Previewing Michigan Football’s First Road Game vs Iowa

Saturday, Michigan Football heads to Kinnick Stadium to play their first road game of the season. The last time the Wolverines made the trip to Iowa City, they lost by a single point after the Hawkeyes made a field goal as time expired.

Kinnick Stadium is notorious for crushing the dreams of top-five ranked teams, with Iowa winning five of their last six home games against them. This fourth ranked Michigan Football team will have to put their best foot forward in order to succeed in this threatening environment.

Michigan struggled for the first time this season last week against Maryland, however still powered through to win the game. Sophomore quarterback JJ McCarthy had a bit of an off game, however someone solely looking at his statistics from the game would not even notice. McCarthy still threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns while also completing 69 percent of his passes.

Junior running back Blake Corum was there to save the day for the Wolverines when other areas of the offense were just not working. Corum ran for 243 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 8.1 yards per carry.

While this was Corum’s career high in yards in a game, he has still been a key aspect of the Michigan offense this season. He leads the FBS in points scored with 54 and touchdowns scored with nine. These impressive statistics have gotten Corum put on a number of Heisman watch lists.

Iowa only allows an average of 73 rush yards per game, and has yet to allow a rushing touchdown. On the other hand, Blake has scored at least one touchdown in each game so far this season, with a minimum of 71 rush yards. While Corum has not faced a defense like the Hawkeyes’ yet, the Hawkeyes defense has also not faced a running back like Blake Corum.

Other members of the offense came through when absolutely needed, such as senior tight end Luke Schoonmaker and senior wide receiver Ronnie Bell. Schoonmaker had a season high seven receptions for 72 yards, whereas Bell had three receptions for 72 yards.

The defense also struggled a bit last week against the Terrapins, allowing their most points, yards, and completions of any game this season. However a number of defensive players still showed up for the Wolverines. Sophomore linebacker Junior Colson had 13 total tackles,  and senior defensive back Mike Sainristill had eight total tackles and two tackles for a loss.

The Wolverines also introduced the “Turnover Buffs” against Maryland as DJ Turner and R.J. Moten each recorded an interception. These two interceptions were half of the total interceptions Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has thrown all season.

While senior kicker Jake Moody did miss a field goal last week against Maryland, he still has the fourth most points of any player and most points of any kicker in the Big Ten with 41 points. As Michigan football has only scored six field goals this season, this means 23 of these points come from extra points.

These 23 extra points from Moody make up 26 of the Wolverines total extra points this season. Michigan leads the B1G in points per game with 50, whereas Iowa is in last place averaging 17 points per game. The Wolverines also have the least number of penalties in the conference this season with nine. Iowa is tied with Minnesota for the most penalties committed with 17.

Getting to Know Iowa

The Hawkeyes offense has been everything but efficient so far this season, scoring a total of 71 points over the course of four games.

Iowa has gone 15 for 53 on third down conversions, succeeding only 28.3 percent of the time. They average only 12.8 total first downs per game, whereas the Wolverines average 24 per game.

Senior quarterback Spencer Petras has thrown one touchdown this season as well as two interceptions. Throughout all four previous matchups, he has only thrown for 524 yards and has a 51.1 percent completion rate.

This puts the Hawkeyes at the bottom of the conference standings in terms of completion percentage, passing yards, and touchdowns. Petras has been sacked nine times so far this season and has a quarterback rating of only 11.6.

Running back Kaleb Johnson has been slightly helpful for Iowa, running for 174 yards and scoring two touchdowns. The Hawkeyes will have to significantly increase their offensive efficiency on Saturday if they want any chance of competing with the Wolverines’ defense.

When it comes to Iowa’s defense, they have been wildly effective against their opponents. The Hawkeyes lead the conference in total sacks with 12, and Michigan’s defense follows closely behind with 11.

Defensive back Cooper Dejean has been a breakout athlete for Iowa, leading the conference with three interceptions. Dejean also has 24 total tackles and has defended eight passes over the four games. Hawkeyes linebackers Jack Campbell and Seth Benson have also been huge factors, with 39 and 30 total tackles respectively.

An odd area that the Hawkeyes’ defense leads the conference in is total safeties, as they scored two safeties in their season opener against South Dakota State. Opposing offenses only average 5.8 points per game against the Iowa defense, which is also the best in the Big Ten.

Hawkeyes’ kicker Drew Stevens is perfect when it comes to field goals and extra points, however he has only attempted four field goals and six extra points all season. In order for Stevens to continue to thrive, Iowa’s offense will have to find a way to succeed on Saturday.

After likely adjustments from a rough showing against Maryland, the Wolverines look like they will be in good shape against Iowa. Hopefully after Saturday, a road game against the Hawkeyes will no longer put extreme levels of stress and fear on Michigan Football and their fans.