Iowa may be winning ugly but junior corner Cooper DeJean says the Hawkeyes don’t mind. Iowa is 6-1 despite having the worst offense in the country an only managed 37 passing yards in a 15-6 win at Wisconsin. They host Minnesota this week.

Iowa is winning with defense and special teams and DeJean says their is a growing confidence.

An improving run game is helping Iowa’s struggling offense. The Hawkeyes averaged just over 190 yards on the ground in wins over Purdue and Wisconsin and running back Leshon Williams credits an improved offensive line.

Williams is not surprised the offensive line has made progress.

Junior center Logan Jones says the confidence level is growing for the offensive line.

The injuries are mounting on offense but Jones says its an unfortunate part of football.

Drake takes a share of the Pioneer Football League lead on the road this week to the University of San Diego. The Bulldogs are coming off a stunning 52-21 win over PFL favorite St. Thomas of Minnesota and sit at 3-0 in the league race after starting the season 0-3

That’s Drake coach Todd Stepsis. The Toreros are 1-5 overall. A stunning start for a program that has won seven PFL itles in the last nine years.

The Bulldogs look to break through in a series that has been dominated by San Diego.

Former Iowa State quarterback Re-Al Mitchell is a big play threat for San Diego and Stepsis says the Drake defense will need to find him.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced Wednesday a new student ticket model for select winter sports. UI students can purchase $5 single-game tickets to men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s wrestling for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Student tickets will be available for purchase beginning Thursday, Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. (CT). UI students will be limited to one ticket per game/meet. Students must be currently enrolled and can purchase tickets through their student ticketing account at HawkeyeSports.com/StudentTickets.

Games/meets include all conference and nonconference events through the end of December. Spring semester games/meets will be released on Thursday, Dec. 7.

Students can claim free tickets to basketball exhibitions on Oct. 22 (women) and Oct. 30 (men), while each squad’s regular season opener can be purchased for just $2. The Hawkeye women open its regular season on Nov. 6 against Fairleigh Dickinson, while the men will host North Dakota on Nov. 7. Students will be asked to present a current UI Student ID when entering with a student ticket. Student guest tickets may be released at a later date dependent on availability.

The new model is meant to allow for more flexibility, promote attendance, and allows for more students to have opportunities to attend games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Students can purchase tickets by logging into their personal account. They can then select the desired sport, followed by the game/meet. Students can also claim a free ticket to regular season home gymnastics and women’s wrestling meets by following the same steps. Single-game tickets will be available until sold out.

Students can purchase tickets at HawkeyeSports.com/StudentTickets. Students can contact the UI Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-IA-HAWKS for assistance. The ticket office is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill says the way the Hawkeyes responded to a loss at Penn State has been a key to their 6-1 record. The Hawkeyes have won three straight since getting demolished by the Nittany Lions 31-0 and Hill will make his third start for the injured Cade McNamara on Saturday at home against Minnesota.

Hill passed for only 37 yards in a 15-6 win at Wisconsin and while he expects the passing game to improve it is important for him to limit mistakes.

Hill says the Gophers play a sound style of defense.

With a pair of All Big Ten caliber tight ends lost for the season Steven Stillianos (still-ee-ah-nos) has an expanded role for Iowa. The Lafayette transfer has five receptions this season and played most of the game at Wisconsin after Erick All suffered a season ending knee injury in the first quarter.

Stillianos says the Hawkeyes were forced to move on after Luke Lachey suffered a broken ankle against Western Michigan and they will need to do the same without All.

Stillianos saya an oppurunity like this is why he transferred to Iowa.

The 24th ranked Hawkeyes host Minnesota on Saturday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody announced the 2023-24 indoor schedule on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes’ schedule features five home meets at the Hawkeye Indoor Track Facility.

“This schedule is set up so that our athletes can compete against great competition right away at home before we travel to some bigger invitational meets in February,” Woody said. “We are always looking to compete against the best in the country and this schedule allows our athletes to do that and to hit NCAA qualifying marks throughout the season. This schedule prepares us well for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.”

2023-24 Schedule Notes
— The Hawkeyes begin the season at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Open in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 2.

— Iowa will host four consecutive meets following the season-opener – the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational (Dec. 9), the Hawkeye Invitational (Jan. 13), the seventh-annual Larry Wieczorek Invitational & Multi (Jan. 19-20), and the Iowa Open (Jan. 27). The Hawkeyes will also host the Iowa Last Chance Qualifier on Feb. 16.

— The Hawkeyes spend most of February away from Iowa City, with feature meets at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic (Feb. 2-3) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Tyson Invitational (Feb. 9-10) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Texas Tech Invitational (Feb. 9-10) in Lubbock, Texas, and several last chance qualifiers (Feb. 16-17).

