October 15, 2009

David Fox
Rivals.com College Football Staff Writer

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Recovering from an ankle injury, Moeaki dressed for the Hawkeyes' wins over Penn State and Arkansas State but Ferentz wouldn't let Moeaki play in either game.

"When a guy can't perform, I don't think it's fair to put a player out there that's not going to be able to do himself justice with his performance," Ferentz said. "It didn't make any sense, but he wanted to be out there like anyone else would."

Moeaki made sure Ferentz knew he wanted in. He lobbied on the sideline for two weeks in vain.

"I was just trying to put myself in the game," Moeaki said. "I probably would do the same thing if my leg was broken in half. He was looking out for the best."

Ferentz unleashed Moeaki at the right time. He caught six passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 30-28 win over Michigan; it was only the second 100-yard receiving game for an Iowa player this season.

"I'm a little biased: I think Tony's one of the best players in the country," Ferentz said. "He's had a tough career, injury-wise. It was great getting him back. When he's in there, we're a better team offensively."

Moeaki's return brings much-needed stability to the offense. The Hawkeyes are winning in spite of a rotating cast of characters in the lineup and eight interceptions thrown by quarterback Ricky Stanzi.

Moeaki and offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, two of Iowa's best players, have played only three games each. Through six games, the offensive line has used four starting lineups. Before the season started, the coaches had to adjust to losing projected starting running back Jewel Hampton to a knee injury.

"It's been musical chairs for us offensively," Ferentz said. "Hopefully we're getting closer to settling in and hopefully we can get some consistency going into the second half of the season. ... We're just not cohesive yet offensively. When we get to that point - if we get to that point - we're going to be pretty good."

Key matchup: Wisconsin's offensive line vs. Iowa's defensive line. Iowa's line sets the tone for a defense that had a streak of 33 consecutive quarters without allowing a rushing touchdown snapped by Michigan last week. Wisconsin will present another test for the Hawkeyes, but the Badgers need to regroup themselves. The Badgers allowed six sacks against Ohio State and John Clay averaged only 3.0 yards per carry.

On the spot: Name a Big Ten quarterback. The Big Ten made a convincing argument to abolish the forward pass last week. Take out Daryll Clark's game against FCS member Eastern Illinois, and Big Ten starting quarterbacks accounted for five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions, including four returned for touchdowns. Four starters had single-digit completions - Illinois' Eddie McGee (2-for-11), Michigan's Tate Forcier (8-for-19), Minnesota's Adam Weber (5-for-9) and Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor (5-for-13). Iowa's Ricky Stanzi and Clark were the only two starting quarterbacks who completed more than half their passes and had more touchdowns than interceptions ... and Stanzi still managed to throw a pick six.

Numbers game: Minnesota has rushed for more yardage than it has gained passing just twice in 31 games under coach Tim Brewster. One was last week, when the Gophers rushed for 207 yards and passed for 74 in a victory over Purdue.

What they're saying:

"We could always just explode at any given moment with Terrelle [Pryor] as the quarterback." - Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small, to the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch.

"At the end, we thought, geez, we had pretty good field position, put Denard in there, had a little plan with him, and he gave us a spark. End of story. Let's not create something that's not there, guys. I've got two outstanding quarterbacks, three quarterbacks, and we did it, OK? That's not the story of the game." - Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, on playing backup QB Denard Robinson at the end of last week's game

"I'm not even going to get into that. It's not as easy as everyone thinks. It's not musical chairs. Not by any stretch of the imagination am I done with Eddie [McGee] or done with Juice [Williams]." - Illinois coach Ron Zook, to the Chicago Tribune, on who will start at quarterback

"Don't look forward to Brandon Ware doing anything this year. He's way overweight. He's cutting classes. Brandon Ware right now is in my doghouse and I have no plans to use Brandon Ware." - Penn State coach Joe Paterno, in a frank assessment of a backup defensive tackle

Etc.: Michigan freshman QB Tate Forcier returned to practice Thursday after recovering from a concussion against Iowa and could play Saturday against Delaware State. ... Penn State LB Sean Lee returned to practice this week after missing three games with an ankle injury, but coach Joe Paterno is cautious about his return. ... Michigan State QB Keith Nichol is listed as a potential starter against Northwestern, but he is suffering from a left (non-throwing) arm injury. He played all but the final possession last week against Illinois. ... Ohio State RB Dan Herron (ankle) will not play against Purdue and could miss a few more games. ... Illinois has not announced if Juice Williams or Eddie McGee will start at quarterback this week against Indiana. ... Northwestern DE Corey Wootton missed most of the win over Miami University with a sprained ankle. He does not have a sack this season after recording 10 a year ago. ... Iowa WR Paul Chaney Jr. will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. ... Indiana averaged 398.3 yards per game in its first four games but only 250 yards in its last two. ... Michigan CB Boubacar Cissoko has been suspended indefinitely. He has missed the past two games, and his return is uncertain. ... Purdue dismissed former starting SS Josh McKinley. Coach Danny Hope said McKinley stopped going to practice. ... Iowa is off to its first 6-0 start since 1985, when the Hawkeyes went 10-2 and earned a Rose Bowl bid. ... Minnesota WR Eric Decker is the Big Ten's leading receiver by more than 100 yards. Decker has 689 receiving yards. The next best - Purdue's Kevin Smith - has 585. ... The Big Ten has five of the nation's top 20 tacklers, all linebackers - Michigan State's Greg Jones, Minnesota's Lee Campbell and Nathan Triplett, Penn State's Josh Hull and Iowa's Pat Angerer. ... Wisconsin DE O'Brien Schofield leads the nation in tackles for loss with 14.5. ... With its game against Delaware State, Michigan is playing an FCS team for the first time since losing 34-32 to Appalachian State in the 2007 opener. ... The Big Ten announced contract extensions with the Capital One, Outback and Insight bowls, while signing new agreements with the Gator and Texas bowls and the Dallas Football Classic starting next season.

David Fox is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at dfox@rivals.com.