BLOOMINGTON — Rodger Saffold shrinks Indiana's spacious Team Room just by walking into it, brightening Hoosier prospects against Iowa just by talking about it.

Saffold is 6-5 and 318 pounds. He is a four-year starter at left tackle. He has seen the ups and downs, highlights and low lights, twists and turns that make up Indiana football.

“You're going to see a team rise up,” he says from yet another fall Cream and Crimson valley. “That will come from practice. That's what you need to do if you want to win. That's how you find out the character of a team. I have all the faith in our team.”

Faith provides opportunity, and that's what IU seeks Saturday. The trip to Iowa figures to be the most challenging it will face all season. The No. 7 Hawkeyes are 8-0 for the first time in school history. They are tough and strong and tough-minded. They are, in so many ways, everything the Hoosiers (4-4) aspire to be.

But before the Hoosiers get to that opportunity they must exorcise the demons from last Saturday's gut-wrenching 29-28 loss at Northwestern. They blew a 25-point lead. They twice failed on fourth-down gambles that might have changed the outcome. They might have blown their best chance at bowl eligibility.

Such negative thoughts will not help them at Kinnick Stadium, where 70,585 Iowa fans will gather to do vocally what Hawkeyes players will try to do physically - break IU's will.

“When you have a game like (Northwestern), the best thing you can do is let it go as early as you possibly can,” Saffold says. “If you don't and dwell on it, it can turn practice into drudgery. You get people wallowing and moping around, which doesn't help you in the next game. That just sets you up for the next loss. We did that last year. That's something we cannot do.”

Other Hoosiers in other years have said similar things, only to lose again. Still, history doesn't have to be repeated. IU could shock the Big Ten football world much as Purdue did against Ohio State a few weeks earlier.

“Could,” of course, is not, “will.”

“We have to tighten up,” Saffold says. “We've shown we can do really good things. We jumped on top (of Northwestern) so quickly, I wouldn't say it surprised us, but it was almost too easy. Forget it and move forward and ramp up the energy. We know we're close. We have to finish.”

Nobody has finished Iowa this season. It has twice fallen behind by 10 points, only to rally. It has won at Penn State, at Wisconsin, at Michigan State. It makes the big plays that need to be made on offense, on defense, on special teams. It doesn't win pretty (four victories by three or fewer points), but it wins.

A Cream and Crimson optimist would mention the Michigan game. IU nearly won at Michigan Stadium, a feat once thought as likely as Hulk Hogan winning the Oscar for “Hamlet.” It has talent and experience and resolve. At least, it does in spurts.

“We have to come out Saturday,” Saffold says, “and do what we've done all year long - play to the best of our ability and tighten up the little things.”

Coach Bill Lynch says the Hoosiers should be thankful for Saturday's opportunity.

“They're fortunate. They get to play Iowa, an unbeaten team.”

“Fortunate” is a matter of perspective. Winning? That comes down to execution, resolve and faith.

“This is a game,” Saffold says, “you can remember for a lifetime.”