The Hawkeyes have allowed one touchdown over the last 16 quarters.
Iowa has won 16 of its last 17 November games. The way the Hawkeyes have shut down the run the past five games, they should have ample opportunity to crank up the pass rush against an opponent that has thrown an average of 35 times the last two weeks and given up 37 sacks for the season. Iowa: DE Joe Evans has 23 career sacks, tied for seventh in program history, and this appears to be a matchup that suits him. Bret Bielema adheres to the axiom that a player shouldn’t lose his starting job because of an injury, but his decision shocked a vocal portion of the fan base.
Backup John Paddock passed for 507 yards against the Hoosiers a week after coming in cold to lead the winning drive against Wisconsin.
Illinois: QB Luke Altmyer was named the starter after missing last week’s overtime win over Indiana because of injury. Iowa has an elite pass defender in Sebastian Castro but took a big blow this week when Cooper DeJean suffered a season-ending leg injury in practice. The Illini average 261 yards passing per game to rank third in the Big Ten, and they averaged 21.1 yards per reception against Indiana last week with backup quarterback John Paddock.
