Ad Disclosure
Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit break down Top 20 matchup between Indiana-Iowa
Published:
The B1G has plenty of marquee matchups on the docket in Week 1. One of those includes a Top 20 showdown between No. 17 Indiana and No. 18 Iowa in Kinnick Stadium.
Both teams finished with a 6-2 record last season. The Hoosiers’ lone regular season loss came against an Ohio State team that won the B1G and earned a trip to the College Football Playoff. The Hawkeyes dropped their first two games before ripping off six-straight wins.
It’s going to be an incredibly intriguing matchup. Both Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit were excited to talk about this critical B1G contest.
Howard seems to be a big fan of Indiana in the game.
“I do like Indiana’s chances. They get Michael Penix Jr. back from his knee injury,” Howard said. “I think that’s going to really spark the offense but Tom Allen, when you watch his teams… You know we’ve done several pieces about the postgame celebrations and the way his team responds to him, the way they go out there and play for him. On the road, against Iowa, you get your quarterback back, I kinda like this for the Hoosiers. I’m feeling some mojo for the Hoosiers.”
Herbstreit, however, is going the other way. He likes Iowa’s all-around presence on both sides of the ball.
“To me, this almost feels like a game you’d see in late October or November,” Herbstreit said. “Two top 20 teams in the Big Ten going toe-to-toe? In Kinnick? You know what I mean, it’s just that you want some cold weather and a bowl of chili. This to me, is Iowa’s defense on the back end is much more experienced and much more athletic than you might think. I think Penix Jr. as good as he is, and I love Ty Fryfogle on the outside, they’re dynamic, but be careful with this [Iowa] defense. And I’ll tell you, all of a sudden, Iowa’s got balance. They’re known for running the ball, the offensive line, Tyler Goodson, but Spencer Petras can spin it. And he’s got some young receivers. I’m going Hawks at home.”
Saturday’s opener between Iowa and Indiana is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff with the game airing on Big Ten Network.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB