Iowa notes: Morris on TV show; injury front

IOWA CITY -- Iowa senior James Morris and his family bared their souls during an episode of BTN's "The Journey," which aired last week.

Morris' mother, Lynn, described how she took James and his younger brother from an abusive home and how she met and married Iowa equipment manager Greg Morris. James later took Greg's last name.

James Morris, a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, has conducted hundreds of interviews since his sophomore year at Iowa. But talking about his background was much different from describing a play in a football game.

"It was kind of a different environment," Morris said. "I'm used to, at this point, dealing with interviews and interview questions and things like that. But it's a little different when they sit you down and they've got all this equipment and the lights and everything around you. It's sort of a different element, you know. It was a neat experience but, yeah, I was a little nervous.

"What made it difficult or what made me nervous was the deeply personal questions, not things you can answer in a sentence. It was challenging and different."

Morris, who doesn't own a television, has yet to watch the episode, however.

"It sounds like (his parents) enjoyed it," he said. "If it's on, I might watch it. I don't have a plan to block out a certain period of time to watch it right now."

INJURY TIME

Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock and running back Mark Weisman are set to play this week against Purdue after leaving the game early against Wisconsin last Saturday.

Rudock threw an interception on his final play and injured his knee. Weisman suffered a sprained elbow to go along with a sprained foot he suffered earlier in the season. But don't expect either player to complain about their injuries.

"It's there, it's nagging but it's not a big deal," Weisman said. "I can't imagine someone not feeling something in their body."

"It'll be there, and I just have to fight through some stuff," Rudock said. "I'm not any different from any other guy."

Defensive end Dominic Alvis will miss his third consecutive game with a back injury, head coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed.

"We'll see how he does in the next two weeks, and maybe get him back for the last couple games here," Ferentz said. "That's kind of where we're at now."

ACCOMPLISHED FOE

Iowa will face one of Purdue's most accomplished defensive players in cornerback Ricardo Allen.

Allen, a 5-foot-9 senior, has the Boilermakers' record with four interceptions for touchdowns, breaking Rod Woodson's record of three. Allen has 10 career picks and has started 44 career games. Three times he was named a second-team all-Big Ten cornerback.

"I've heard his name before, and I understand he's a good player," Rudock said.

Allen had a career-high 11 tackles against Iowa in 2011. He registered four tackles last year. He has yet to intercept a pass against Iowa.

SERIES HISTORY

Purdue owns a 46-34-3 record against Iowa. The Boilermakers are Iowa's third-most played opponent (behind Minnesota and Wisconsin), while Purdue has faced Iowa the fourth-most times (behind Indiana, Illinois and one shy of Notre Dame).

The Boilermakers and Hawkeyes played every year but two (1957, 1958) from 1929 through 1994. That included the 1930 season, when Iowa was suspended from the Big Ten. Purdue was the only Big Ten opponent to play Iowa that year.

Purdue once beat Iowa 20 years in a row, a streak that ended in Iowa's Rose Bowl year of 1981.

"Probably the biggest thing I remember is we created a new formation," said Ferentz, who was in his first year as Iowa's offensive line coach. "We just moved our backs up a little bit, really didn't change the offense at all, and the fans went crazy. Everybody thought it was something new; it really wasn't, but Coach (Hayden) Fry was the master of disguise again. But the big thing is we played well enough to get it done. Nothing came easy then, and it doesn't come easy now."

Although they compete in separate divisions, the teams were selected as permanent cross-divisional rivals in 2011 when the Big Ten split into divisions. They will compete in the West Division next year.