Iowa players say the goal remains the same even though head coach Kirk Ferentz won’t be at Saturday’s opener against Illinois State. The veteran coach is serving a one game suspension for a recruiting violation. Hawkeye defensive end Deontae Craig.

Craig says the focus this week has been on preparation.

Craig says the game is motivating enough.

Hawkeye corner Jermari Harris says they are not using the absence of their head coach as a rallying cry.

Like the Iowa defense, safety Sebastian Castro enters the season with a lot of hype. He earned All American honors in 2023 but says none of that matters once the season kicks off.

Iowa State receiver Jayden Higgins knows North Dakota will be motivated in Saturday’s season opener in Jack Trice Stadium. The native of Florida began his college career at FCS Eastern Kentucky before joining the ISU program.

Higgins says there are a lot of unknowns in a season opener and in-game adjustments will be crucial.

Defensive end Tyler Onyedim says a key will b slowing down the Fighting Hawks’ ground game.

Onyedim says they are ready for a game.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa unanimous All-American Shonn Greene will serve as honorary captain when the Hawkeyes host Illinois State on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11:01 a.m. (CT) and the game will be televised on Big Ten Network.

Greene was recipient of the 2008 Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate running back, after leading the Hawkeyes to nine wins and rushing for more than 100 yards in every game. He is only the second running back in Iowa history (Nile Kinnick) to earn consensus All-America honors. Following the 2008 season, Greene was honored with the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, emblematic of the league’s most valuable player. He was named a co-captain and MVP following his senior campaign.

Greene holds the Iowa single season records for yards rushing (1,850) and rushing touchdowns (20). He also is tied for most rushing scores in a game when he crossed the goal line four times against Wisconsin in 2008. He ranks 12th on Iowa’s career rushing yardage list with 2,228 yards, despite playing only one full season. Greene lettered three times (2005-06-08).

The Sicklerville, New Jersey, native played six seasons in the National Football League after being drafted in the third round by the New York Jets in 2009. He played four years with the Jets (2009-12) and two seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2013-14). Greene eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in back-to-back years in 2011 (1,054) and 2012 (1,063).

Greene, who will be inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend, will accompany the Iowa captains to midfield for Saturday’s pregame coin toss. He will also be with the Hawkeyes in the locker room before and after the game.

This Friday night CAM Cougar football will be back in Anita as the Cougars take on the Audubon Wheelers for their first game of the year. In order to prepare for the upcoming season, CAM had a scrimmage last week against a highly respectable Lenox program. It was there that Cougars Head Coach Barry Bower took away a better understanding of his squad.

One of the takeaways for Coach Bower from last Friday’s scrimmage was how this year’s CAM team will look a little different than last season’s 10-1 squad. Still, coach Bower’s belief in his team while having to replace six athletes is at an all-time high.

That confidence for CAM boils down to each starter focusing on their own individual role. Coach Bower has stressed to his team that there will be success for the Cougars if they focus on not only being a team but executing their position precisely.

This Friday’s game against Audubon will be no small task for CAM. The Wheelers also had a productive year in 2023 going 8-2 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Coach Bower explained that for the Cougars to keep it close, they need to play clean football. That CAM has to keep penalty yardage and turnovers to a minimum.

KJAN has the coverage for Friday’s contest with the pregame show beginning at 6:30PM.

The college football season gets off to an early start Thursday night when Drake hosts Quincy University in a rare home opener for the Bulldogs, who are the defending Pioneer Football League champions.

That’s coach Todd Stepsis. Drake is looking to break a recent trend that has seen them open 0-3 in non-conference play in each of the last two seasons.

A key this season will be handling lofty expectations. Drake is the preseason favorite in the PFL.

Out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Quincy finished last season with a 6-5 record.

2023 saw a 4-5 campaign for the Clarke Indians football program and a quick exit out of the 2A postseason with a 42-7 loss against Roland-Story. In just a year a lot has changed for Clarke including the hiring of their new Head Coach Justin Clutter. Coach Clutter sees a lot of potential within his team and how their underclassman brings a lot of promise in the future.

Coach Clutter is also enthusiastic about the attendance he has seen in the weight room from most of his squad over the summer. That high attendance has helped Clarke get stronger and bigger. Players like sophomore Urijah Fry have taken advantage of the summer workouts and earned a starting spot.

The Indians offensive line has also dedicated large amounts of time to summer workouts with high attendance in hope of increasing their power and brawn.

