Iowa City, IA -- (Sports Network) - The seventh-ranked and still undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes will try to continue their magical run and avoid a letdown this weekend, as they host the Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten action at Kinnick Stadium.

The Hawkeyes appear destined for a national title appearance and that was no more evident than in last weekend's bout, when Ricky Stanzi threw a seven-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game to give Iowa a dramatic 15-13 win at Michigan State.

"What can I say. We're just thrilled to get the victory," stated head coach Kirk Ferentz. "They (Iowa) refuse to think they're out of it until the end of the game and I just can't say enough about the way our guys, the effort they gave and the way the pulled this thing out."

Iowa has been no stranger to tight games this season, winning half of its contests by three points or fewer, including a 17-16 escape of Northern Iowa in the season opener. The narrow victories have led the Hawkeyes to their first-ever 8-0 start to a season and they have now won 12 games overall, marking their longest such streak since a 20-game stretch between 1920 and 1923. Three of the team's final four games of the regular season are also at home, setting the stage for a run at the national title, although Iowa's lone road outing is at Ohio State.

As for the Hoosiers, they too were involved in a close finish this past weekend, only they fell short, 29-28, on a late field goal at Northwestern.

"It was a tough loss for us and I have to give Northwestern a lot of credit because they certainly battled back from a deficit early on in the game," said head coach Billy Lynch.

Indiana let a 25-point lead slip away against the Wildcats, as its bowl hopes took a giant hit. The Hoosiers are still a level 4-4 on the campaign, but their remaining schedule will make it extremely difficult on them to earn enough wins for postseason consideration.

The all-time series between Iowa and Indiana dates back to 1912 and the Hawkeyes hold a 39-27-4 lead in the rivalry. The Hawkeyes have won 15 of the last 23 meetings between the programs, including a 45-9 trouncing in Bloomington last season.

The Hoosiers led 28-3 midway through the second quarter, but were unable to get anything going after and ended up dropping a 29-28 decision at Northwestern over the weekend.

"I thought that our kids played hard," said coach Lynch. "Did not make any plays the second half offensively to score points."

Darius Willis paced the team in defeat with 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries. Those numbers would indicate a successful day, but Willis had a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and that accounted for most of his yardage. Willis has rushed for 405 yards and five scores on the campaign for an Indiana club that is managing only 127.4 ypg on the ground.

Indiana doesn't have an explosive passing attack either, although the club is doing a decent job in throwing for 232.6 ypg. Quarterback Ben Chappell has completed 63.0 percent of his tosses this year, but with just eight scores against seven picks. He threw for 163 yards and ran for a touchdown last weekend, but was unable to move the offense after the intermission.

Tandon Doss has been the main target for Chappell and he has 54 catches and 716 receiving yards on the campaign. He had six receptions that went for 40 yards against Northwestern.

Indiana has had some struggles on defense and last weekend the unit gave up 474 total yards, well above its season average of 392.5 total ypg allowed. The defense, however, did come up with three picks against Northwestern and the unit has been able to make big plays, forcing 18 turnovers on the campaign.

"Coach said we always need to get turnovers," stated linebacker Matt Mayberry, who paced the team with 13 tackles and one interception. "Good defenses find a way to get turnovers. Whether the offense capitalizes on it or not, we can't really worry about that. We've just got to do what we do as a defense."

The defense did its part with three takeaways, but the unit let down when it was needed most, allowing Northwestern to drive 65 yards set up the game- winning 19-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to play.

Two of Indian's top players on defense are Mayberry and Jammie Kirlew, whom have combined for 21.5 TFLs. Mayberry tops the club with 71 stops, while Kirlew is the team's best pass rusher with 5.5 sacks to his credit.

It was yet another thrilling finish for the Hawkeyes, as Stanzi hit Marvin McNutt on a seven-yard touchdown pass with no time left, lifting Iowa to a 15-13 win over MSU this past weekend. Iowa had settled for three field goals before Stanzi led the team on a 10-play, 70-yard game-winning drive with 1:32 remaining.

"For Rick (Stanzi) to take the team like he did down that last series, is its absolutely outstanding," said coach Ferentz. "It's a great effort on his part, and it's a team effort, that's how we've been playing football all season long."

Stanzi isn't a player that puts up big numbers, throwing for just 12 scores, but he always seems to come up big in key situations and that is a reason Iowa is in contention for a national title.

Unfortunately it wasn't all good news for Iowa last weekend, as tailback Adam Robinson was injured after rushing for 109 yards on 27 carries. The redshirt freshman, who has leads the team with 629 rushing yards, is expected to miss the remainder of the season with ankle injury and that is a huge blow to this team. Iowa already lacks an offensive punch and Robinson was clearly one of its most electric players. The Hawkeyes had running back issues prior to the start of the season and freshman Brandon Wegher (321 yards) will now be asked to carry the load.

Iowa's defense has been the biggest reason for the overall success of the team, as the unit is among the best in the nation, holding foes to a mere 296.5 total ypg. The unit has forced 22 turnovers, showing a knack for big plays, and that includes a nation-best 15 interceptions.

Last weekend, the Hawkeyes actually failed to record a single takeaway, but the unit did hold MSU's solid offense to just 310 total yards. The defense came up with four sacks and held MSU to a mere 13 points in the win.

"Both teams really played good defense tonight," said coach Ferentz.

Adrian Clayborn highlighted the defense with two sacks and a forced fumble, and he heads the team with 9.5 TLS, six sacks and three forced fumbles for the season. Another player to keep a watch for is Tyler Sash, a sophomore safety that is tied for sixth in the nation with five interceptions.