Iowa’s upcoming game against Maryland has all the makings of a classic trap game. The matchup takes place one week before Iowa plays host to Penn State, and it would be easy for the Hawkeyes to look ahead to what might be a meeting of two Top Five teams. To make matters worse, the Maryland game involves a long road trip after a short week of preparation and forces the Hawkeyes to play a late Friday night game against a team that already has experience playing and winning such a contest this season.
Still, there are reasons to suspect that Iowa will come out prepared for what could be a surprisingly competitive game under the Friday night lights.