IOWA CITY — No. 2, undefeated Michigan is currently favored by 22 points over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday (7 PM CT, FOX). After beating Ohio State in Columbus, the Wolverines are one step away from a College Football Playoff berth, and perhaps something even greater.
To hear some tell it, the Big Ten Championship Game is a mere formality, a speed bump for the Wolverines.
Unless...
"If we would win, that would really screw things up, I'm guessing," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday. "Might be kind of funny, actually."
Iowa's still going to be out there on the field come Saturday, much to the (mostly mock) chagrin of the chattering class. Not that the Hawkeyes are being given much of a chance to win. Michigan outscored Big Ten foes by an average of 27.6 points per game. Meanwhile, Iowa boasts a 22-point differential in conference play.
Not 22 points per game. That's 22 points total, over the nine Big Ten contests.
"People love not to love us," Ferentz said wryly. "That's okay. It is what it is. I don't know. Maybe it's me – I think I'm a decent person."
Ferentz did address the criticisms more directly. "I think there's also a stylistic part, and maybe we're not pretty enough or whatever it may be," said Ferentz. "The objective is to win games. Try to find a way to win, that's what you try to do. Our guys have done a pretty good job of that."
Senior defensive back Sebastian Castro agreed.
"It's just like, people want you to lose, so...," Castro said, laughing. "They're always like, 'why is Iowa still here?' And we're just like, 'why not us?' We've been working our tails off to be in this position, and they still don't want us here. So we're going to do everything we can to stay here. And we like it."
Michigan routed Iowa, 42-3, the last time these two teams squared off in Indianapolis, in 2021. Iowa kept that game competitive into the second half, trailing 14-3 at halftime, but Michigan's talent advantage contributed to a late scoring avalanche.
That gap in talent also helped the Wolverines outpace the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium in 2022, though that score stayed closer throughout the contest.
Iowa has fixed some of the talent holes from years past, but Michigan might be as loaded as it's ever been in the Harbaugh era — including the previous two years' teams.
"They're a great football team, and probably the best Big Ten team I've seen since I've been here," said punter Tory Taylor. "So they're gonna throw a few challenges our way, but we love being the underdog and we're going to go in there with nothing to lose and have some fun as well."
All-Big Ten senior linebacker Nick Jackson sees the same talent across the board.
"Great quarterback, great O-line, running back, tight ends, receivers," Jackson said Tuesday. "Just knowing those guys, they present a lot of challenges, and you just have to be ready for it at all times. They have a great offensive line that's leading the way, and they have a quarterback that can pull it [down and run], who's very fast as well."
The Wolverine offense has no shortage of talent on the perimeter, but its strength is predicated on that run game, according to senior defensive back Sebastian Castro.
"I mean, they're real physical, they're really hard-working," Castro said. "They want to run the ball, that's what they want to do. And they can pass the ball — they have a lot of athletes out there as well. But I know they want to establish who they are as an offense, establish a dominance. And we have to match that."
There, Castro sees a welcome familiarity with his own program.
"It does feel familiar," Castro said. "It's my kind of football — I like to tough it out, run it out, the hard work of it, fighting for everything. We want it that way too, as a team. That's football at its finest."
Hype and hyperbole aside, Michigan is favored heavily for a reason, and that's typically not a great position for underdogs like Iowa to be in. This season, underdogs of 21-23 points have won just four of 37 games, or 10.8% — over the last 20 years, that success rate dips to an even direr 6.7%.
"Our players are excited about the opportunity to be in this game," Ferentz said. "I'm proud of them for earning their way into it. It's going to take our best football on Saturday to have a chance in this."
Failing that, Iowa can just lean on the same strategy it has used all season — to filter out the noise and focus on what it can control.
"I'd block them out," said Iowa receiver Kaleb Brown. "What they're saying on the outside, doesn't really matter. The game has to be played between the lines."
Jackson also reiterated that the team's focus remains inward as it prepares for its toughest game of the year.
"We know they're a heck of a football team," Jackson said. "We know they present a lot of challenges. I really just think that as we focus on ourselves, day in and day out, that's going to give us the best opportunity."
