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Iowa determined to ride out bumpy road
By JIM NELSON, Courier Sports Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Kirk Ferentz did expect to be having to changing a flat tire.
But bumps in the road happen and not just to his Iowa Hawkeyes football team. After back-to-back losses to Indiana and Michigan, it appears Iowa's season has been lost somewhere on a back road.
Ferentz doesn't believe that scenario.
With four games left in its regular season, Ferentz said the Hawkeyes' fate rests in their own hands.What happens and where Iowa finishes the 2006 season starts with the Hawkeyes' 11 a.m. non-conference kickoff with Northern Illinois Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
"You know we aren't going to the World Series," said Ferentz. "I'm not delusional here. But there are two teams that are playing in the World Series down the road and both hit a bump in the road during the course of their season, and they are both still playing now.
"The Tigers went down the tubes a bit at the end. St. Louis went down a little bit at the end, too, didn't they? But the important thing is both are playing tonight (Saturday). That is all that counts. We're not going to win the Big Ten title. But we're already working on the next one. We're 5-3, and there is a lot of football left. That is what we are playing for."
After Northern Illinois, Iowa hosts Northwestern and Wisconsin before ending the regular season on the road at Minnesota. A four-game win streak would still put the Hawkeyes in position for a Jan. 1 bowl game, their fifth straight.
With Ohio State and Michigan in line for BCS bowl berths, Iowa can still fight its way back to Florida in either the Outback or Capital One Bowl. Both bowls had representatives in attendance Saturday when the Hawkeyes pushed the second-ranked Wolverines for four quarters in a 20-6 loss that was closer than the final score.
Wisconsin is 4-1 in conference play and Penn State is 3-2. Purdue and Indiana are 2-2, while Iowa is 2-3. Two of those five teams will be playing in south central Florida in January.
"We're going to go back to work (Sunday) and try to get a win," said defensive end Bryan Mattison. "It is key as a leader on the team - and some of our other leaders - that we pull this team back together this week.
"I have know doubt ... none of these kids who were recruited to Iowa came to Iowa to not to give everything they have to the program and to never give up."
Linebacker Mike Humpal added, "It's a tough loss. But we saw some good things. We know we can play. We know everyone on this team has a lot of heart, and that will take you a long ways."
Of its four remaining games, Iowa's toughest challenge will be Wisconsin, which improved to 7-1 with a victory over Purdue Saturday.
Both Minnesota and Northwestern have struggled, while Northern Illinois could be a challenge with potential All-America running back Garrett Wolfe.
MATTISON CREATES OPPORTUNITIES: When Bryan Mattison stripped Michigan quarterback Chad Henne of the ball in the third quarter, it was his fourth forced fumble of the season. Mattison leads the Big Ten in that category.
FERENTZ 0-FOR: For the third time Saturday, Ferentz used a challenge, and for the third time the call on the field was upheld.
Ferentz used his challenge on a pass he felt Dominique Douglas caught in the fourth quarter.
