No. 10 Iowa gets a chance Sunday to break through against a familiar opponent that has had its number for years.
The Hawkeyes meet No. 8 Vanderbilt at noon at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, with FS1 carrying the game and Hawkeye Radio Network affiliates on the call.
Iowa is 3-1, Vanderbilt 4-0, and the Hawkeyes are still chasing their first victory in the series. The Commodores are 4-0 all-time against Iowa, and the teams have not met since the 1997-98 season.
Iowa comes in off a dominant defensive showing against UNI, rolling to a 78-40 win Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes held the Panthers to 11 points in the first half, limited them to 14-of-55 shooting and forced 26 turnovers.
Dani Carnegie powered that win with 22 points and six assists, and she also crossed 1,000 career points. She leads Iowa at 16.8 points per game. Ava Heiden is next at 13.0, while Chit-Chat Wright and McKenna Woliczko are both averaging 12.5.
Vanderbilt has been even more explosive through four games, scoring at least 100 points in every outing and ranking fourth nationally at 103.8 points per game. The Commodores are shooting 55.5 percent from the field.
They beat Western Kentucky 101-59 on Wednesday, and Sunday will be their first game away from Nashville this season.
Junior All-American Mikayla Blakes is setting the pace for Vanderbilt at 22.0 points per game. The 5-foot-8 guard has 1,775 points in 71 career games and has topped 50 points twice. She was a consensus first-team all-American as a sophomore.
Mia Woolfolk, a 6-3 junior forward, adds 19.5 points per game.
Vanderbilt is coached by Shea Ralph, who last season became the first head coach in program history to earn SEC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Commodores to a 29-5 record and a Sweet 16 run.
Iowa’s next game is Thursday at 7 p.m. against Montana State.
In Other News...
Iowas Purdue Matchup Just Picked Up An Unexpected Complication
Purdues trip to Iowa City for Week 11 turned into a much longer and less predictable journey than expected after a nationwide FAA communication issue grounded all air traffic. Instead of flying, the Boilermakers had to travel by bus, a reminder that even a routine Big Ten road game can get complicated fast when travel plans across college football are suddenly upended.
The FAAs rare nationwide ground stop was issued for safety reasons and rippled beyond this matchup, affecting multiple programs and leaving other games with some uncertainty. For Iowa, the game against Purdue is still set for Saturday evening, but the unusual travel disruption adds another layer to a meeting that was already going to be watched closely. [Read more 🡒]
Boston Everitts Family Went To Extremes Just To See Him Punt
The travel chaos that hit the country on Nov. 13 ended up becoming part of the story for one Iowa family, as the FAAs nationwide ground stop forced a cascade of flight delays and schedule changes around college football. Peter Everitt, the father of Iowa punter Boston Everitt, was among those caught up in it, and he still managed to make the long trip to Iowa City to watch his son play.
It took him 36 hours to get there, a reminder of how far families will go for a chance to see a special teams moment that usually lasts only a few seconds. Boston Everitt has become an important piece of Iowas kicking game this season, ranking among the Big Tens punters and landing on the Ray Guy Award Midseason watch list, which made the effort feel especially worth it for the Everitts. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Fans Suddenly Have A Week 11 Scoreboard To Obsess Over
Iowas path to a possible first College Football Playoff berth is starting to look less like a straight line and more like a crowded scoreboard watch. With a strong finish, the Hawkeyes can keep themselves in the conversation, but their standing is tied not just to what happens in their own games, but to a wider national picture that keeps shifting from week to week.
The next stretch makes every result matter a little more, because several upcoming games around the country could either open the door for Iowa or tighten it again. It is the kind of speculative, late-season setup that has Hawkeye fans checking rankings, rooting for certain outcomes elsewhere, and waiting to see whether the break they need finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]