If the Hawkeyes can beat Indiana by a substantial margin in an 11 a.m. game at Kinnick Stadium, perhaps they can convince some people that they really are the best team in the Big Ten, as the record indicates.
They might convince a few national pollsters that they're among the top five teams in the country, as the computer ranking indicates.
They might even convince themselves.
"Realistically, I still have a hard time picturing us in the top 10," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We're winning with attitude more than anything else."
But they are winning.
They're doing it with blocked field goals and blocked punts and flurries of fourth-quarter interceptions and touchdowns with no time left on the clock.
The common refrain last season, when they went 9-4, was that the Hawkeyes were 12 points away from being undefeated. This season, at 8-0, they are eight points away from being 4-4.
"The reality is that we could be a 4-4 team," Ferentz said. "I'm very proud of the fact that we aren't. But if we don't handle the next four weeks well, we could be an 8-4 team."
That four-week trek begins today with Indiana and includes three home games against teams that are likely to finish in the second division of the Big Ten.
But it is teams such as Indiana that scare Ferentz most. He knows the talent gap between his unbeaten Hawkeyes and the 4-4 Hoosiers isn't nearly as vast as it might appear.
"We have been living it for eight weeks for the most part," Ferentz said. "We have tangible examples each and every week. We have been in tough, tough ballgames and it gets back to ... just about perceptions. To me, whatever we are ranked right now, the difference between us and a team that might be ranked 20th is probably pretty slim at this time of year."
He said his players have managed to remain grounded and modest "because they know what we know.
"Our margin for error is really thin, and I think our players understand that," Ferentz said. "Thus far, at least, they really haven't seemed to be very affected by anything going on outside, which is really a good thing. It's a tribute to our leadership."
Those team leaders still are having a little difficulty wrapping their brains around 8-0.
"Do you think we look like the No. 1 team in the nation"' senior linebacker Pat Angerer asked reporters. "I don't think we've played like that. I just know Indiana's going to come in here and play us tough."
Quarterback Ricky Stanzi admitted to being somewhat surprised at the record.
"You don't realize how hard it is just to get through the season," he said. "I don't want to say I'm surprised, but I don't think going into the season we thought we were going to win every game."
Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga said he has watched many of the national cable shows in which experts dissect and demean Iowa's record, but he said he hasn't been offended by it.
"People are going to say what they're going to say," he said. "It's just a matter of going out and working hard every day. It's not going to affect how we play.
"Honestly, that stuff is not in our hands anyway. It's in the hands of the computer.''
Most of the computer formulas, including the one used by the Bowl Championship Series, have the Hawkeyes No. 1, while the polls assembled by subjective human beings peg them No. 7 or No. 8.
"The computers haven't seen us play," Ferentz said. "If they had eyes and could see us play, they would say, 'Are you kidding me?'"
Marquee matchup
Iowa's Amari Spievey vs. Indiana's Tandon Doss: Spievey has quietly had exactly the sort of season that Iowa's coaching staff felt the junior cornerback could. The reason you don't hear more about him is because opponents consistently avoid throwing to his side of the field. He'll face one of his biggest challenges of the season in the 6-foot-3, 197-pound Doss, who showed some ability as a true freshman last season and has had a breakout sophomore campaign. He is 19th in the country with 54 receptions (for 716 yards) and is on pace to break the school record of 79 catches, set in 2007 by longtime Hawkeye nemesis James Hardy.
Five things to watch
1. Wegher's first start
Freshman Brandon Wegher is scheduled to get his first start at running back as Iowa's supply of healthy backs continues to dwindle. There even is some doubt as to how healthy Wegher is after suffering a few minor injuries in recent games. He has rushed for 321 yards in a reserve role this season, but is averaging only 2.8 yards per carry in Big Ten play.
2. Bombs away?
Indiana's pass defense is the worst in the Big Ten, allowing an average of 246.6 yards per game through the air. Opposing passers have completed 61.2 percent of their attempts against the Hoosiers. That's part of the reason Northwestern was able to come back from a 28-3 deficit to beat them last Saturday.
3. Reshuffled line
Iowa will use its fifth different starting combination in the offensive line as Julian Vandervelde steps back into the right guard spot in place of injured Dace Richardson. Center Rafael Eubanks, left, will be the only player who has started every game this season, but the line showed small signs of improvement in the second half last week against Michigan State.
4. Many happy returns
The Hoosiers moved one of their best receivers, Ray Fisher, to the defensive side of the ball this season, but he's still making offensive contributions. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior is averaging an astonishing 38.1 yards per kickoff return and has taken two of them back for touchdowns this fall. He caught 118 passes in his first three years on campus, but never was used on kickoff returns until this season.
5. Offensive diversity
Indiana employs the Pistol and the Wildcat and most of the other offensive gadget formations in vogue these days, and it actually has a few quality weapons in quarterback Ben Chappell, wideout Tandon Doss and freshman running back Darius Willis. If nothing else, they give opponents a lot to think about. "We've got plenty to prepare for this week," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
What they're saying
Indiana coach Bill Lynch: "We know what we are getting into and are looking forward to it. Fortunately, a lot of our kids were on the trip to Kinnick Stadium in 2007, so they know the environment we face."
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz: "We are not the most gifted team ... but the guys have played well and played together through tough situations, whether it be injuries or other younger players stepping up and then through tough situations. We seem to find ourselves in those every now and then ... like every Saturday."
Iowa offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga: "We just keep on chipping away at the game, keep on working, don't quit on it ... Eventually, we get that point or that score or that stop that we need."
