Ferentz not ready to contemplate quarterback competition

Yes, freshman quarterback James Vandenberg earned some renown with his performance at Ohio State.

He completed 20 of 33 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. But he also had three interceptions, with a penalty and a miracle deflection saving another two. He also took a 10-yard sack on third-and-16 in overtime.

Vandenberg stepped in for injured junior Ricky Stanzi and made his first career start in front of 105,000 hostile fans with a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl on the line.

No, Coach Kirk Ferentz isn't ready to make a switch at quarterback. Remember, Stanzi is 17-4 as a starter for the Hawkeyes.

“It's so early in the game right now,” Ferentz said. “We've seen Stanzi 20-plus games. We've seen James in one. A lot of football left and I'm thinking about other things right now.”

Ferentz was asked if Vandenberg's performance changed the competition at QB.

“Stanzi has a pretty good record,” he said. “I'm not even thinking about those things. I just know this, James and John are our quarterbacks this week. That's what I'm thinking about.”

Injury update

Iowa linebacker Jeremiha Hunter suffered an ankle sprain and missed most of the second half of Iowa's overtime loss at Ohio State last week. He was held out of practice on Tuesday and might be available today.

“We'll see how the week goes,” Ferentz said. “He'll work out a little bit and see how it progresses as we go along.”

Ferentz said he hopes freshman running back Brandon Wegher will bounce back from the rib injury that held him out of the Ohio State game.

Turnaround on turnovers

The Hawkeyes were plus-11 in turnover margin going into the Indiana game three weeks ago. Their turnover margin the last three games is minus-9, a stunning turnaround. Iowa is second in the nation in interceptions (19), but leads the nation in interceptions thrown (18).

“Our chances of winning this week and any week will be better if we do a better job in that regard,” Ferentz said. “I liked it before the Indiana game, the way we were going.”