IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -Some believe that winning all your games isn’t enough. You also have to look good doing it.
Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz? He doesn’t worry about lipstick on a pig – as long as that pig is undefeated.
The 12th-ranked Hawkeyes won ugly last week, beating an Arkansas State team it was favored to thump by three touchdowns by just three points. But Iowa is 5-0 under Ferentz for the first time.
“We’re 5-0, so I’m not too disappointed about what’s happened so far, and in fact I’m happy. Happy as you can be,” Ferentz said. “Probably the only people upset are people dumb enough to bet on games. If they lost some money that’s their problem.”
Don’t expect many style points to come out of Saturday night’s Big Ten matchup between the Hawkeyes (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and Michigan (4-1, 1-1): Bad weather is in the forecast for the second week in a row.
, but all four of its wins came at home. Michigan hit the road for the first time last week and, despite a furious rally led by freshman quarterback Tate Forcier, fell to scuffling Michigan State, 26-20.
Michigan has a chance to show that it’s 4-0 start wasn’t a fluke. It’s also arguably the toughest of its four road games since the Wolverines get both Penn State and rival Ohio State in the Big House.
“We’re trying to have this be a special season for us as a team,” Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin said. “We’ve grown so much as a team and everyone can tell and (the loss) really hurt us because we’ve put in so much work.”
Iowa, which ranks 10th in the nation in scoring defense and let up just 10 points at Penn State, will focus much of its attention on Forcier.
The fleet freshman has been a major factor in the Wolverines’ resurgence after a dismal 3-9 record in 2008 – and he has Ferentz’s attention.
Northern Iowa’s Pat Grace and Arkansas State’s Corey Leonard are the only signal-callers this season to toss for over 200 yards against Iowa, and both those players had Forcier’s ability to keep broken plays alive.
“When he scrambles and breaks out of the pocket, his eyes are always downfield,” Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum said of Forcier. “All we do is work toward where he’s scrambling to because we know he’s always going to put it in the right place for us to make a play.”
Iowa has plowed through its first five games often in spite of an offense that ranks just 10th in the Big Ten in points per game.
The running game has come around behind freshmen backs Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher, who have given the Hawkeyes a decent 1-2 punch.
But the inconsistency that’s earned quarterback Ricky Stanzi the nicknames “Good Ricky” and “Bad Ricky” continued against Arkansas State.
Stanzi threw three touchdown passes, all beautiful tosses of more than 30 yards, to help Iowa jump ahead 21-7 early in the second half. Then he threw a pair of interceptions, including one the Red Wolves took back 75 yards for a touchdown.
Stanzi is hoping that he and the offense can finally put it all together.
“They’re a ball club with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball,” Stanzi said of Michigan. “We’re going to have to be disciplined and really mentally focused.”
The last time Iowa started a season 6-0 was in 1985, when the top-ranked Hawkeyes beat No. 2 Michigan in Kinnick Stadium 12-10 in what’s widely regarded as one of the great games in Iowa history.
Former Hawkeyes great Chuck Long – Iowa’s quarterback that day – will be on the field for the opening coin flip. The Hawkeyes have also declared Saturday night’s game a “Blackout,” and they’re hoping for an electric atmosphere on a chilly fall evening.
“We know we’ll have to crank it up and play a whole lot better, or it could be a tough night,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said.
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