No. 13 Iowa hopes to avoid trap vs Arkansas St

Oct 2, 2009 - 7:02 AM By LUKE MEREDITH AP Sports Writer

IOWA CITY, Iowa(AP) -- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is well-versed in the phenomenon known as the "trap game."

Ferentz knows he's got one coming up on Saturday.

Just a week after beating then-No. 5 Penn State and a week before hosting No. 22 Michigan, the Hawkeyes will host Arkansas State, a Sun Belt team on the schedule to provide Iowa - at least in theory - with a home win that won't require much heavy lifting.

The Hawkeyes know what happens when they overlook supposedly weaker teams. Iowa needs only to look back a month, when it had two blocked field goals in the final seconds to beat Northern Iowa 17-16 on Sept. 3.

"I believe in that stuff. I think that's very real," Ferentz said.

The 13th-ranked Hawkeyes (4-0) have been on a roll ever since that scare, and there's no question that their narrow escape against the Panthers has sharpened their focus.

That was never more evident than against the Nittany Lions. Iowa scored 21 straight points after falling behind 10-0, beating a top 5 opponent on the road for the first time since 1990.

"You can't go and have a letdown. You can't just think that you've made it and you can relax just because you won a big game on the road," Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi said. "We have to really focus hard on doing the little things right and not letting the habits that got us to where are right now slip away."

Not many believe that'll happen against the Red Wolves, a 21-point underdog to an Iowa team that's only averaging 25 points per game.

Arkansas State is accustomed to its role as a non-conference foil to a BCS-school heavyweight, but that hasn't exactly helped its cause. The Red Wolves have never beaten a Top 25 teams under eighth-year coach Steve Roberts, and they were crushed at Nebraska, 38-9, on Sept. 12.

Roberts certainly knows what his team is getting itself into against Iowa after watching the second half of its win in Happy Valley.

"I probably chose the wrong half to watch. Very big, very physical," Roberts said. "They do a great job in everything they try to accomplish."

Arkansas State does have a pair of playmakers, running back Reggie Arnold and quarterback Corey Leonard, who could make things interesting.

Arnold, a senior, has rushed for at least 100 yards 15 times in his career, and he's tied for the national lead in points per game this season with 14.

Leonard, also a senior, is Arkansas State's career leader in total offense with 7,778 yards.

The Red Wolves have also been perfect in the red zone, with nine touchdowns and two field goals in 11 trips this season.

"I think a lot of people are overlooking this game, but what people don't know is that they have a lot of talent," Iowa defensive lineman Karl Klug said. "If we take them lightly we could easily lose."

Arkansas State will likely find it much more difficult finding the end zone against the Hawkeyes.

Iowa is ranked eighth in the nation allowing just 11.5 points per game, and in the last three weeks its defense has allowed just a pair of touchdowns in wins over Iowa State, Arizona and Penn State.

The Hawkeyes held Penn State scoreless in the final three quarters last week, and end Adrian Clayborn's blocked punt and touchdown return early in the fourth quarter changed both the complexion of that game and, in many ways, the season.

"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," Ferentz said.

A win would give Iowa its first 5-0 start under Ferentz, whose teams have been notoriously slow starters. To get there, the Hawkeyes must make sure they've truly learned their lesson from the opener.

"You could argue on paper we're supposed to win this thing, and I think it was probably said about a month ago, too," Ferentz said. "We had our close call."