Last weekend, the Iowa defense had to contend with Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2025. It won't get any easier for Phil Parker's unit on Friday.
The Hawkeyes are hitting the road for a key matchup with Washington on Friday night. They're looking to bounce back from the loss to Ohio State and pick up some momentum heading into their bye week. To do that, they'll have to slow down Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr.
Williams is in his second full year as Washington's starter. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound signal-caller is completing 67.5% of his passes this season. Williams has thrown for 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns against three interceptions. The Chandler, Ariz., product has also rushed for 191 yards and two
scores. Last season, he threw for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns, while adding 611 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
Kirk Ferentz knows his team has a huge challenge in front of them when it comes to stopping Williams. He broke down what his defense will have to do to try to pull that off:
"My headaches began however many weeks ago we played Iowa State because he (Williams) was the guy playing for Washington vs. Washington State who was Iowa State's defense," Ferentz said. "We got to watch that entire game countless times. You just watch this guy playing, and he really played well. That would have been last year's Washington-Washington State game.
"He's a really dynamic player. He's a good thrower. He can run. They can design runs with him. He can just pull it down and go. He's one of those catalyst-type players. You can tell everybody responds to him.
"When you play a guy like that, it just makes things a little bit trickier for sure, and it makes everybody just a little bit more -- you just kind of -- you have to be, I don't want to say tentative, but you have to be a little more reserved a little bit. It makes it hard. Puts the pressure on the quarterback who's got the ball every play. So it makes it tough. Good player, really good player."
It seems like Iowa may opt to play more coverage against Williams as opposed to blitzing him. That could be something they've seen in the film room. A mobile quarterback like Williams can make opposing defenses pay if the blitz doesn't get home. The Hawkeyes may be playing it safe to try and slow down the Washington offense.
Regardless of the defensive strategy, Iowa will have a hard time winning this game if Williams isn't contained. That has to be priority No. 1 for a Hawkeye defense looking to get back on track.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football readying for 'dynamic' opposing Washington QB