Clarke is familiar with Atlantic as the Indians fell to the Trojans 47-33 over a year ago. Coach Clutter has been watching film on Atlantic’s week 0 victory against T.J. and he’s been telling his team to expect hardnosed football.

Friday’s contest between Atlantic and Clarke will be held at the Trojan Bowl. Coach Clutter is looking forward to the trip as he appreciates the unique culture that the Trojan Bowl brings.

KJANTV will have the coverage of Friday’s game with the pregame show starting at 6:30 P.M. and kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 P.M.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa field hockey juniors Mia Magnotta, Milly Short and sophomore Dionne van Aalsum have been named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List, it was announced Wednesday. It is the second straight season Magnotta has a been preseason honoree.

Last season, the trio lead the Hawkeyes to a 13-6 overall record. Iowa made its sixth straight and 28th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history

Magnotta played the duration of all 19 games last season. She allowed 21 goals, tallied 69 saves and was part of eight Hawkeye shutouts.

The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania, native tallied a career-high eight saves against No. 2 Northwestern breaking her previous career high six saves in a win over No. 1 North Carolina. Magnotta ranked second in the conference and sixth in the nation in goals against average (1.09).

Short started all 19 games in 2023, logging 1,127 minutes, the second most on the team. She played 60 minutes or more for the Hawkeye defense in 15 games and anchored a defense that recorded eight shutouts, with three coming against ranked opponents. Iowa’s defense ranked third in the nation in shutouts (8) and shutouts per game (.42).

Van Aalsum started all 19 games en route to All-America honors last season as a true freshman. The Castricum, Netherlands, native became the first Hawkeye freshman to be named an All-American since Kristy Gleason in 1989.

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten selection played a key factor offensively as she led the nation with 28 goals, 62 points, 1.47 goals per game and 3.26 points per game.

The Hawkeyes, ranked sixth in the Penn Monto/NFHCA preseason poll, open the season with the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Iowa will face No. 18 Wake Forest on Friday and defending NCAA Champion and second-ranked North Carolina on Sunday.

IRVING, Texas – Iowa State redshirt sophomore Ella Zimmerman has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against UNI, the conference announced Wednesday.

Zimmerman, a Vanderbilt transfer, was only able to compete in one match this week, as an injury kept her out of the Drake contest. She made her impact felt, though, in Sunday’s matchup with UNI, as the Cumming, Ga., product recorded three points.

Ella played 70 minutes of action on Sunday, spearheading the Cyclone backline. Going into Sunday, Zimmerman didn’t have a single stat in her 29 previous games. She made sure to change that, stuffing the box score.

Against the Panthers, Zimmerman picked up her first career point in the 48th minute of action, feeding a ball from midfield to Hannah Shaw at the box, who then crossed a Panther defender and netted the Cyclones’ fourth goal of the contest.

She wasn’t done there, however, as she would later go on to score her first career goal. After a first-half shot on goal, Zimmerman got another crack in the 68th minute. She was playing up for a corner and was fed the ball out of the set but missed high off the crossbar. The ball serendipitously bounced back to her, and she buried the team’s sixth and final score.

She is the first Cyclone to win Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors since Lindsey Hendon did so on Sept. 6, 2016. Zimmerman is the sixth Cyclone to ever earn the award, joining the likes of Beth Chapman, Joanna Haig, Ann Gleason, Maddie Jobe and Hendon.

ISU will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 1, when it heads to Memphis to face off with a top-ten Memphis Tiger program in its second road contest of the season. The Tigers will be the first ranked opponent for the Cyclones this year. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

Big 12 Weekly Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Week: Callie Conrad (BU)
Defensive Player of the Week: Ella Zimmerman
Goalkeeper of the Week: Azul Alvarez (BU), Jordan Nytes (CU)
Freshman of the Week: Bella Pierotti (OSU)

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State freshman linebacker Cael Brezina has been named to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award preseason watch list. The list includes 37 freshmen nationally and Brezina is one of three linebackers on the initial list.

A Downers Grove, Illinois, native, Brezina joined the Cyclones in the spring after a stellar high school career.

Brezina was a consensus three-star linebacker recruit and the No. 15 recruit in the state of Illinois according to ESPN.

Iowa State safety Beau Freyler says the Cyclones are anxious for a game. ISU opens Saturday at home against North Dakota.

Freyler says fall camp was productive.

After being named second team All Big-12 last year Freyler has been working on ways to improve his game even more.

Freyler on the challenge provided by the North Dakota offense.