Often times, football is a game of misdirection.
Teams will try to play tricks, run gadget plays or put something on film one week and then completely divert from that the following week.
Not Iowa. Not under Kirk Ferentz.
For decades, the Hawkeyes' coach has run a team based on simple concepts: Be more disciplined than the opponent, make fewer mistakes, be more physical.
That's what No. 18 Michigan football (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) is expecting against No. 17 Iowa (3-0, 0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Michigan Stadium (3:30 p.m., CBS).
"You know exactly what you're walking into when you play Iowa," tight end Eli Owens said Tuesday in Ann Arbor. "You're playing a fundamental, disciplined football team that loves to fly around and get to the ball and make
plays. I mean, that's what they've been since coach Ferentz has got there and he's been an amazing coach for them.
"It's really going to show on Saturday, like the most disciplined team will win."
Iowa enters with its ever-stout defense, only this time the numbers are even more impressive than usual. The Hawkeyes rank No. 1 in total defense (176.7 yards per game), No. 1 in scoring defense (4.3 points per game), No. 10 in third-down conversion rate (23.3%).
The numbers for Iowa's normally sub-par offense are also far better than average. It is No. 23 in turnover margin (plus three), No. 30 in total offense (477 yards per game) and No. 47 in scoring (37 points per game). Yes, some of that is due to only playing just one Power Four team, but it's still better than Iowa usually is at this juncture.
And it hasn't done it with elite playmakers or new gadgets, but the old fashioned way − with the big men.
"Super cohesive O-line," Michigan defensive tackle Trey Pierce said. "They play together really well. Very disciplined. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but what they do, they do really well. ... Iowa's known for the O-line, and we want to be the best defensive line in the country, so we have to go against the really good O-lines, and we have to dominate them to be considered that. So we see it as a challenge."
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Michigan knows it needs to be cleaner than it was in the nonconference. It enters Week 4 ranked No. 106 in turnover margin (minus-two) and No. 108 in penalty yards (71.3 per game).
While discipline is often job No. 1 against the Hawkeyes, physicality is an easy No. 2. Iowa is a classic Midwest, 3 yards and a cloud of dust outfit, not afraid to use 10-, 12-, 15-play drives to chew up clock and end possessions with a kick.
The best way to get the Hawkeyes behind the sticks and win the game?
"Win in the trenches," Pierce said. "They're a trench team, we're a trench team; win the line of scrimmage."
This game isn't expected to be like the past four matchups, all of which have been won by Michigan in lopsided fashion with a combined score of 105-20. The last game, though, was in 2023, 26-0, in the Big Ten championship game.
Michigan has fluctuated between being favored by 4½ and 5½ points, the same spread Oklahoma was favored by against Michigan in Week 2.
Slow starts have been a problem for Michigan this season, scoring just seven points in the first half against Western and 10 against Oklahoma, which allowed both teams to hang around as Michigan trailed or was tied with less than 10 minutes in each game.
Michigan also trailed lowly UTEP 14-7 at the two-minute timeout in the second quarter of Week 3. That's the type of game Iowa wants to play. Slow, plotting, methodical.
"They're ready to play from the jump," Owens said. "There is no lull, and they're ready to get after who's on the other side."
Iowa isn't going to try and surprise Michigan; the test is simply going to be if Michigan is ready or not.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football prepared for slobber-knocker top-20 matchup vs Iowa
