Iowa Football: 5 reasons the Hawkeyes will beat Iowa State

AMES, IA - SEPTEMBER 9: Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes pulls in the game winning touchdown pass as defensive back Brian Peavy #10 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in overtime play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 44-41 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

2. Iowa’s offensive line depth

There were legitimate concerns with the Hawkeyes offensive line coming into last Saturday’s game as both Tristan Wirfs and Alaric Jackson were suspended and Northern Illinois boasting an All-American defensive end in Sutton Smith. In his first career start, senior Dalton Ferguson was really an unsung hero as he did a great job of staying Smith’s chest all day long, along with redshirt freshman tackle Mark Kallenberger.

This week, both Wirfs and Jackson are back and ready to face a defense that is all-around more talented the Northern Illinois as a unit. This unit might very well be the second best unit Iowa sees all year behind Wisconsin in terms of sheer talent and the Cyclones attack is led by defensive end JaQuan Bailey and defensive tackle Ray Lima.

The matchup between the Iowa offensive line and the Iowa State defensive line will likely be more crucial to Iowa’s success rather than the Hawkeye defensive line. In years where Iowa loses to Iowa State, the key component is the Cyclone’s defensive line dominating the line of scrimmage. This year, with Iowa State not having played a full quarter, let alone a full game, could really affect the play of the defensive line and it will show as Iowa wears down the Cyclones line by the second half.

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