Northwestern vs. Iowa gamethread

Fresh off a bye week, Northwestern is set to take on Iowa in Kinnick Stadium in a game with Big Ten West and bowl eligibility implications.

With a win today NU would jump the Hawkeyes in the conference standings and pull to 4-4 on the season. Iowa on the other hand, is just one win away from bowl eligibility. With the exception of Illinois, Iowa's remaining schedule isn't friendly, making this game even more important for the Hawks' postseason hopes.

These teams are very similar. Northwestern has a slight edge statistically over Iowa. But both squads have sputtering offenses and solid defenses, so expect a low-scoring game.

The biggest key to the game for Northwestern is the health of quarterback Trevor Siemian, who has been hampered with an ankle injury since the second game of the season. The bye week came at the right time for the senior signal caller, who looked sharp in practice this week. But the Iowa defense poses a stiff challenge for Siemian and the NU passing attack, which has underperformed all year.

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is 5-3 all time against Kirk Ferentz. Will he continue his success against NU's self-proclaimed rival? We're about to find out.

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