Everything Kirk Ferentz had to say about Iowa State ahead of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series
The Iowa Hawkeyes have won the past six in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. While week one left some lingering questions about the Hawkeyes’ offense, Iowa turns the page to its annual rivalry date against the Iowa State Cyclones hoping that last week was nothing more than some early-season jitters and growing pains.
Running back Gavin Williams appears primed for a return, so that should help to offset the continued absences of wide receivers Keagan Johnson and Nico Ragaini. Defensively, it will be interesting to see how Iowa manages without both linebacker Jestin Jacobs and cornerback Jermari Harris.
Of course, Iowa State typically presents one of the most exciting challenges every season and this year’s contest figures to be no different. With the emotionally charged rivalry set to resume on Saturday, here was everything Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz had to say about the Iowa State Cyclones.
On quarterback Hunter Dekkers
AP Photo/Matthew Putney
“Well, he’s a left-hander, I’ll start with that. The ball still comes out, so you’ve got to defend it no matter where it goes. A little bit different. He’s got a little Ken Stabler, a little sidearm stuff in there every now and then, too, to get the ball around, so he did a good job. He really looked poised. Made good throws the other day, and they hit some big plays. They’ve got a good group of receivers. Tough to defend.
“But the biggest thing, he just looked like he was totally under control and they did a nice job offensively of executing and kept him clean, and he can pull it down and run it, too, when he needs to, but just a really impressive outing,” Ferentz said.
Going up against Iowa State's 3-3-5 defense
Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
“You know, two things on that. It’s a little bit interesting because you think of that league as a tempo scoring league. But this defense to me holds up really well against any kind of offense. Like it’s a real challenge. It’s a challenge to match up with it in a week’s time, and we are not big on working on opponents during camp or spring ball. We used to do that a little bit in the ’80s. So that’s a challenge in itself, and then on top of it, they’ve got really good players and they’re very well-coached and they’re very aggressive,” Ferentz said.
On Iowa State defensive lineman Will McDonald
AP Photo/Matthew Putney
“Then to your point about No. 9, he’s probably an illustration of why their program is good, because with each and every year, you’ve seen him take another step. I thought he was a far better player a year ago than he was the year before that, and he was good two years ago, as well. We didn’t play them but saw him on tape, so he was good, whatever year that would have been, ’20 I guess. But boy, last year this guy was playing and he was playing even better now, which you’d expect. He’s just a really good football player, very sound and also very, very explosive,” Ferentz said.
On wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson
AP Photo/Matthew Putney
“He’s a really good football player, and then on top of it they do a really good job of moving him around, so he’s not always in plays. You don’t know where he’s going to show up, and they did a nice job the other day of getting a personnel mismatch and they made theopponent pay for it.
“But he’s a really good football player. He can run. He’s going to catch it, and he can run after the catch, too. He knows how to get open. He’s a really good player, and they use him well in their scheme. That’s for sure,” Ferentz said.
If Iowa State will lead to the Hawkeyes using more CASH
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
“Yeah, we’ll see how it plays out, but if they’re in three wides we’ll probably be in CASH. That’s kind of a common thing for us. But they’ll do some two tight end stuff and get heavier, and those guys did a good job Saturday. If they do that, we’ll make our adjustment with our personnel, be it Logan Klemp, or we’ve got some position flexibility with some of the other guys. We’ll figure that out. But it will probably be a mix for us on Saturday like most times,” Ferentz said.
The rivalry returning to Iowa City
Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
“It’s still Iowa-Iowa State and it’s a big game for everybody in the state. It’s certainly a big game for both programs. I don’t want to speak for their side, but I’m sure they’re like us, everybody on our team wants to win this game. They want to win it. It’s a big game,” Ferentz said.
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