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It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It: Kirk Ferentz Talks Penn State

It was weekly press conference time for both Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and Penn State head man Bill O'Brien. See what they had to say about Saturday's game.

By PlannedSickDays
Mike Carter-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire

KIRK FERENTZ TALKED TO THE MEDIA TUESDAY. First, there was the Big Ten teleconference. Ferentz then met with the media in Iowa City. Here is the transcript and video. I'll summarize bullet style.

  • Mark Weisman suffered a sprained ankle and is medically cleared to play
  • How Weisman performs (in practice leading up) will determine if he plays Saturday
  • Doesn't sound like a high ankle sprain for MW
  • Kirk has confidence in Mike Meyer
  • Jordan Cotton has worked hard and it's paying off
  • Going to have to play their best against a tough Penn State defense
  • B.J. Lowery and Austin Blythe are both probable
  • Jordan Canzeri could play Saturday night
  • Damon Bullock is probably out this week
THE PLAYERS SPOKE TOO. The Cedar Rapids Gazette crew grabbed video of James Vandenberg, Tom Donatell, Micah Hyde, James Ferentz, Andrew Donnal, Kevonte Martin-Manley, Keenan Davis and Louis Trinca-Pasat. They talked about the win over Michigan State and of course the upcoming game with Penn State.

HERE'S THE GAME NOTES. Kickoff is set for 7:01 pm (CDT) at Kinnick Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The broadcast team is Eric Collins, Derek Rackley and Jon Jansen.

PENN STATE HEAD COACH BILL O'BRIEN ALSO SPOKE YESTERDAY. Here is O'Brien's transcript. PSU will have Bill Benton back at running back and he's listed number one on the depth chart. Both O'Brien and Stephon Morris said that PSU isn't overlooking Iowa. Per Morris, "this is a huge game, we hate them they hate us. We're focused on Iowa that's it. One game at a time."

FOR ALMOST A YEAR THE WORLD HAS FOCUSED ON PENN STATE. All of the outside "noise" has brought this group of players together. There's sanctions that prohibit this team from playing in the post season. Some wondered if the wheels would fall off, especially after losing their first two games. They've stuck together and have won four in-a-row heading to Iowa City.

IOWA IS AT THE HALFWAY POINT. The 4-2 record isn't necessarily a surprise but how they got to 4-2 certainly is. Prior to the season it was a reasonable prediction that Iowa's offense would lead the way. We know now that's not the case, at least in terms of the passing game. The run game is working. The defense is working. Mike Meyer is good. It's a matter of if and not when the passing game figures it out.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BOX SCORE. The Daily Iowan has interesting notes in their weekly look into the box score of Iowa's game versus Michigan State. Iowa forced the MSU offense into five three-and-outs. DI also notes that opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 10.92 when facing 3rd down and between seven and nine yards.

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