ESPN's Stanford Steve puts Michigan on upset alert for road trip vs. Iowa
ESPN’s Stanford Steve broke down the upcoming game between No. 4 Michigan and unraked Iowa during a SportsCenter appearance with Scott Van Pelt. Needless to say, this game is intriguing for a number of reasons.
“Michgan hits the road to take on Iowa,” said Van Pelt as he set the discussion. “How about Iowa? First in the nation in scoring defense, last in the country in scoring offense, so what’s there to be afraid of if you’re Michigan?”
While the Wolverines will not be afraid of the matchup, Stanford Steve ran down the list of numbers that Michigan is facing heading into vaunted Kinnick Stadium.
“Kinnick Stadium has been a house of horrors, it’s where top-5 teams go to die,” said Steve. “I want to make sure I get these numbers right: Top-5 teams are 1-5 since 2008. 4 of those 6 games, Iowa was unranked. Jim Harbaugh, never won there, 0-2 as a player.
“Now Michigan, Blake Corum has been sensational… but the Iowa defense is real. On the road, JJ McCarthy’s first road start in conference. This is where Michigan is really going to find out.”
We’ll see what Harbaugh and the Wolverines can dial up on the road trip. On the flip side, look for Kirk Ferentz, DC Phil Parker and the Hawkeye defense to have some tricks ready for McCarthy.