The Big Ten West is so weak that there’s really no excuse for Iowa football to start making some appearances in the Big Ten Championship every couple years; at least. At least the division is weak when compared to the Big Ten East. Wisconsin and Nebraska are really Iowa’s only road blocks to Indy. You can believe in the Gophers, but I’m still skeptical.
Speaking of skepticism, lately Iowa football seems to excel when no one expects much of it. So hey, “the Hawkeyes are going to suck this year!” Meaning they actually won’t. Sure, there are all kinds of question marks with this Hawkeyes team, but there’s also plenty of reasons to be very hopeful. They could easily win eight games.
Iowa football players attending Big Ten Media Day:
Austin Blythe, Sr., C
Jordan Lomax, Sr., DB
Drew Ott, Sr., DE
It wouldn’t be a Big Ten Media Day without Iowa bringing an offensive lineman. Get ready to talk some run blocking schemes and power cleans. Are you excit….*yawn* But seriously, Blythe has the highest NFL Draft stock of any Hawkeye so Kirk Ferentz made the right call in bringing him. And it was an Iowa OL who finally ended the Big Ten’s NFL Draft drought. Prior to Washington selecting Brandon Scherff #5 overall, it had been eight years since the league had had a top ten overall draft pick.
Offense:
QB: Jake Rudock is now at Michigan, so the gig is all C.J. Beathard’s for the taking. He’s a dual threat; potentially. The offense is the biggest question mark for this team, and how they perform might determine Ferentz’s fate.
OL: James Ferentz is gone but there’s another OL Ferentz kid, Steve Ferentz on the team. He backs up Blythe though so don’t expect him to play a whole lot. The line is inexperienced, but it’s talented.
WR: This group is…nothing to write home about to say the least.
RB: With LeShun Daniels and Jordan Canzeri, Iowa is better off at this position than they have been in recent years. For vast stretches of the 2010s, Iowa was essentially snakebit at the tailback position. I like this group though.
Just a couple days ago ESPN personality/real life Regina George from “Mean Girls” meets the evil twin on “Sweet Valley High” Britt McHenry Tweeted that there’s nothing to do in Iowa. Her sarcastic Tweet was much milder than her vicious vitriol in April, when video of her tirade against a tow company worker broke the internet.
Still McHenry shouldn’t be complaining about finding stuff to do in Iowa. There’s always somebody around who will talk shop on Iowa football and just how warm the seat of Kirk Ferentz is.
Defense:
DL: The Iowa defense is certainly ahead of the Iowa offense. Keep an eye on Ott; who had drawn Aaron Kampman comparisons.
LB: Although they have plenty of experience, they also have a lot to prove at this position. A year ago, Iowa football was a program that kept getting beat on the perimeter; on both sides of the ball. We’ll see if 2015 is different.
Secondary: Jordan Lomax looks really good and Desmond King keeps getting compared to Micah Hyde. This is certainly one of the brightest spots of the team.
Bottom Line: I’m not all that impressed with the talent level on Iowa’s roster, but their schedule is so easy. They really lucked out with no Ohio State or Michigan State this year. Will they do enough to keep Ferentz around though? Yes, his agent got him a fantastic deal that includes a massive buyout if Iowa wants to cut ties, but it seems patience with him is running thin. He hasn’t been bad, he’s just been pedestrian lately.
Never Too Early Season Preview Series:
Iowa
Wisconsin
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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