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Kirk Ferentz hopes three offensive starters that missed Week 3 will play against Wisconsin
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Iowa wasn’t at 100 percent in Week 3 against Northern Iowa, but that didn’t matter.
The Hawkeyes did just fine, defeating the Panthers 38-14. And the word fine is probably an understatement.
People were looking for the offense to finally click and it did. Nate Stanley completed 23-of-28 passes for 209 yards and 2 TD, while the team combined to run for 207 yards.
Northern Iowa isn’t as good as say Wisconsin — Iowa’s Week 4 opponent — but, the Badgers showed they weren’t an unstoppable force against BYU.
With the offense finally clicking in Week 3, it was good to see in general, but especially nice to see considering three starters were out: Ivory Kelly-Martin, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Cole Banwart. On Sunday, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz gave an update on all three players:
Hawkeye injury update https://t.co/mfMU3eTqWM pic.twitter.com/8JfKfRhY19
— Rob Howe (@RobHoweHN) September 16, 2018
The Hawkeyes will need all the healthy bodies they need against the Badgers. In the latest AP Poll, Wisconsin is ranked No. 18, while Iowa is first in receiving votes — essentially being ranked No. 26 in the country.
The game is set for an 8:30 p.m. start time on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. It will be televised on FOX.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.