’re going to have to play well. This will be a more difficult challenge than (Illinois), for sure.”
The Hoosiers have not won in Kinnick Stadium since 2007, and their last meeting with the Hawkeyes was forgettable to say the least. Both teams were ranked in the top 20 when they faced off to open the 2021 season. Iowa led 14-0 less than five minutes after kickoff and left no doubt, winning 34-6 as Indiana entered a death spiral that resulted in a 2-10 season.
Four years later, Indiana is better equipped to handle a raucous stadium filled to the brim with Hawkeye fans. It is among the top three in the FBS in yards per game (588.5), rushing yards per game (308.8) and yards allowed per game (205.8). The Hoosiers are also wreaking havoc in the trenches, tied for fifth in the nation with 15 sacks.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s 76.8% completion percentage is second only to Ohio State’s Julian Saiyn, while Mendoza leads all FBS quarterbacks with 14 passing touchdowns. He has emerged as an early-season Heisman Trophy frontrunner despite not playing a full game since week one.
Iowa’s offense is led by South Dakota State transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski, the winningest quarterback in NCAA history across all levels. While his passing numbers through four games at Iowa — 60.5% completion percentage, 6.1 yards per attempt, three touchdowns and one interception — are not as eye-popping as they were with the Jackrabbits, Gronowski has shown good rushing instincts as well. He has scored six of Iowa’s 10 rushing touchdowns and is one of six Hawkeyes with at least 80 rushing yards.
“They’ll run him and they’ve got good play-action,” Cignetti said of Gronowski and Iowa. “In the pocket he can make the throws. This quarterback has been a guy that finds a way to get it done.”
The Hawkeyes will be without their leading rusher for Saturday’s game, as running back Jaziun Patterson has been ruled out with an ankle injury. There are still plenty of other weapons to account for, and few are more dangerous than return specialist and Iowa City native Kaden Wetjen. He returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in Iowa’s 38-28 win over Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 19, and averages over 35 yards per kickoff return while leading the nation at 33.6 yards per punt return.
“They’ve always played great defense and they’ve got great special teams,” Cignetti said. “They’re not going to beat themselves and they play really well at home.”
Cignetti said he was proud of Indiana’s first-play-to-last-play approach in its 63-10 win over Illinois on Sept. 20, where the Hoosiers played with a high degree of intensity and urgency regardless of the score. It will be paramount for them to do the same in one of the Big Ten’s toughest road settings.
“It’s a historic stadium,” Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher said Tuesday. “But at the end of the day, it’s a business trip. We’re going there to win a football game.”
Indiana looks to close September with its first road win of the season. The Hoosiers’ game at Iowa is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff and it will be broadcast on Peacock, the IU Sports Radio Network and WIUX Sports.
COLUMN: Welcome back to the spotlight, Indiana
