Coming off an impressive 40-0 stomping of Northern Illinois in Week 1, Iowa now shifts its focus to rival Iowa State for the annual Cy-Hawk game.
The Cyclones also picked up a lopsided Week 1 victory to enter Iowa City with some confidence. They’ve won three of the last four in this series and will look to continue that trend on Saturday. It’ll be difficult with a new head coach and roster playing on the road for the first time.
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In front of a sold-out Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes are looking to right the ship in this rivalry. They’ve had plenty of chances to win each of the last two years, but had it slip out of their fingers. Entering this game, Iowa is in a pretty good spot health and performance-wise. That was evident in the latest depth chart that was released on Monday.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Iowa’s Week 2 depth chart:
Just like last week, Iowa opted to put the “OR” between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. This indicates that the Hawkeyes may be rotating both signal-callers into the game as they did in Week 1. Brown played well against the Huskies and sat out the entire second half with a big lead. Some thought that may be a sign that he won the job outright. Kirk Ferentz made sure everyone is aware that this is still an open battle heading into Week 2.
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This news isn’t surprising given the Monday morning update on Phillips’ injury. CBS Sports reported that he has a high ankle sprain, which will keep him out of the Iowa State game and future contests as well.
With Phillips on the shelf, Iowa will turn to Xavier Williams and Nathan McNeil to pick up the slack behind Kamari Moulton. Those two were both listed as the backup running back for this game with the “OR” distinction.
It appears that Brown will miss another game, as he was not included on the Week 2 depth chart. The James Madison transfer has been dealing with a soft tissue injury that kept him out against Northern Illinois.
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His absence on this depth chart indicates he won’t be making his Iowa debut just yet. Anthony Hawkins got the start in his place and is the starting strong safety on the newest depth chart as well. Xavier Styles and Marcello Vitti are set to be his backups.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways from Iowa football’s Week 2 depth chart vs. Iowa State
