Iowa has won 12 straight, since last year's 0-2 start, so not sure I would say Week 7 is a similar position.
FPI is a joke. Explain Iowa State as a Top 10 team? Moved up after bye week in Week 6.
Pitt better than Penn State and Iowa? Both PSU and Iowa dropped one, after their game.
Iowa is what Jeff Brohm said they are, they have improved, especially on defense.
Purdue at Iowa isn't likely a 24-20 game, if venues are flipped last season.
Clearly, turnovers and penalties cost Iowa at Purdue last year. The Hawkeyes likely will be better in that area in Week 7.
Iowa hasn't been running as consistently in 2021 compared to 2020. Two fumbles impacted last year's game.
Purdue will need to win the turnover game. Penn State and most Iowa opponents haven't in 2021.
Iowa's OL is typically stronger as weeks go on, unless injuries impact them. Injuries did impact Iowa this season at the beginning of the season.
Iowa has been starting a true freshman at RG due to Indiana prep Justin Britt's injury bugs. Senior Kyler Schott missed first two games at LG this year. He was Iowa's 2nd best player returning per PFF College.
Last season, Iowa passed the ball more in their 0-2 start, compared to the six games that Iowa won.
QB Spencer Petras is 12-2 now as a starter. He has improved over the course of those 14 games, but slow starts have been noticeable the past two B1G games.
He has lead Iowa to good TD drives down 7-3 at Maryland and down 17-3 against Penn State, respectively.
He is hitting 60% of his passes, after 57%. Iowa is getting more explosive plays than their opponents in their 6-0 start, but the offense is doing just enough, in most people's views.
Special teams and defense are Iowa's strengths. Field position has been huge.
Iowa best drive this year was a methodical 20 play, 95 yard drive to take a 16-7 lead into the half in Week 3.
Two freshmen WRs have made B1G plays lately. Two starting WRs had key TD receptions against Penn State.
“The biggest thing when we’re not moving the ball how we’d like is just to keep it one play at a time,” Petras said. “The interception I threw to Nico (Ragaini), that was forced. We’re not moving the ball. I want to make it happen too much, and you force it. You can’t force anything, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game; you have to let it develop and let it happen.”
Petras regained some composure the rest of the game. He led the Hawkeyes on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive during which the Hawkeyes converted four third-down opportunities. After his horrendous start, Petras completed 16 of 22 passes for 181 yards and two scores. - Scott Dochterman, The Athletic wrote.
Ironically, Iowa-Purdue 1985 in West Lafayette was last time Iowa was ranked this high.
The Boilermakers missed B1G opportunity late in that game in 1985. It will be Homecoming in Iowa City, just like 2019 game.
The 23-20 win over Penn State was the highest Top 5 match up at Kinnick, since the 1985 game against #1 Iowa vs. #2 Michigan that the Hawkeyes won on a walk off field goal.
“Everybody knows Spencer has a pretty strong arm,” WR Nico Ragaini said. “He’s making crazy throws every single week. At practice, we ran this play, and he threw the ball like 70 yards down the field, which was pretty wild. He put the ball on the line straight to me. So that’s what we see every day.
“I was thinking about it all game. I was hoping he would call it, and he called it, and we pulled through and got the play.”
The longest streak Iowa owns is holding teams to 24 or less points, since their 31-28 Black Friday win over Nebraska in 2018.
If you are coming out to Iowa City this weekend, save travels to you and it should be a good brisk Autumn day with sun.