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Play time is over for No. 17 Iowa. 

Last weekend's 55-0 victory over Northern Iowa was a great momentum boost for the Hawkeyes, but anyone in the locker room will tell you that they're ready to take on Big Ten competition. 

First up on the nine-game conference slate is a showdown against No. 18 Michigan (3-0) in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS). 

We'll have your full preview of this key matchup throughout the week, but before we can get to that, here are my three and a half early thoughts ahead of Saturday's game. 

Ferentz vs. Whittingham 

This was a coaching matchup that many people never thought would ever happen, but Kyle Whittingham's sudden move from Utah to Michigan has made it possible. Whittingham previously spent 21 seasons as Utah's head coach, where he won 177 games and was just behind Kirk Ferentz as the second-longest coaching tenure in the FBS. 

Whittingham probably would've stayed in Salt Lake City until retirement, but the school pushing for head coach in waiting Morgan Scalley to take over as head coach likely resulted in him accepting the vacant Michigan job two weeks after he stepped down from the Utes. 

Anyone who has followed Ferentz and Whittingham's careers knows Saturday's game has the potential to be a classic Big Ten defensive slugfest. Whittingham's teams have long been known for their physical style of play, something that should play right in to the style Iowa fans have long been accustomed to watching from Ferentz's Hawkeye teams. 

Not only does this coaching matchup feature almost identical styles, it's also between two of the oldest coaches in the country. The 71-year-old Ferentz and 66-year-old Whittingham are the second and third-oldest coaches in the country (only North Carolina's Bill Belichick is older). 

We've got ourselves one heck of a coaching matchup in Ann Arbor this weekend. 

Which Bryce Underwood Will Iowa See? 

Michigan secured a major recruiting win when it convinced five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood to don the maize and blue, but the results have been mixed at best so far. Being a starting quarterback in the Big Ten as a freshman while also being coached by Sherrone Moore isn't necessarily the best thing for a quarterback's development, but things haven't looked promising so far under the new regime. 

Underwood was completing around 50% of his passes through the first two weeks before finally getting things going against UTEP last weekend (19/25, 223 yards, 2 TD) so it begs the question – which quarterback is Iowa going to see at the Big House on Saturday? 

Underwood has all the attributes (size, arm strength, mobility) to be a great quarterback in this league, but it's going to be interesting to see what game plan Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker has cooked up to slow him down. 

Iowa's Run Blocking Needs To Show Up 

Iowa fans still fresh off watching the dominant rushing performance against Northern Iowa may scoff at this comment, but it's directed towards what happened in the Hawkeyes' Week 2 clash against archrival Iowa State.

While Iowa managed to escape with a 16-13 triumph, it did so by rushing for just 93 yards – an unexpected figure for a team that is very strong up front. There just weren't any openings for Kamari Moulton to find. The struggles could be chalked up to the Cyclones' aggressive approach at the line of scrimmage, but it goes without saying the Hawkeyes' offensive line needs to open up running lanes for Iowa to have a chance to steal a win in the Big House. 

The Half 

The only bad part about having football in September is the warm weather, but that doesn't appear to be the case in Ann Arbor this weekend. Early forecasts call for a high temperature of 69 degrees, which will likely drop a little during the later stages of the game. 

It maybe isn't the snowy, 40-degree football weather we all know and love, but you can't ask for better weather for this Big Ten opener. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io

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