It's another Saturday at Kinnick Stadium as the Hawkeyes play host to the Mean Green of North Texas. Iowa coming off an extremely physical battle with Pittsburgh. This is a trap game sort of due to the fact that Iowa plays Wisconsin next weekend but as long as Iowa shows up to play they should win big. North Texas is a struggling team sitting at 0-2 with losses to Rice 31-24 and SMU 31-13. It will be interesting to see the focus Iowa comes out with. They dominated the only team they were clearly better then. So if Iowa is likely to win big what do we need to look for on Saturday?
Offensively the Hawkeyes have made great strides with potential to be a top offense in the Big Ten. Iowa has been a fairly balanced team throwing and running effectively. CJ Beathard has changed this team, the last time we had an NFL talented Quarterback was when Stanzi was in charge. We all know what Ricky did as Iowa's quarterback. The Iowa rushing attack has been pretty good with Jordan Canzeri and Leshun Daniels getting the majority of the carries. This is a big week for the Iowa running backs, they will be counted on a lot because North Texas is allowing 231 yards per game on the ground. Leshun played on a sprained ankle last week so we'll see if he continues to get back to 100 percent. With Wisconsin looming Iowa needs to be healthy when they go to Camp Randle. We could also see carries from Derrick Mitchell Jr, and Akrum Wadley. Mitchell has only played on Special teams and Wadley has limited carries this season. I expect we see both this weekend. Another name to watch this weekend is Jake Duzey, he's been injured all season and might have a chance to play vs North Texas. He suited up vs Pitt but didn't play. I think it would be good if he could play this weekend so he isn't making his debut vs Wisconsin. The Wide Receivers have taken steps forward it will be interesting to see they continue to stay involved vs North Texas. So what does North Texas bring to the table?
The Mean Green are scoring 18 points per game while allowing 34 points per game. North Texas is rushing for 143 yards per game and passing for 215 yards per game. The North Texas running back is Antoine Jimmerson who has 22 carries for 134 yards 1 TD. Andrew Mcnaulty is the Mean Green Quarterback 35-69 for 431 yards 2 TD 3 Interceptions. At Wide Receiver Carlos Harris is the leading receiver with 13 receptions 233 yards 2 TD and a 17 yard average per catch. Harris is the main target for North Texas. The Iowa run defense is only allowing 51 yards per game rushing so that likely won't be an issue. McNaulty will throw interceptions if he's put under pressure. Drew Ott played a little bit last week on 3rd down situations. It will be interesting to see if he plays last week it was pretty clear he wasn't 100 percent. Iowa could use him as close to 100 percent as possible for Wisconsin so if he has to sit out that wouldn't be a bad thing.
This game is about Iowa if they show up to play and focus they should beat North Texas by a lot. I believe the only way the Mean Green stand a chance is if Iowa turns the ball over multiple times. I feel Iowa will run the ball more on Saturday, CJ took a beating against Pittsburgh. It would be a good thing if Iowa could open this one up early and get the backups some valuable experience. North Texas does bring a familiar face back to Kinnick Stadium as Dan McCarney is the head coach for the Mean Green. Dan has had some success with Iowa State vs Iowa but those teams had a lot more talent then this North Texas Team. I'm excited to see how this offense continues to develop the potential is their for a strong offense. The defense has been good nearly every season but this year Iowa looks like they have an offense that can make this defense even stronger. The problem Iowa teams have had defensively over the years is they have had to play the entire game due to an offense not making plays. I think this one is going to get ugly Iowa wins big 45 to 10. The Hawkeyes looking to get to 4-0 before a trip to Wisconsin just have to show up focused and not overlook the Mean Green.
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Go Hawks.
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