— The Big Ten Indoor Championships will be held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, on Feb. 23-24 before wrapping up the season at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, on Mar. 6-9.

— Iowa returns two All-Americans – Heptathlete Austin West and hurdler Grant Conway – to the 2023-24 roster. Led by Woody, the Hawkeyes are in search of their third men’s Indoor Big Ten Title in the last four years, returning 12 point scorers from last year’s third place team. The women’s team returns 13 point scorers from the 2022-23 indoor team that placed third at last season’s Indoor Big Ten Championships.

Full Schedule
Dec. 2 – Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener (Boston, Mass.)
Dec. 9 – Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 13 – Hawkeye Invitational (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 19-20 – Larry Wieczorek Invitational & Multi (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 27 – Iowa Open (Iowa City, Iowa)
Feb. 2-3 – New Mexico Collegiate Classic (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Feb. 2-3 – Meyo Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Feb. 2-3 – Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa)
Feb. 9-10 – Tyson Invitational (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Feb. 9-10 – Texas Tech Invitational (Lubbock, Texas)
Feb. 9-10 – BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational (Boston, Mass.)
Feb. 9-10 – Wisconsin Windy City Invite (Chicago, Ill.)
Feb. 16 – Iowa Last Chance Qualifier (Iowa City, Iowa)
Feb. 16 – Matador Qualifier (Lubbock, Texas)
Feb. 16 – Arkansas Qualifier (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Feb. 17 – Alex Wilson Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Feb. 23-24 – Big Ten Indoor Championships (Geneva, Ohio)
Mar. 6-9 – NCAA Indoor Championships (Boston, Mass.)

4 Hawkeyes Named Midseason All-America

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Four University of Iowa football players were named to midseason All-America teams on Wednesday: senior defensive back Sebastian Castro, junior defensive back Cooper DeJean, senior linebacker Jay Higgins and senior punter Tory Taylor. DeJean, Higgins and Taylor were recognized by multiple outlets.

DeJean was recognized as a first team honoree by the Associated Press, The Athletic and FOX. He was named to ESPN’s first team on Tuesday.

DeJean is fourth on the Hawkeyes with 36 tackles, he has 1.5 tackles for loss, two pass break-ups and two interceptions, including one in the end zone against Michigan State. He has played 309 snaps this season in coverage without giving up a touchdown.

The Odebolt, Iowa, native is leading the Big Ten and ranks 13th nationally with a 13.0 punt return average and he is one of 29 players in the country with a punt return touchdown. DeJean returned a punt 70 yards for a game-deciding score against Michigan State late in the fourth quarter.

Higgins earned first-team accolades by FOX and the Sporting News and second-team laurels by the Associated Press.

Higgins leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally (the most by a Power 5 player) with 12.4 tackles per game. He has two 15+ and five 10+ tackle games this season.

The Indianapolis native has 55 tackles in four Big Ten games, averaging 13.8 tackles per contest. Higgins had 18 tackles at Penn State, tied for the second-most in a game this season and the most by a Hawkeye since Jack Campbell in 2021.

Taylor was recognized as a first team honoree by the Associated Press, CBS, The Athletic and FOX. He was tabbed to ESPN’s first team yesterday.

Taylor, an Australia native, has punted an FBS-best 45 times this season with only one touchback. He ranks first in the conference and fourth in the country in average yards per punt (48.3). Nineteen of his 45 punts have been for 50+ yards, including six of 60+ yards, while 17 have been downed inside the 20, eight inside the 10 and five inside the 5.

Taylor has earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors each of the last two weeks and has been included in Ray’s 8, which recognizes top punting performances nationally, four of the first six weeks of 2023. He was previously named to ESPN’s midseason All-America team.

Castro was recognized as a second team honoree by the Associated Press.

The native of Oak Lawn, Illinois, ranks first on the team in interceptions (3) and pass press break-ups (3), second in tackles for loss (5) and sixth in total tackles (30). Castro’s 30-yard pick-six at in-state rival Iowa State proved to be the winning score. His efforts in the win over the Cyclones earned the senior Big Ten Player of the Week accolades. Castro had an interception and helped force a defensive safety in the fourth quarter to help preserve Iowa’s road win at Wisconsin on Oct. 14.

No. 24 Iowa (6-1, 3-1) will host Minnesota (3-3, 1-2) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City (2:33 p.m. CT, NBC).

HAWKEYE PLAYERS NAMED MIDSEASON FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

Cooper DeJean: Associated Press, ESPN, The Athletic, FOX

Jay Higgins: FOX, Sporting News

Tory Taylor: Associated Press, ESPN, Sporting News, CBS, The Athletic, FOX

HAWKEYE PLAYERS NAMED MIDSEASON SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

Sebastian Castro: Associated Press

Jay Higgins: Associated Press