Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald talks about reported hate for Iowa

EVANSTON, Ill.  - Northwestern now has beaten Iowa three straight, five of the last six and nine of the last 14 games. It's quite a reversal after Iowa buried Northwestern for 21 seasons by an average of 27 points a game.

Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald, a former Wildcasts player, has led his team to a 4-1 record against Iowa in the teams' five seasons. He had to post-game questions about whether or not he hates Iowa after Northwestern freshman running back Adonis Smith told the Northwestern News Network this week that Fitzgerald “hates them. I know that for a fact. He hates Iowa.”

Fitzgerald told reporters he respects Iowa and Kirk Ferentz, but also gave a history lesson about the rivalry from point of view.

“Back when I was a student-athlete here and granted me if we wanted to take the necessary steps in this league to compete for championships and to be a winner, we were going to have to get over the Iowa hurdle,” Fitzgerald said. “We've been fortunate. We've found a way to win. We've been quite lucky at times. But we've done it over a couple of years now.”

Fitzgerald joked that he should have brought Smith to the news conference so “you can quote me on what Adonis said.”

“It's so fun when you guys listen to freshmen,” Fitzgerald said. “Give me a break.”

Iowa leads the all-time series 46-23-3, and the teams will compete in the same division in the 12-team Big Ten next year. Iowa plays host to Northwestern on Oct. 15, 2011, then returns to Evanston on Oct. 27, 2012.