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GAME NOTES: Last week the Iowa Hawkeyes were not in the Top 25, but this Saturday Iowa will take the field at Kinnick Stadium as the 13th-ranked team in the nation when the Arkansas State Red Wolves invade Iowa City.

The Red Wolves began their season with a tremendous 61-0 decision over Mississippi Valley State, but the team could not ride that momentum and has dropped its next two matchups, falling to Nebraska (38-9) and Troy (30-27). Arkansas State has little history with teams from the Big Ten. In fact the Red Wolves have only collided with Minnesota and Illinois two times apiece and lost all four matchups. Playing away from home has been a problem for the Red Wolves since the beginning of the decade, as the team has dropped 47 of its 57 matchups as the visitor during that time span.

As for the Hawkeyes, they are coming off a fantastic 21-10 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. It was the fourth win of the season for Iowa, and the eighth consecutive victory dating back to last season. With the win over PSU, which was ranked fifth in the nation at the time, the Hawkeyes went from unranked to 13th in the nation, which is the team's highest ranking since sitting at 13 back in September of 2006.

This will be the first meeting between the Red Wolves and Hawkeyes on the gridiron.

The Red Wolves do not possess a balanced attack offensively, as the team relies heavily on its ground game, which has netted 190.3 yards per contest. ASU's rushing attack has done most of the work for coach Steve Roberts, as it is responsible for 11 of the 13 offensive touchdowns to date.

Reggie Arnold has been terrific thus far, as the tailback has churned out 241 yards and seven scores on 6.3 yards per tote. Derek Lawson has contributed 120 yards on the year, while Don Jones has chipped in with 107 yards on an eye- popping 8.2 ypc.

Due to the success of the rushing attack, quarterback Corey Leonard has taken a back seat in the offense, and has thrown for just 450 yards and two scores on the year. What was shocking in the recent loss to Troy was the team's inability to run the ball. Arkansas State finished with just 70 yards on 2.8 yards per carry. Overall the Red Wolves were limited to 305 total yards and it was a tough loss to swallow, especially for coach Roberts.

"Obviously I'm disappointed we didn't win the game. I have to give Troy a lot of credit for a great plan and execution. They're a very good football team, and they're living up to everything that was built up in the preseason."

Arnold scored two touchdowns in the loss, but the running back was limited to just 32 yards on 12 carries. As for Leonard, he threw for 190 yards and one touchdown, but completed just 12-of-24 passes and was sacked twice.

The Red Wolves are not an overwhelming force defensively, but the team has done well in certain areas and heads into this weekend holding teams to just 22.7 ppg. Arkansas State has done a good job against the run, bottling up opponents for just 100.0 yards on 3.2 yards per carry. Unfortunately the team has not enjoyed the same success against the pass, as opponents are currently torching the defensive backfield for 256.7 ypg, and out of the eight touchdowns surrendered by this unit six have come via the pass.

The team's inability to stop the pass continued in its recent setback to Troy, as the Red Wolves were clobbered by the Trojans for 373 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Overall the defense was peppered for 507 total yards and that led to 30 points. Arkansas State did force three turnovers, giving the team five on the season, but the defense did not record a sack in the loss and also allowed Troy to convert on 5-of-6 red zone chances.

The Hawkeyes are not a dangerous unit offensively by any stretch of the imagination, but the team does get the job done when it matters most. Iowa is led by its ground attack, which is churning out a respectable 143.5 ypg. Adam Robinson has done most of the hard work, rushing for 321 yards and four touchdowns on 5.0 ypc, while Brandon Wether has contributed with 220 yards and two scores.

Ricky Stanzi however, has caused the passing attack to turn stale at times during the year, as the signal caller has dealt with his own inconsistencies. After four games the junior is completing 56.3 percent of his throws, but only for 779 yards, with five touchdowns against five interceptions.

In the win over Penn State it was once again the ground game that led the Hawkeyes to victory, as the team churned out 163 yards on 4.4 ypc. Robinson pounded his way for 88 yards and the lone offensive touchdown for Iowa, while Wegher rushed for 73 yards on 14 totes. As for Stanzi, he did not help the cause for Iowa, as the signal caller completed just 11-of-26 passes and finished with only 135 yards and two interceptions. Despite the poor showing, coach Kirk Ferentz still saw some positive things in the junior's game.

"I thought he played a good game. A couple throws maybe could have been a little sharper and what have you, but he made some great decisions. I think two things; he's leading our team really well, and he's really keeping his poise out there on the field, which I think spreads to others."

Something that could help Stanzi and the rest of the offense for this weekend's matchup is the return of left tackle Bryan Bulaga, who missed time with an injury. The junior has been cleared to play, but it is still unclear if he will start.

"I know everybody is different, but if we have a guy that's a proven player, established player, usually when they're healthy, if they're out because of injury reasons, medical reasons, we put them right back in the lineup when they get back," said coach Ferentz. "How much he plays, I don't know that; we'll have to wait and see how the weeks goes. He's missed, it's three weeks now, three weeks of pretty intensive work."

The offense does what it has to for Iowa to win games, but the true spirit of this team is on the defensive side of the football. The Hawkeyes have done a tremendous job thus far, holding opponents to just 304.2 total ypg, and that has translated to just 11.5 ppg. The defense has yet to allow a rushing touchdown on the season, and has also performed well against the pass, holding opponents to just 171.5 ypg through the air, while allowing three touchdowns, but also collecting nine interceptions. Overall the defense has forced 12 turnovers on the year, but the unit has struggled with pressuring the quarterback and heads into this weekend with only six sacks. Although there is still plenty of football to play, this looks to be one of the more complete defensive teams in the nation and the Hawkeyes proved that in their recent win over Penn State.

"Well, we've got eight games to go, so we'll find out. But they're playing well, and their effort the other night was phenomenal," said coach Ferentz. "It could have been better. That's the good news is it could have been better. I think even the things we're doing well in any area right now, we can still do better, so that's really where we need to be focused. But our guys are playing hard, and the guys up front are starting to jell. We're certainly way ahead of where we were three weeks ago, four weeks ago. The last two weeks we've started to look like a coherent group out there, and that's a good thing."

In the win over the Nittany Lions the Hawkeyes limited PSU to just 307 total yards, and baffled quarterback Daryll Clark throughout the contest, causing him to throw three interceptions. Overall the defense forced four turnovers in the win, but what was even more impressive was Iowa's performance against Evan Royster and PSU's ground game, as the Hawkeyes bottled up the Lions for just 109 yards on 3.3 yards per attempt.

Usually after winning a big game, a team plays a little flat the next week, but do not expect a lackluster performance from Iowa. Coach Ferentz has his players hungry and ready for action, so expect Iowa's defense to continue its dominating play, as the Hawkeyes should soar to their fifth win and maybe another boost in the rankings.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Iowa 31, Arkansas State 13