Your Northwestern two deeps . . .

Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff suffered a broken fibula and dislocated right ankle in Iowa's loss to Penn State last weekend.

According to Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, the 6-5, 310-pound sophomore had surgery Sunday morning and will be out for four to six weeks. "We're probably looking at a couple of months before he's back," Ferentz said.

Guard Andrew Donnal has a right knee injury. He was on crutches and on the sideline for the second half last week. Ferentz said he faces some additional tests. On the field after the sophomore went down, the training staff performed tests to check on his ACL.

The players were injured in the first quarter just two plays apart. The Hawkeyes (4-3, 2-1 Big Ten) travel to Northwestern (6-2, 2-2) this weekend. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.

Junior Nolan MacMillan replaced Scherff. The 6-6, 290-pound junior hadn't played since week 6 2010 at Michigan. A sports hernia kept him sidelined for all of 2011.

"I have no idea," MacMillan said when asked if he was going to be the long-term left tackle. "We work at a lot of different positions to keep us prepared for wherever they need us. It was hard to see them go down like that. We all care about each other in the room, so it's hard to see them go down like that. Hopefully, they're OK."

Guard is up in the air between redshirt freshmen Austin Blythe and Jordan Walsh. Blythe was the starter there before he suffered an ankle injury Sept. 22 against Central Michigan. He hasn't made a full return. Walsh has seen little action.

"That stretches us a little thin," center James Ferentz said. "We might have to call in some of the younger guys. That's the nature of this program, the next man in. I don't think it'll be a cause for concern."

Running back Mark Weisman returned from the ankle injury he suffered on the game-tying TD against Michigan State two weeks ago, but he wasn't effective against Penn State, carrying just five times for 9 yards.

"It hurts a little bit and I was restricted a little," Weisman said. "I wasn't really being effective out there. That's hurting the team more than helping it."

True freshman Greg Garmon led Iowa with eight carries for 27 yards. The Hawkeyes gained just 20 yards on the ground, their worst performance since minus-9 at Ohio State in 2005.

-- Senior Greg Castillo is still listed ahead of junior B.J. Lowery at cornerback. Castillo ended the Penn State game on the bench with ice on his left knee and ankle. Lowery saw his first action since Sept. 22 against Central Michigan.

-- Iowa made one performance move last Saturday, switching senior strong safety Tommy Donatell out for sophomore Nico Law. Donatell is listed as the starter.

-- Iowa's game at Indiana next week will be televised on the Big Ten Network, but the time is still TBA.

SE - 6 *** Keenan Davis ^ 6-3 215 Sr.

81 Tevaun Smith 6-2 190 #Fr.

LT - 76 * Nolan MacMillan 6-6 290 Jr.

60 * Matt Tobin 6-6 290 Sr.

LG - 60 * Matt Tobin 6-6 290 Sr.

65 Jordan Walsh 6-4 270 #Fr.

C - 53 ** James Ferentz 6-2 284 Sr.

59 Connor Boffeli 6-5 290 Jr.

RG - 63 Austin Blythe 6-3 275 #Fr.

50 Drew Clark 6-4 288 Jr.

RT - 70 ** Brett Van Sloten 6-7 292 Jr.

76 * Nolan MacMillan 6-6 290 Jr.

TE - 86 ** C.J. Fiedorowicz ^ 6-7 265 Jr.

82 * Ray Hamilton ^ 6-5 248 So.

QB - 16 *** James Vandenberg 6-3 212 Sr.

15 Jake Rudock 6-3 200 #Fr.

WR - 11 * Kevonte Martin-Manley 6-0 205 So.

83 * Steven Staggs 6-3 195 Sr.

RB - 4 Greg Garmon ^ 6-1 190 Fr./45 Mark Weisman 6-0 235 So.

33 Jordan Canzeri ^ 5-9 182 So.

FB - 38 ** Brad Rogers 5-10 230 Jr.

92 ** Jonathan Gimm 6-3 240 Sr.

PK - 96 ** Mike Meyer ^ 6-2 185 Jr.

1 Marshall Koehn 6-0 160 #Fr.

LE - 99 Joe Gaglione 6-4 264 Sr.

94 Riley McMinn 6-7 245 #Fr.

LT - 54 * Steve Bigach 6-3 282 Sr.

71 Carl Davis 6-5 310 So.

RT - 90 Louis Trinca-Pasat 6-3 270 So.

97 Darian Cooper 6-2 280 #Fr.

RE - 79 * Dominic Alvis 6-4 265 Jr.

49 Melvin Spears 6-2 255 #Fr.

OLB - 20 ** Christian Kirksey ^ 6-2 220 Jr.

39 Travis Perry 6-3 230 #Fr.

MLB - 44 ** James Morris ^ 6-2 230 Jr.

* 52 Quinton Alston ^ 6-2 224 So.

WLB - 31 ** Anthony Hitchens ^ 6-1 224 Jr.

36 Cole Fisher 6-2 218 #Fr.

LC - 2 *** Greg Castillo 5-11 187 Sr.

19 B.J. Lowery ** ^ 5-11 188 Jr.

SS - 13 ** Tom Donatell 6-2 205 Sr.

21 * Nico Law ^ 6-1 195 So.

FS - 5 ** Tanner Miller ^ 6-2 201 Jr.

37 * John Lowdermilk ^ 6-2 203 So.

RC - 18 *** Micah Hyde ^ 6-1 190 Sr.

7 Sean Draper ^ 6-0 180 Fr.

PT - 98 Connor Kornbrath 6-6 215 Fr.

14 * John Wienke 6-5 220 Sr.

Punt returns: 18 Micah Hyde

Kickoff returns: 81 Tevaun Smith; 23 Jordan Cotton Jr.

Deep Snaps: 61 * Casey Kreiter 6-3 250 Jr.

54 * Steve Bigach 6-3 282 Sr.

Holder: 14 * John Wienke 6-5 220 Sr.

* – – Letters won

^ – – Redshirt year still available

# – – Indicates redshirt freshman

Notes 09

Iowa's Tanner Miller (5) intercepts a pass on the 2-yard-line during the first half of their game against Northwestern Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Miller retuned the ball 98 yards for a touchdown. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)