Get Physical – No. 17 IU Brings High Expectations to No. 18 Iowa
9/3/2021 5:00:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It's gonna hurt.
Let's start with that as No. 17 Indiana faces No. 18 Iowa in Saturday's season-opener rich in be-more-man-than-the-other-guy possibilities.
That means hit as they haven't hit in nine months.
"(Being physical) is something (the Hawkeyes) have done a really good job of in the past," head coach Tom Allen says, "and that is a tribute to (Iowa) and a testament to (their coaching staff). It's a huge part of this game."
So is minimizing mistakes.
"The thing that sticks out to me," Allen adds, "is the soundness of what they do. They don't make a lot of mistakes."
The counter, it seems, is simple.
"You have to be very physical," Allen says, "and you don't have much margin for error."
IU prepared with bruising Tuesday and Wednesday practices – to a point.
"Tuesday is a very physical practice for us by design," Allen says. "Wednesday is pretty physical, too. We go full pads on Tuesday and shells on Wednesdays.
"We practice a lot in shells and call it thud tempo. We work hard to practice very physically, keeping guys up off the ground. We do live tackling drills in regard to taking (tackling) dummies and shields and other mechanisms to the ground, but not bodies, unless it is a controlled type of deal."
The goal is to get the Hoosiers ready for full throttle hitting without beating each other up.
"Nothing scrimmage wise has been live on those days, nor will it be moving forward," Allen says. "It's very physical though, until you get to Thursday. It is a lot of hands and proper placement at full speed, that doesn't change.
"We have high expectations and very clear standards for how we practice every day. Our guys have bought into that and are doing a great job with that."
Buy-in starts with quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who will play in his first game since a season-ending torn ACL against Maryland last November.
He hasn't been hit in practice, but certainly will be against Iowa. He says he's ready for that; insists his surgically repaired knee can handle what's coming.
"I trust that everything is okay. The trainers have been doing a great job of getting me back on the field. As far as all of the injuries, I'm not really worried about that. I just want to play football."
The Hoosiers will face one of the Big Ten's best defenses, a unit that allowed 16.0 points last year, 13.8 during its season-ending six-game winning streak.
"We're just going to take it play by play, take what they give us and make sure that we execute," Penix says. "As long as we execute, we'll be good. We respect their secondary, but I have a lot of weapons to get the ball to. It's going to be a great game."
Season openers always have unknowns, which can elevate a coach's blood pressure.
"There are a lot of things that make you nervous and keep you up at night," Allen says, "but the bottom line is that our guys have worked extremely hard. We had a good week of preparation.
"We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football. We're going to rely on that for them to prepare until the game starts.
"We will have walk-throughs and team meetings from here until kickoff. We coach until kickoff."
Saturday's game will have a major impact on IU's Big Ten title hopes. Beating a quality team on the road adds to the challenge -- and the potential reward.
Allen, however, focuses on perspective.
"Any time you open the season with a conference game, the stakes are high. Bottom line is that it is one game, not multiple games. It is one game, but it does have a lot of value. It is a great opportunity for both teams.
"You always want to set the tone. That never changes no matter who you are playing. We are focused on one thing and that is playing our best football on Saturday. That is all we can control -- how we are preparing to do that.
"We understand the opportunity, who we are playing, the quality of who we are playing, and the venue we are playing in. It makes for a very exciting opportunity."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It's gonna hurt.
Let's start with that as No. 17 Indiana faces No. 18 Iowa in Saturday's season-opener rich in be-more-man-than-the-other-guy possibilities.
That means hit as they haven't hit in nine months.
"(Being physical) is something (the Hawkeyes) have done a really good job of in the past," head coach Tom Allen says, "and that is a tribute to (Iowa) and a testament to (their coaching staff). It's a huge part of this game."
So is minimizing mistakes.
"The thing that sticks out to me," Allen adds, "is the soundness of what they do. They don't make a lot of mistakes."
The counter, it seems, is simple.
"You have to be very physical," Allen says, "and you don't have much margin for error."
IU prepared with bruising Tuesday and Wednesday practices – to a point.
"Tuesday is a very physical practice for us by design," Allen says. "Wednesday is pretty physical, too. We go full pads on Tuesday and shells on Wednesdays.
"We practice a lot in shells and call it thud tempo. We work hard to practice very physically, keeping guys up off the ground. We do live tackling drills in regard to taking (tackling) dummies and shields and other mechanisms to the ground, but not bodies, unless it is a controlled type of deal."
The goal is to get the Hoosiers ready for full throttle hitting without beating each other up.
"Nothing scrimmage wise has been live on those days, nor will it be moving forward," Allen says. "It's very physical though, until you get to Thursday. It is a lot of hands and proper placement at full speed, that doesn't change.
"We have high expectations and very clear standards for how we practice every day. Our guys have bought into that and are doing a great job with that."
Buy-in starts with quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who will play in his first game since a season-ending torn ACL against Maryland last November.
He hasn't been hit in practice, but certainly will be against Iowa. He says he's ready for that; insists his surgically repaired knee can handle what's coming.
"I trust that everything is okay. The trainers have been doing a great job of getting me back on the field. As far as all of the injuries, I'm not really worried about that. I just want to play football."
The Hoosiers will face one of the Big Ten's best defenses, a unit that allowed 16.0 points last year, 13.8 during its season-ending six-game winning streak.
"We're just going to take it play by play, take what they give us and make sure that we execute," Penix says. "As long as we execute, we'll be good. We respect their secondary, but I have a lot of weapons to get the ball to. It's going to be a great game."
Season openers always have unknowns, which can elevate a coach's blood pressure.
"There are a lot of things that make you nervous and keep you up at night," Allen says, "but the bottom line is that our guys have worked extremely hard. We had a good week of preparation.
"We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football. We're going to rely on that for them to prepare until the game starts.
"We will have walk-throughs and team meetings from here until kickoff. We coach until kickoff."
Saturday's game will have a major impact on IU's Big Ten title hopes. Beating a quality team on the road adds to the challenge -- and the potential reward.
Allen, however, focuses on perspective.
"Any time you open the season with a conference game, the stakes are high. Bottom line is that it is one game, not multiple games. It is one game, but it does have a lot of value. It is a great opportunity for both teams.
"You always want to set the tone. That never changes no matter who you are playing. We are focused on one thing and that is playing our best football on Saturday. That is all we can control -- how we are preparing to do that.
"We understand the opportunity, who we are playing, the quality of who we are playing, and the venue we are playing in. It makes for a very exciting opportunity."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ FootballFB: Pat Coogan Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
FB: Aiden Fisher Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
FB: Week 5 (at Iowa) - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Monday, September 22
FB: Fernando Mendoza - Illinois Postgame Press Conference (09/20/25)
Sunday, September 21