Iowa is turning to a familiar face for a little extra juice at Kinnick Stadium this weekend.
The Hawkeyes will welcome Purdue on Saturday with former Iowa star Tristan Wirfs serving as honorary captain, the program announced. The Mount Vernon native and Super Bowl champion is back in Iowa City as the Hawkeyes try to keep their College Football Playoff push on track.
That push got a lift last week in Evanston, where Iowa handled Northwestern 24-10. The defense set the tone by blanking the Wildcats in the first half, and the offense did enough to finish the job.
Iowa opened with a 75-yard touchdown drive and never gave the lead back. It wasn’t a flashy performance, but it was enough, and the Hawkeyes controlled the ground game too, outrushing Northwestern 170 to 105.
Now Iowa returns home with little margin for error. The Hawkeyes already have two losses, so another one would be costly.
Purdue comes in after beating Illinois and Minnesota, but the Boilermakers are also riding a three-game skid. Iowa will try to make that four and keep itself alive with three winnable games left in the regular season.
Wirfs gives the moment some real star power. He was one of Iowa’s premier offensive linemen over the last decade and arrived in Iowa City as a highly ranked in-state prospect. He became the first true freshman to start at tackle in the Kirk Ferentz era, then piled up 32 starts in three seasons before heading to the NFL early.
His college résumé was loaded. Wirfs earned All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2017 and 2018, then made first team in 2019. He also picked up the Big Ten’s Rimington-Pace Lineman of the Year honor and was named a Walter Camp First-Team All-American.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him No. 13 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has since collected five Pro Bowl selections and two All-NFL selections. He was also a key starter in Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV run.
Iowa has brought back several stars as honorary captains this season, and Wirfs will be the latest to stand on the sideline as the Hawkeyes try to keep their season moving in the right direction.
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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
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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 Faces An Early Reality Check Against A Team It Still Hasn't Solved
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Vanderbilt arrives with a high-powered offense that has been putting up 103.8 points per game, with Mikayla Blakes and Mia Woolfolk leading the charge. Iowa has its own balance, with Dani Carnegie among several Hawkeyes scoring in double figures, but this one asks whether that depth can keep pace with a team that has already had Iowas number four times before. [Read more 🡒]