Friday’s games bode well for Hawkeyes football

by Junna Base November 8, 2024

PASADENA, Calif. – The external concerns are numerous and understandable for the Iowa football team this week.

The Hawkeyes travel several time zones west for a Friday night game against a rising opponent in a stadium that has been home to major disappointments for the program.

But there’s plenty of evidence to allay some of those concerns about Iowa’s upcoming matchup with UCLA. Let’s unpack each of these three things.

Big Ten teams are 7-14 when traveling across multiple time zones this season.

That’s true. But the teams are also adapting. After a 1:8 start in such games, the record has since been 6:6.

And UCLA has been an anomaly in this trend. The Bruins are coming off back-to-back wins in multiple time zones — 35-32 at Rutgers, 27-20 at Nebraska. They also suffered two home defeats against teams that came from away to the Rose Bowl Stadium – 42:13 against Indiana, 21:17 against Minnesota. In fact, UCLA is 0-3 at home this season, with its other loss coming against No. 1 Oregon. So…advantage Iowa?

“Indiana certainly didn’t buy it. They did pretty well at UCLA. I’m not sure I can buy that,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said on his weekly radio show Wednesday. “I’m also not sure I believe the narrative that teams on the West Coast aren’t physical. Washington had some physical players a few weeks ago (in a 40-16 win at Iowa). And I’ll tell you, if you look at that UCLA group, there are some people there too. … I think a lot of these things are overrated.”

In other words, the outcome of these time zone travel games depended more on the quality of the game. And away games tend to be more difficult initially, which accounts for a larger part of that 7-14 record.

But how about a short preparation in addition to the trip?

Well, Iowa actually has a good history in this regard. Because the Hawkeyes switched to morning practices after the 2014 season and changed the players’ required rest day from Monday to Thursday, they are 10-1 in Friday games. That includes a stellar 7-0 record in Friday away games – 5-0 at Nebraska (2015, ’17, ’19, ’21, ’23), 1-0 at Minnesota (2020) and 1-0 at Maryland ( 2021). ).

The closest parallel to this turnaround would be Friday night’s game at Maryland in 2021, six days after a home win against Colorado State. The Hawkeyes defeated the undefeated Terrapins 51-14, scoring 31 points in the second quarter and forcing seven turnovers. It was a night of partying for a large group of Hawkeye fans in the Washington, DC area. It wouldn’t be a surprise if 15,000 or more Hawkeye fans stormed the Rose Bowl.

Since Iowa’s usual rest day is Thursday, that became a travel day this week – and the players will have Saturday off instead. The only change in routine was to train a little more in Monday and Tuesday workouts and lose less weight on Wednesday. Once again, the play on the field is more important than the short preparation for Iowa.

Iowa’s Jay Higgins talks about the novelty of the regular season game in the Rose Bowl

The fifth-year senior linebacker is feeling momentum after two home losses to Northwestern and WIsconsin.

What about Iowa’s recent history playing on the West Coast?

Ferentz said before the 2019 Holiday Bowl in San Diego that as long as he was Iowa’s coach, he would never play another regular-season game on the West Coast. “We will not go down this path again, I can assure you,” he then said.

Ferentz’s comments had their origins in the program’s heavy losses at Arizona State in 2004 (44-7) and Arizona State in 2010 (34-27), when Iowa had very good teams. The Hawkeyes were demolished in their only Rose Bowl game under Ferentz (45-16 by Stanford, which painfully ended the 2015 season).

Of course, these comments were made before four teams from the West joined the Big Ten this season. This is Iowa’s first regular-season road game in the Pacific Time Zone since a 44-18 loss at Oregon in 1994. But that trend will continue. Iowa is scheduled to visit USC in 2025, Washington in 2026 and Oregon in 2027.

Most of these current Hawkeye players were between 10 and 14 years old when Iowa last played in the Rose Bowl. That history isn’t important compared to how the team plays on the field, and fifth-year senior linebacker Jay Higgins leads a defense that hopes to travel well. This team appears confident and ready to make up for back-to-back road losses (October 5 at Ohio State, October 19 at Michigan State).

“The last couple weeks, we, the defense, the offense and the special teams, have done a good job of putting it all together,” Higgins said. “We really play against each other.”

Chad Leistikow’s prediction for Iowa football vs. UCLA

Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2) at UCLA Bruins (3-5, 2-4)

Time, TV, line: 8pm CT, FOX, Iowa by 6 points

Where Iowa comes out on top: While the Hawkeyes were bitten by a poor rushing defense in road losses to Ohio State and Michigan State, they will face the last-ranked rushing offense in FBS at UCLA. Iowa still has the No. 18 rush defense nationally, and UCLA is averaging just 73.9 yards on the ground per game. Iowa is converting 45% of third downs this season and is facing the worst third down defense in the country. UCLA has allowed a conversion rate of 54.3%.

Video: Hear from Iowa QB Brendan Sullivan before the game against UCLA

Brendan Sullivan discusses various topics before the Iowa-UCLA game.

Where UCLA comes out on top: The Bruins are designed to stop Iowa’s biggest strength, which is Kaleb Johnson and the running game. They rank No. 11 nationally against the run, allowing 100.4 yards per game. And as good as Brendan Sullivan was for Iowa, UCLA has its own mobile quarterback in Ethan Garbers, who has thrown for nearly 900 yards and scored more than 100 yards in UCLA’s last three games. Offensively, UCLA has been much more productive since reorganizing its offensive line in early October. This is a smart, good, athletic team.

Prediction: Iowa 24, UCLA 20… The Hawkeyes are 31-0 when scoring more than 21 points since 2020, and their average is 21.7 in the second half alone this season. Sullivan needs to stay healthy and only backup player Jackson Stratton is available as a replacement. The Hawkeyes will get off to a slow start, as usual, but will give it their all in the second half and earn their first Pasadena win in 66 years, which will be cathartic for Hawkeye fans everywhere.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has worked for The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network for 30 years. Chad is the 2023 INA Sports Columnist of the Year in Iowa and NSMA Co-Sports Writer of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s texting group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.

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