Each week, AnnArbor.com will have a chat with a beat writer/radio personality who covers the team Michigan is facing to get a feel for what's going on in Kalamazoo, South Bend or Champaign.

This week, Marc Morehouse, the Iowa beat writer from the Cedar Rapids Gazette, took some time to chat about the Hawkeyes and Michigan. You can catch all of his stuff at his "On Iowa" blog.

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi's late-game drive for Iowa against Iowa State may have made him a household name in Iowa City, but he's completing less than 50 percent of his passes so far this year.

AP photo

Michael Rothstein: From watching Iowa, it seems as if its strength is its defensive line. How good are they at the end of the day?

Marc Morehouse: “It’s all a matter of effort for these guys. If they show up and they put in and punch you the way defensive lines need to, they are fabulous. Adrian Clayborn, he’s a junior this year, he might have a decision to make at the end of they year. When he gets on a streak, like he did at Penn State, he’s fabulous. First part of the year, each Coach (Kirk) Ferentz pointed it out, he was a step slow. It happens. But when he turns it on, he’s one of the conference’s best. 

On Saturday, they’ll be look to play contain and he’s good with that, also, because he’s got really good wheels for a 280-pound guy. The other defensive end, Broderick Binns, he’s new to the position. He’s not a conventional player at all but he’s your prototypical Iowa player. He’s 6-1, too short to play defensive end anywhere else in the country, probably. But he has these crazy arms. Seriously, they hang past his knee, has the wingspan of a 6-8 guy and he’s really tough to block. When he gets on a streak, like at Penn State, he can be an absolute wrecking ball. He can be a dangerous player. 

Inside, they are a little undersized. Karl Klug, he has a twin brother who is playing at Minnesota State who is a 215-pound linebacker and Karl Klug is a 260-pound linebacker at Iowa. So maybe they aren’t so much twins anymore, but, he’s a terrific player, great motor. I don’t know if you remember but Iowa had a player named Mitch King last year who was a fringe NFL player now. He was a quick step, really relied on the quick step, a real disruptor in there and he’s in that range. 

Then they have Christian Ballard, who was switched down from defensive end last year. He’s played OK at tackle. He’s strong, holds the point of attack, but he’s still learning a new position and there’s a lot of traffic. But his numbers aren’t quite what people might expect at this point but he’s making a difference. He’s getting a lot of pressure and he can be a tough matchup because he does have some decent speed for a 285-pound guy.”

MR: It seems like the biggest issue with this team might be Ricky Stanzi, who is also the best-known player on Iowa. What’s been going on with him this year?

MM: “Well, it’s quite an elevation for a guy who basically turned around and handed it off to Shonn Greene last year. Don’t get me wrong, he made his share of plays but if he was wearing a nametag last year, it probably said ‘Game manager.’ Now, he’s the guy. Really, it’s his offense and he’s been slow to really assume that, I guess. His first half has been sort of spotty. He’s just been a guy in the first half this year. He’s still under 50 percent completions and most of his, he’s had some accuracy issues. 

Part of it is there has been a lot of moving parts on Iowa’s offensive line. Brian Bulaga, a guy who also might have a decision to make at the end of the year going to the NFL as a true junior, he’s been out three games with a thyroid illness, he came back last week. One of the best left tackles in the Big Ten was out, so that’s going to slow things down. Then they had some injuries on the line, had some moving parts there. That’s pretty well settled. 

Tony Moeaki, one of the best tight ends who no one really ever gets to see play, missed the last three games with an ankle injury and is kind of coming back, this week maybe. When he plays, he’s terrific. He was 100 percent against Northern Iowa in the first game and caught 10 passes. He’s a devastating blocker. He’s a big lift for Iowa’s offense because he can do so much. I think he could play every position on the field. He has that type of body, that type of speed. And then running back, Jewel Hampton was supposed to be the guy but he tore his ACL, slightly torn and totally torn later on. Anyway, he’s out. 

You have two freshmen, Brandon Wegher, true freshman from Sioux City, he was playing in Class 3A football in Iowa last year, in Michigan that’s probably something in the UP. And then the other guy, Adam Robinson, they have two running backs who are pretty good, Robinson was a redshirt freshman who in the spring they were toying with at safety. So they are kind of finding their way there but I think they found pretty good pistons in the backfield. But there are a lot of moving parts and Stanzi, he’s been a starter for 15 games and the one thing you can really say about him is in those 15 games, he’s 12-3. The numbers might not be pretty, but he can get results.”

MR: How does Michigan win this game? I’ve seen them more than you, but what need to happen with Iowa for Michigan to have a good shot?

MM: “If Michigan can come out and run the ball against Iowa, that’s a big deal because Iowa’s offense will sputter. It’s been sputtering all year and I don’t see a clean run coming out of it this week because they haven’t had one yet. So if Michigan can establish some punch in the mouth, I think that would 1) shock Iowa’s defense because it hasn’t been roughed up this year. It’s been the hammer. Also, it’ll keep Iowa’s offense, it’ll keep it off the field and keep it from gaining any sort of footing, which it hasn’t done this year. 

When I look at Michigan, the number that really worries me if I were a Michigan fan, the number that really sticks out is the time of possession. I don’t know if that’s a huge deal because there is an element of explosion with Tate Forcier and a pretty good group of receivers and two running backs who have speed to burn. But I don’t know if it’s a huge number but in a game like this, a Big Ten game where it’s probably going to be about 35 degrees, 40, going to be cold, could be some elements to it in that it could rain or snow down here, maybe it’s Sunday night but it’s going to be ugly, weather-wise. If Michigan can get some sort of running game going and tilt that time of possession, that’s a huge factor in this game.”

MR: One last thing, how crazy does Kinnick get at night?

MM: “Kinnick is crazy any time of day. But at night, as far as alcohol goes in the conference, Wisconsin gets its share, which it deserves of the tailgating-slash-kegger-slash-crazy alcohol frenzy. Iowa’s got that going pretty good. I think these people will have, I’ve talked to friends and tailgating folks and they are stil going to get there at 7 a.m., and that’s 12 hours before the game. So it’s going to be sort of nutty and it’s very loud there. 

In the summer, Iowa put fieldturf into Kinnick Stadium and the fans were close before but I think they are closer now. I’m talking, Michigan’s bench will be 8-10 yards away from the stands. It’s shocking how much the fans are on top of players here. Michigan, it has a stadium with 100,000 people but it’s odd how Kinnick can get on you like that. I’m not sure it’ll be a factor, but Kinnick will be an alcohol-fueled frenzy Saturday night.”