Iowa (5-1) vs. Maryland (4-2)
When: Saturday, Oct. 18
Where: Byrd Stadium, College Park, Maryland
Kickoff: 11 a.m. CDT
It took five games, but Iowa finally figured out one of the primary secrets to winning football: putting points on the board — and a lot of them. The Hawkeyes chewed through a hapless Indiana defense last Saturday, piling on 38 points in the first half alone en route to a 45-29 win, the team’s third consecutive. Mark Weisman rushed for 89 yards and a pair of scores, and quarterback Jake Rudock was 19-for-27 for 210 yards and two TDs against the Hoosiers. Up next is a road tilt against Maryland, coming off a bye week after falling to No. 20 Ohio State, 52-24 on Oct. 4. The Terrapins are led by quarterback C.J. Brown, who is as adept running as he is passing. Brown has passed for 1,067 yards and seven TDs while rushing for another 263 and five scores.
Iowa State (2-4) vs. Texas (2-4)
When: Saturday, Oct. 18
Where: Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
Kickoff: 7 p.m. CDT
Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson threw for a career-high 351 yards and three touchdowns in the second half as the Cyclones avoided disaster with a 37-30 win over Toledo last Saturday to move to 2-4 on the year. Trailing 13-9 at the half, Iowa State scored twice and never trailed from that point on, although the Rockets tied it at 23-23 in the third. ISU’s uniform selection (think Ronald McDonald) for the game garnered as much talk as the game itself. That won’t be the case this week when the Cyclones travel south to take on a suddenly hapless-looking Texas Longhorn team with an identical record as ISU. But take into consideration that three Texas losses have come against teams ranked in the top 12 in the land. In other words, this is the game they want to use to get back on track. Iowa State wants to prove their win over Toledo was a sign of good things to come. But it’s still Texas, and it’s still Iowa State on the road. A true recipe for disaster.
UNI (3-3) vs. South Dakota State (4-2)
When: Saturday, Oct. 18
Where: UNI Dome, Cedar Falls
Kickoff: 4 p.m. CDT
Winning ugly is a stupid term. A win is a win is a win. That said, the University of Northern Iowa’s win over South Dakota last weekend was, well, not pretty — ugly’s second cousin. South Dakota entered the contest with just one win but played as though they had something to prove, trailing just 10-7 at the break. UNI quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen completed just seven passes on the day for 154 yards and a score. Fellow signal-caller Brion Carnes threw for another score and rushed for a team-high 55 yards. The Panthers face South Dakota State this week. The Jackrabbits have won four of five and are coming off a 32-28 win over Missouri State.
Drake (3-3) vs. Valparaiso (2-4)
When: Saturday, Oct. 18
Where: Brown Field, Valparaiso, Indiana
Kickoff: 1 p.m. CDT
Drake finds itself back at .500 following a 51-14 slapping of Davidson last weekend. The Bulldogs made no bones about who the top dog in the contest was early, taking a 30-0 lead into the halftime locker room. Conley Wilkins rushed for 110 yards and three scores to help the Bulldogs move to 3-3 overall, 2-1 in the Pioneer Conference. Things should look good once again this week with a road contest against Valparaiso, a team that sits just above Davidson in the standings. Fortunately for the Crusaders, last week’s 55-7 win over Missouri Baptist could provide the team some much-needed momentum heading into the game. But could and should aren’t related. CV
