No. 20 Iowa heads to Washington on Friday night with a chance to reset the tone of its season.
The Hawkeyes are coming off their first loss of the year, a setback against Ohio State last week, and the trip to the Pacific Northwest lands right as the schedule reaches its halfway point. Before the bye week finally arrives, Iowa gets a West Coast Big Ten matchup that asks for a response.
The biggest question hanging over the game is who takes the first snap. Hank Brown is questionable after being limited, though he said he was able to throw during practice on Tuesday.
Kirk Ferentz said Brown has been limited, which leaves open the possibility that third-year quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski could start instead. However it shakes out, Iowa has already spent the preseason and then some working with both quarterbacks, and that familiarity could matter now.
Brown and Hecklinski have each shown enough to suggest they can run the offense; this is the week to see that translate.
That ties directly into Iowa’s ground game, which needs a better showing against a Power Four opponent. The Hawkeyes managed just 39 rushing yards against Ohio State and had 58 against Michigan.
LJ Phillips returned against the Buckeyes and finished with 16 yards on four carries. Iowa has shown it can build a run game and has enough depth to give several players chances, but it has not yet done that against a Power Four team.
Getting it going Friday would give the offense a much-needed lift heading into the bye.
Defensively, Iowa’s path is pretty clear: make Washington earn everything on third down. The Huskies have struggled in that spot all season, going 18-for-62, which ranks 109th in the FBS.
They have been more effective on fourth down, converting 6 of 10 tries, so the Hawkeyes need to get off the field before drives reach that point. Washington quarterback Desmond Williams Jr. can extend plays with his legs, which puts even more pressure on Iowa to keep him contained, especially when the Huskies face third down.
If Iowa cleans up the mistakes that have piled up over the last few games, it has a shot to leave Friday night with its first regular-season West Coast win since the Big Ten expanded.
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