T.J. Birkel 
Iowa Football
After finally getting the bowl monkey off their back, Nebraska will look to make it two in a row as they take on Iowa in the Thanksgiving weekend rivalry game. Vibes are sky high in Husker Nation after thoroughly dominating Wisconsin. The Huskers come into the game at 6-5, looking to improve their bowl standing. The Hawkeyes are 7-4, having won three out of their last four. Of the two teams’ mutual opponents, Iowa lost to Ohio State 35-7, beat Wisconsin 42-10, and lost to UCLA 20-17. Most betting lines currently have Iowa favored by around five points.
I talked to Joel Kraushaar, host of 12 Saturdays Podcast, to get the Iowa perspective on the upcoming game.
Interview with Joel Kraushaar, Host of the 12 Saturdays Podcast
Iowa comes into this game at 7-4. The way the schedule lined up, is it safe to say many Hawkeye fans felt the team could make a run at the conference title this year? What are the vibes like around the fan base right now?
Fans, I believe, are generally disappointed. I also believe Iowa fans are frustrated by the current culture of College Football. There is a constant fear that if you aren’t eligible for the College Football Playoff, that the roster is in jeopardy of early turnover. Iowa has some injuries in veteran players, and no rumors are starting to swirl that they aren’t actual injuries and self preservation from starter Jermari Harris. It does appear that the team is rallying behind walk-on QB Jackson Stratton.
Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is a stalwart in the Big Ten, having been at Iowa since 1999. He’s had an outstanding career, but Iowa has been especially good since 2015. What’s the current view of Coach Ferentz among Hawkeye fans?
I think the younger fan base is fatigued. Gen Z doesn’t understand delayed gratification very well. Kirk Ferentz took the helm my Senior year of High School, my entire adult life he’s been the coach, most of my contemporaries I think understand what Iowa football is, which is a program that has over performed the recruiting footprint since 1980. The greatest players in the Ferentz era are arguably, Robert Gallery, Brad Banks, Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders, Marshall Yanda, and Tristan Wirfs. Throw in Chad Greenway and Jack Campbell, and there is only one 4-star recruit in that group (Wirfs). And Banks (Florida), Sanders (PA) and Greenway (South Dakota) are the only out of state products. Many Hawkeye fans don’t understand how hard it is to develop talent, vs. acquiring it. Iowa can never be focused on simply the acquisition model, the money just is not there.
Iowa’s lost multiple starting quarterbacks due to injury this season. What’s your assessment of current starter Jackson Stratton?
I am encouraged. I didn’t realize how big his arm actually is. (Iowa offensive coordinator) Tim Lester did not ask him to win the game with his arm, but you can see there is the talent to drive the ball into a tight window, and drive it down the field. They call him Shaggy, because he looks just like the Scooby Doo character, but it is clear his mental clarity far exceeds the Casey Kasem voiced stoner detective of my childhood. Sometimes all you need is an underdog to root for. Stratton might just be the Cinderlla Man for the Hawkeyes.
After really struggling on offense last year, the Hawkeyes seem to have found something this year, especially when it comes to running back Kaleb Johnson. What’s been the key to Johnson’s success?
Tim Lester has really threaded the needle of blending new concepts with the traditional running attack of the Ferentz era. Lester creates conflict with pre-snap motion and shifts that forces defensive fronts to commit to an alignment, making clearer blocking pictures for the Iowa offensive line which has done a better job of staying healthy. In years past the OL has lacked depth, that is no longer the case. Good things are happening in the running game because of more consistency up front for the Hawkeyes.
One major key to success for the Hawkeyes in recent years has been dominant defense. How would you characterize this year’s defense?
Uncharacteristically explosive. What I mean by this, is that Iowa has been susceptible to giving up big plays in the passing game. This is not a good thing, and drives me bonkers.
From the Nebraska perspective, it feels like Iowa has really become our biggest rival in the Big Ten. Both fan bases seem to despise the other team. The Thanksgiving weekend games always have a lot of juice, regardless of what’s going on with either team. How is this game viewed in the Hawkeye Common Fans’ eyes?
It just means more, the two programs don’t compete a lot for the same recruits, but for years Nebraska was a power in the Big 8 and Big 12, conferences that Iowa fans generally never respected, largely due to being the home of the only team the Hawkeyes hate more, Iowa State. Yet the Husker faithful crowed for decades about their success in the Devaney and Osborne eras. Nebraska verbally came into the conference like a lion, claiming they would dominate the West, clearly that never happened. Iowa has had much more success since the Huskers joined the Big Ten. But both teams are regressing and ascending the mean respectively which adds more fuel to the fire of this modern college football rivalry.
What have you seen from Nebraska and does it make you feel better or worse about Iowa’s chances on Saturday?
I believe Iowa has to take the ball away to secure this victory. Raiola does a nice job against zone coverage. As the windows tighten, Iowa’s back 7 needs to take the ball away.
Iowa wins if ______.
Iowa wins if they win the turnover battle.
Nebraska wins if ______.
Nebraska wins if they protect the football and win special teams.
Final score prediction?
Iowa 27
Nebraska 15
Author’s note: Thanks to Joel Kraushaar, host of 12 Saturdays Podcast, for sharing his expertise with the Common Fans. Both the Common Fan Podcast (Nebraska) and the 12 Saturdays Podcast (Iowa) are members of The College Huddle, the largest fan-led online college sports podcast community, made up of one podcast from each fan base represented.
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