Iowa Hawkeyes (3-1) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (2-2) Saturday, September 27th at 9 a.m.

Hello again, fellow Western Washington Hawkeyes, and welcome to the Big Ten kickoff week for our Iowa Hawkeyes! This week Iowa (3-1) travels to West LaFayette, Indiana to take on the Purdue Boilermakers (2-2.) It is also Purdue's Homecoming week at Ross-Ade Stadium, which means their fired up fans will be itching to scream "Boiler Up!" to any Hawk fans that they cross paths with this week.

Purdue owns a record of 46-25-3 against the Hawkeyes, but Iowa was the victor in West Lafayette last year, 38-24. Purdue is coming off a 35-13 win over Southern Illinois, and were led by their mobile quarterback, Sophomore Danny Etling, who ran for one TD and threw for two more in the game. The win also helped Purdue double their win total from all of last year, when they only won 1 game.

Iowa looks to continue their success on the road lately-they have won their last 3 road games, including last week's thrilling win at Pitt, 24-20. A quarterback controversy is now in full bloom at Iowa, with backup sophomore QB CJ Beathard entering the game with Iowa down by 10 points and rallying the team to victory, which included a beautiful 62 yard pass to Damond Powell, who entered many highlight reels with a dazzling one handed catch. Jake Rudock, who was taken out of the game in the first half due to an undisclosed injury, is trying to get healthy enough to play this week, and currently sits at #1 on Iowa's depth chart. Coach Ferentz is being cagey about who will be taking the snaps this week though, which is hopefully being done to fluster Purdue's game preparation instead of driving the Hawkeye fans bonkers.

Here's to Iowa rolling to a victory that won't have the Hawkeye faithful biting their nails until the final gun.

On Iowa and Go Hawks!

http://www.iowalum.com/westernwashington/gamewatches.html

Iowa Hawkeyes (2-1) vs. Pitt Panthers (3-0) Saturday, September 20th @ 9 a.m.

Hello and welcome to Week 4 of our beloved Hawkeyes' 2014 football season!

This week Iowa (2-1) tries to recover from an embarrassing loss at home to arch nemesis Iowa State. The Hawkeyes play their first road game of the year at Pitt, who sport a record of 3-0. They've also topped their opponents so far this year by a total of 134-45, which means the Pitt offense is averaging close to 45 points a game so far this season. The potent Pitt Panther offense is led by RB James Connor, who has 552 yards rushing to go along with 8 touchdowns, and is averaging close to 7 yards per carry. Pitt is fifth in the nation 345 rush yards per game.

Luckily for Iowa, their run defense is exceptionally stout this year. Iowa's rush defense is ranked 7th in the nation and first in the Big 10, allowing only 65 yards per game on the ground. They have also yet to allow a rushing TD this season. So it's looking like the outcome of this game will probably be decided in the trenches.

Iowa's last meeting against Pitt, in Iowa City in 2011, was a historic one for the Hawkeyes. They came back from 24 points down in the final 16:16 to win the game, 31-27. This marked the greatest comeback in the program's history. The bad news is that Iowa is 0-2 while on the road against Pitt, with their last loss being 21-20 in 2008.

Iowa's offense is looking to get back on track on the offensive side this week with the Jake Rudock-led offense looking a bit tepid so far this season. There's quite a few Hawkeye fans asking for backup gunslinger CJ Beathard to start getting more snaps, but that remains to be seen. One bright spot for the Iowa offense is senior WR Kevonte Martin-Manley, who only needs 33 more receptions this season to hold the Iowa record for most career receptions. He currently has 19 receptions through the first 3 games, which puts him at third in the Big 10.

Hopefully we will see a good crowd out at the Iowa Hawkeye game watches this week, given the 9 AM kickoff! It's always fun to see a good number of Hawkeye fans to cheers and hopefully have a hearty singalong of "In Heaven There is No Beer" when the final gun sounds this week! On Iowa and Go Hawks!

http://www.iowalum.com/westernwashington/gamewatches.html

Cyclones vs. Hawkeyes @ 12:30 p.m. PST Saturday, September 13th

Well, Western Washington Hawkeyes, it's that time of year again-rivalry week! Our ugly little brother from Ames, the Iowa State Cyclones, come to Iowa City looking for their first win of the year, which I think I have written for a few years in a row now. ISU is 0-2, and is coming off a frustrating loss to #19 Kansas State, 32-28 after leading the game well into the fourth quarter. Iowa, on the other hand, had better fortunes in the fourth quarter of their game, putting together two last-minute touchdown drives to defeat Ball State, 17-13 after trailing, 13-3 heading into the final quarter. Iowa leads the series against ISU 40-21, but the Cyclones won during their last visit to Kinnick, 9-6. Iowa did get their revenge last year in Ames, topping the Cyclones, 27-21. Running back Mark Weisman led the way last year with 145 rushing yards for Iowa to earn the Cy-Hawk trophy.

Iowa looks to get their usually potent rushing game back on track this week after rushing for only 113 yards last week. They may also have to do it without their senior All-Everything left tackle Brandon Scherff, who looks to be missing the next few weeks after having minor knee surgery. He tweaked his knee during the Ball State game, but re-entered a few series later. Luckily the Iowa defense has been strong so far this year. They are second in the Big 10 in tackles for loss, and tenth in the nation. Defensive end Drew Ott was named the Big 10 defensive player of the week last week, with 13 tackles, which included one sack. Iowa also has not allowed a red zone TD yet. ISU's offense is led by junior quarterback Sam Richardson, who threw for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns during Iowa's last meeting.

Also, this week at Kinnick, the Hawkeyes will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Big Ten Champion squad. That was the team that provided what is probably the greatest play in Hawkeye history - Drew Tate's 56 yard TD pass to Warren Halloway to win the Capitol One Bowl.

On Iowa and Go Hawkeyes!

Thanks to Ted Hennessey for the write-up.