CFB Playoff: Iowa Hawkeyes can clinch B1G West vs. Purdue
The Iowa Hawkeyes came in ranked 5th in the latest CFB playoff poll, and they can clinch the B1G West title with a win on Saturday against Purdue.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are 10-0, a record that reflects the play of probably the best Hawkeyes team I’ve seen certainly since 2009, perhaps even since the early 2000s teams led by Heisman candidate Brad Banks and a whole host of other players who went on to have fruitful NFL careers.
This Hawkeye team might not have as much star power in terms of NFL talent, but these are really good college players and the coaching of Kirk Ferentz and his staff has never been better. The Hawkeyes are doing so much more, though, than putting together a great game plan. They have hand-picked a team of players that has nowhere near the number of ‘stars’ of a team like Alabama or Notre Dame or any other team ahead of them in the CFB playoff standings.
This is, as is generally typical of Kirk Ferentz teams, one full of over-achievers but I don’t mean to paint that term in a negative light. The Hawkeyes coaching staff knows how to get the best out of the players they have. They develop them in the weight room and the film room and meeting rooms before these guys get to step on a field, and it shows. They are well-coached on the offensive and defensive lines specifically, which is always a huge reason why this team is always among the best in the Big Ten, give or take a year.
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Dear Old Gold
This year, the Hawkeyes have a chance to be relevant among the best teams in the country, and a way to do that is to put forth a statement game against the Purdue Boilermakers, to put forth a dominant performance that will turn heads and show the committee that this team is for real.
There are three games (hopefully) yet to be played before the Hawkeyes’ CFB playoff fate is determined, but it’s clear at this point that this team means business. I have already written at length about how they have three different players with 100 yards rushing this season, three different players with 100 yards receiving, and generally a really well-balanced overall game in every phase.
The task at hand is a game against Purdue, which is 2-8 overall this season and 1-5 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers put together a ‘signature’ win already this season against Nebraska, where they won 55-44 in a back and forth shootout. They would love nothing more than to spoil the Hawkeyes’ season, but as well-coached and disciplined as Iowa has been this season, that doesn’t seem likely.
The Hawkeyes are 10-0 for the first time in school history. They are seeking some revenge for Purdue beating them in Iowa City back in 2012. This is a simple case of a poor offensive unit in Purdue going up against a tough Iowa defense and an offense that is playing in front of its home crowd, ready to light some fireworks on Saturday morning and get to 11-0.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are believing in themselves this season, and this game should be another step in the right direction, though no team is to be overlooked.