Coker face says it all

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Another day, another 30 carries and 100-plus yards for Iowa running back Marcus Coker.

Another whole bunch of punishment. Another whole set of questions about the health and well being of his body.

"It's football," Coker said after carrying 30 times for 139 yards and a TD in the Hawkeyes' 31-21 victory at Purdue. "You take injuries, but you've got to keep on playing."

You could make a hard argument that Coker was Iowa's only sure thing in the first half, when Iowa lost two fumbles and came away with no points on two trips inside Purdue's 20-yard line. The sophomore carried eight times for 21 yards to help set up James Vandenberg's 5-yard TD pass to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz.

Then, 31 seconds before halftime, Coker scored from 2 yards to give Iowa a 21-14 lead it wouldn't relinquish. It was his 14th rushing TD this season, fourth on Iowa's season list.

"He's working hard and that complements what we're trying to do," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I'm proud of him. He was sore after last week's game. I'm sure he's sore now. We'll see if we can get him through Friday and go from there."

The "will he or won't he" medical hardship question with true freshman Mika'il McCall was answered Saturday. McCall saw his first game action since nine carries in week 1 against Tennessee Tech.

Iowa had a first down from Purdue's 9 following Kyle Steinbrecher's blocked punt. McCall went for 3 yards on first down and then fumbled on his second carry. Purdue ball. McCall back to the bench.

McCall seemed anxious to run where his eyes were looking, but he failed to secure the ball. And with that, McCall is no longer eligible for a medical hardship waiver, now having played after the sixth game this season. He'll join Jordan Canzeri (out Saturday with a hamstring injury) and possibly Damon Bullock (who could move back to wide receiver) as sophomore running backs next season.

"We planned that going in, when's a good time?" Ferentz said. "It didn't work out today, but he'll bounce back. I've been impressed with Mika'il. He'll be a good football player for us."

But probably not this year.

Ferentz and offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe immediately hopped back on the Coker train.

He finished with 30 carries for the fourth time in his career. He now has 262 carries this season, which is fifth on Iowa's single-season list.

The Hawkeyes do, however, face a short week going into Friday's regular-season finale at Nebraska. Coker doesn't care. He's in Terminator mode. Keep the carries coming, he said.

"It sounds good to me, I don't really have a problem with it right now," said Coker, who's No. 2 in the Big Ten in rushing behind Wisconsin's Montee Ball. "You know, 30 or 35 carries compared to 20, there's really no difference at this point."

The question "where will you hurt tomorrow morning?" did, however, bring up an interesting answer.

"Probably everywhere, always," he said. He was laughing, but that's what he said.