Iowa vs. Ohio State (What to expect)
Posted on 19. Nov, 2010 by admin in Iowa Football
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
To get you all ready for Saturday’s game between No. 21 Iowa and No. 8 Ohio State, I put together a list of things you ought to know before these two face off at Kinnick Stadium.
At the end, I’ll provide what I think are three keys to an Iowa victory.
No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2) vs. No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1, 5-1)
Kinnick Stadium; Iowa City, Iowa
Nov. 20, 2010
2:30 p.m. Central
TV: ABC (Sean McDonough, Matt Millen)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, Ed Podolak, Rob Brooks)
Weather: 44 degrees
Brendan’s Three Keys to the Game:
1. Contain the Buckeyes’ ground game
This is obviously easier said than done, especially considering how Ohio State had incredible success running the ball down Iowa’s throat a year ago. But with both Dan Herron and Brandon Saine being guys who can make big plays out of the backfield for the Buckeyes, the Hawkeye defense will need to contain them and force Terrelle Pryor to put the game on his shoulders. With this game being at Kinnick Stadium, I’d be interested to see how Pryor responses in these sorts of situations.
2. Time of possession
Normally, I don’t make a huge deal over time of possession, but after what I witnessed at Ryan Field last week, I think it’s important. The defense needs to be able to get off the field when it can, and likewise, the offense needs to show it can move the chains, especially on third down. This is critical, because if Iowa’s offense is on the field longer than Ohio State’s, then I believe the odds of the Hawkeyes winning this game increase.
3. Keep emotions in check
I get that it’s Senior Day and the fans are certainly going to be into this game because of that, and because of the fact that a marquee opponent such as Ohio State is coming to town. That being said, the players need to be able to keep these emotions in check once the ball is kicked off. If emotions get the best of anybody in black and gold on Saturday, Iowa could be in trouble because right now, Ohio State appears to be clicking in all three phases.
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