With three games remaining the Iowa Hawkeyes are back in the drivers seat in the Big Ten West but the margin is razor thin, especially with an nonexistent offense. Iowa is averaging just over 13 points per game in conference play heading into Saturday’s contest at home against Rutgers.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who says every team needs to find ways to be successful and sometimes that changes during a season.

Iowa has committed the second fewest penalties in the Big 10 and Ferentz says that needs to continue in these close games.

Ferentz says Rutgers is making a lot of progress in Greg Schiano’s second stint at the school. The Scarlet Knights enter the game with a 6-3 record and have one of the Big Ten’s best ground attacks.

Ferentz would not say how much Cooper DeJean may play on offense going forward. DeJean got a handful of snaps at Northwestern and even carried the ball once.

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell says a late night kickoff won’t be a concern for his players. The Cyclones visit BYU Satutrday night and the 8-15 kickoff in Provo is the latest local start time in Cyclone history.

The Cougars have won 23 of their last 24 night games.

Campbell calls BYU a tradition rich program.

A 28-21 loss at Kansas knocked the Cyclones out of a first place tie in the Big 12 race and a win at BYU would make them bowl eligible a year after posting a 4-8 record.

THIS WEEK

University of Iowa full media notes for this Friday’s NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The meet begins at 10:30 a.m. (CT) with the women’s 6,000-meters, followed by the men’s 10,000-meter race at 11:30. Oklahoma State is hosting the event at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course. The meet will be broadcast via stream at okstate.com and live results will be provided by PT Timing.

The top two teams from each regional earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. 13 at-large teams are selected, while only two individual at-larges advance. The first four finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team will also advance to the NCAA Championships.

 For an inside look at the Iowa cross country program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” The University of Iowa Cross Country and Track and Field Facebook page and follow the Hawkeyes on X (@IowaXC_TF) and Instagram (@iowaxctf). Follow live results on the official social media channels for Iowa Cross Country and at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Sixth-year University of Iowa defensive lineman Joe Evans has been selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy, an award presented to the most outstanding player in America who began his career as a walk-on.

The Ames, Iowa, native joined the Hawkeyes as a walk-on in the fall of 2018 — two months later than the other players in his recruiting class. After changing positions from linebacker to defensive end, Evans played his way onto the field in 2019 as a pass rushing specialist. He finished the season with four sacks.

Evans saw action in all eight games in 2020 and all 14 contests in 2021, where he tied for the team lead with seven sacks. In 2022, he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after finishing the season with 8.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

This season, Evans has been voted a team captain by his teammates each week of the season. He has 34 tackles and team highs in tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (4.5) for a Hawkeye defense that is one of the nation’s best. Evans, who will end his career as a five-year letterwinner, currently is tied for seventh in program history with 23 career sacks.

Joining Evans as a Burlsworth Trophy semifinalist are: B.J. Green III (DL, Arizona State), James Carpenter (G, James Madison), Austin Moore (LB, Kansas State), Cody Schrader (RB, Missouri), Drake Stoops (WR, Oklahoma), Jake Springfield (OT, Oklahoma State), Sean Atkins (WR, South Florida), Bryson Barnes (QB, Utah) and Kyle Thornton (LB, Washington State).

The selection committee will announce the top three Burlsworth Trophy finalists on Nov. 14. Finalists will be honored and the winner will be announced on Dec. 4, in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-2) host Rutgers at 2:40 p.m. (CT) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network.