PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Nate Stanley had a much better day last week at Purdue than he did two weeks ago in Iowa’s loss at Penn State. The junior connected on 21-of-32 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown and also ran for a one-yard touchdown against the Boilermakers. He failed to connect on two two-point conversion passes in the second half that could have changed the outcome of the game. Stanley now has 17 touchdown passes this season, tied for second in the Big Ten, and 43 in his career, tied for fourth in Iowa history. He has been sacked only 10 times, the fewest in the Big Ten.
–TE T.J. Hockenson leads Iowa with 526 receiving yards and has a career-high 32 receptions and four touchdowns. Hockenson and junior TE Noah Fant rank first and second on the team in catches. The sophomore had four catches for 39 yards and a touchdown last week in the loss at Purdue. Fant and Hockenson combined for seven catches for 124 yards against the Boilermakers. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz expressed his displeasure at Purdue with the lack of holding calls against the two tight ends.
–S Jake Gervase was a big presence on defense in last week’s 38-36 loss at Purdue with a team-high and career-best 10 tackles, including eight solos. Gervase also had one of Iowa’s two interceptions. The senior free safety leads the Hawkeyes with 55 tackles in nine games and has two interceptions and three pass breakups. The former walk-on and sophomore Geno Stone have formed a formidable safety duo, combining for five interceptions this season, but were part of a secondary that allowed Purdue’s David Blough to complete 23-of-32 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns.
–RB Mekhi Sargent found the end zone twice in Iowa’s loss at Purdue last week and finished with 39 yards on 10 carries. The junior college transfer scored on one-yard runs about two minutes apart in the fourth quarter that gave Iowa the lead. Iowa’s three running backs — Sargent, Ivory Kelly-Martin and Toren Young — split the carries and combined for 125 yards on 29 rushes. Sargent also tied for the team lead with four receptions for 33 yards at Purdue. He leads the team with six rushing touchdowns and 99 carries. In the previous game, Sargent ran a career-high 16 times for 91 yards against Penn State.
SERIES HISTORY: Iowa leads Northwestern 50-26-3, but the Wildcats have won the last two meetings. After Northwestern ended the Hawkeyes’ 21-game winning streak in the series, they’ve gone 12-9 since 1995.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Statistics are statistics, and they’re important to a degree, but you do what you have to do to move the football and score.” — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz
