IU travels to Iowa for rematch of close loss

Prior to last week’s 59-7 loss to Wisconsin, Hoosier football coaches and players stressed they needed to play without being scared of the Badgers. From the effort he saw on the field, Co-Defensive Coordinator Mike Ekeler said it looked like fear still found a way to creep into his players’ heads.

“Last week, we just laid an egg,” Ekeler said. “Guys played uninspired. They played undisciplined. It was like we were a little bit scared out there, and that’s disappointing as a coach. Believe me, we addressed it.”

While amassing a lackluster 64 yards through the air, players like sophomore quarterback Edward Wright-Baker said they weren’t satisfied with their
performance.

“We’ve got to get better as a whole team, as a whole offense,” Wright-Baker said. “That was unacceptable, what we showed out there. We’ve got to get better.”

IU (1-6, 0-3) converted just two of its 14 third-down chances, which players said they look to change when they take on the Iowa team that beat IU in a closely contested 18-13 game last year.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson stressed one of the problems that led to a lack of success on third downs was ineffectiveness on first and second downs that left the team in third-and-long situations. Both he and sophomore tight end Ted Bolser said the play from the receiving corps needs to be much better, regardless of down.

“We’re not playing with any sense of speed and urgency out there,” Wilson said. “If you watch our receivers play, we play very fast on routes and then, when it’s a run play, we jog off the ball.”

Even though Iowa lost some talent on both sides of the ball during the off-season, they have a 4-2 (1-1) start, defeating Northwestern 41-31 last week. First team all-Big Ten defensive end Adrian Clayborn and efficient quarterback Ricky Stanzi are now in the NFL, but players like junior quarterback James Vandenberg have started well.

Vandenberg, who ranks second in the Big Ten in passing yardage (248 yards per game), is at the helm of an Iowa offense that has scored at least 31 points in five of its first six games for the first time since 2002. If he completes a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Marvin McNutt on Saturday, McNutt will break the Iowa record for most touchdown receptions.

IU’s senior wide receiver Damarlo Belcher is also on the cusp of breaking a school record, but he will most likely not dress for Saturday’s game because of a knee injury. He is just three receptions short of James Hardy’s receptions record at IU.

On the defensive side for Iowa, the sophomore linebackers James Morris and Christian Kirksey rank first and second, respectively, in the Big Ten in tackles. IU senior linebacker Jeff Thomas ranks seventh.

“They’re a different team than last year,” Wright-Baker said. “Some of those players aren’t the same. They don’t have Clayborn out there. Clayborn was a difference maker when we played. Some of that is the difference. They still have a good defense ... but any defense can be beaten.”

IU will face the Hawkeye defense at noon Saturday, participating in Iowa’s 100th homecoming game. To do so, Bolser said receivers need to make some changes to help Wright-Baker and possibly true freshman quarterback Tre Roberson.

“We just need to run faster and get open,” Bolser said. “If we’re jogging, any team in the Big Ten is going to jog with us. It’s easy. We need to sprint, we need to break off routes, we need to break away from defenders and we need to catch the ball.”