Iowa Has 'Octane' in 2026 — But Michigan Football Has the Jimmy's and Joe's

Kirk Fertentz spoke with the media and scouted the Wolverines.

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There will be a top-25 showdown in Ann Arbor on Saturday when Michigan hosts Iowa. Both teams are 3-0 and both programs have an elite defense. Nobody is better than the Hawkeyes statistically on the defensive side of the ball; they rank No. 1 in both scoring defense and total defense.

Iowa has made a living at playing stifling defense under long-time head coach Kirk Ferentz and that's not going to change anytime soon. The Hawkeyes are known for playing great X's and O's, but they don't necessarily have the Jimmy's and the Joe's.

On Tuesday, Ferentz spoke about how the Wolverines do have the Jimmy's and the Joe's and scouted what he has seen from Michigan. He did note that the last time the two teams played one another, back in 2023 during the Big Ten Championship game, that Iowa has more octane than it did then.

"Yeah, I mean, last time we got together, we were a little bit depleted offensively," Ferentz said. "So, you know, obviously I think we got a little more octane now in the tank than we did then. You know, it was not the best matchup from that standpoint. But yeah, they've got really good players.

"To Trevor's point, they're really talented in their defense, which he's seen, that's all he's seen really right now. A lot of guys that can rush the pass or they play the run really well. They've got a really impressive defensive front and not only their starters, but their backups. And they play them all pretty fluidly. So really good players.

"Their linebackers are extremely active, especially the middle linebacker. He's all over the place. And then their secondary is extremely aggressive. One of the more aggressive groups I've seen. Nope, they'll hit you. They'll come up and hit you. So it's a really physical group that way, playing outstanding defense. And then, you know, but they're very well coached too. I would throw that in and accentuate that."

Did Michigan's defense catch a break against Iowa?

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Iowa is set to start Hank Brown at QB against Michigan, and this will be the first true road game of his career. The Hawkeyes have relied on their ground game and Iowa's starting RB Kamari Moulton did not play last week against Northern Iowa.

Interestingly enough, Moulton was held off of Iowa's Week 4 depth chart. Ferentz did tell reporters that if Moulton was good to go he would play, but as of this writing, it doesn't sound certain that the Hawkeyes will have their leading rusher available.

It could be gamesmanship from Ferentz, but even if Moulton does play, will he be 100% healthy? If not, that gives Michigan a big edge against a team that wants to establish the run and lean on the rushing attack.

Iowa doesn't want to be forced into third and long situations, and if it is, that's when the Wolverines' edge rushers can cause a lot of havoc.

Fans can see what happens on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET when the two teams square off on CBS.

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