Walking through the Big Ten schedule is year is a difficult enough task at hand with difficult tests and trap games dotting the schedule every single week. For a team like the Iowa Hawkeyes, who are firmly in the thick of the College Football Playoff race, there is an element of needing added focus.

At 7-2 and No. 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings, Iowa looks to be in a good spot, where winning the rest of the games on the schedule could get them into the 12-team field at 10-2. That starts with Purdue this weekend, which looks like a typical trap game for the Hawkeyes.

How Iowa avoids falling victim to a trap game

If there is any coach in America who doesn't fall victim to overlooking any opponent, it's Iowa's head coach, Kirk Ferentz. He prepares the same way every single week and is relaying that attitude to his team: not to look ahead and only focus on one game at a time.

"But the bottom line is this: This is all entertainment, and I'm all for entertainment. Love to be entertained. Not this time of year necessarily, but I love to be entertained.

"It shows you, it's all week-to-week, and if you look beyond what's in front of you, you're really going to miss an opportunity. At least, chances are you will.

"With college guys, they have a lot more going on outside in their lives, so the better we can be focused football-wise. Plus, not many teams are that good. I know we're not. We need to be 100% wired into what's in front of us. We've won 7 games right now. Our goal is to win 12.

"We didn't make that, and that's not going to happen. So what's the next best number? It's double digits. You can't get there until you win 8," Ferentz said, emphasizing the need to focus on one game at a time.

Iowa is following the process

"You can't skip steps. You just can't do it. The better everybody understands that, the better chances we'll have at being successful. I do know this. If you start thinking about things that aren't pertinent to what's in front of you, you reduce the chances of being successful.

"There are still no guarantees, even if you're 100% locked in. That's just what we all need to understand. When I say "we," I'm talking about people in this building," added Ferentz.

For the Hawkeyes, the College Football Playoff has essentially already started. Every game for Iowa is an elimination game at this point. It starts on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CT when Iowa and Purdue get underway at Kinnick Stadium.