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The Iowa Hawkeyes embody the word “average.” Since 2009, Iowa has not won more than eight games in a season. It won seven games last year, and ended the season poorly in an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers in the TaxSlayer Bowl. With Kirk Ferentz at the helm, Iowa’s improvement will be extremely limited for the foreseeable future. The 2015 season is certainly no exception.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes are recovering from the loss of their top two tacklers in defensive back John Lowdermilk and linebacker Quinton Alston, who had 107 total tackles between the two of them. However, defensive back Desmond King and defensive lineman Drew Ott return to provide some veteran leadership. Ott could certainly create some issues in some offensive backfields with his 6-foot-4, 272-pound frame. At the linebacker position, Cole Fisher and Bo Bower return and will have to be the cornerstone of an otherwise vanilla defensive unit.
On offense, Iowa returns a few starters up front, which will be key in replacing NFL first-round pick Brandon Scherff. Senior Austin Blythe and junior Cole Croston headline a respectable offensive front. At the skill positions, Iowa needs to find a replacement for Kevonte Martin-Manley to take pressure off of senior go-to wide out Tevaun Smith. Junior Matt VandeBerg and freshman Jay Scheel are certainly candidates, especially VandeBerg after his performance in the spring game. Senior tight end Jake Duzey will be a decent target, but he is recovering from a knee injury during spring ball. As far as the rushing attack, Iowa has three somewhat decent backs that could be used in a “by committee” system, though it looks as if junior LeShun Daniels will get a bulk of the carries, with senior Jordan Canzeri supplementing. Sophomore Akrum Wadley is available as well should Canzeri struggle with injuries again this season.
And let’s not forget the loss of quarterback Jake Rudock. Junior C.J. Beathard will be getting all of the snaps this fall instead of splitting them like last season. In the spring game, Beathard overthrew his receivers pretty often. In order to keep Iowa from becoming one-dimensional, his accuracy needs to become his primary focus heading into training camp.
Iowa’s non-conference schedule is a borderline cupcake. Its one road game is against the rival Iowa State Cyclones, which should be easy, but Iowa has gone 5-5 against the Cyclones in the last 10 years. It hosts Illinois State Week 1, and closes out non-conference play with Pittsburgh Panthers and North Texas visiting Iowa City.
In Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes have two difficult road games at the Wisconsin Badgers and at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The good news is that it hosts the rival Minnesota Golden Gophers for the Floyd of Rosedale. Even better news, it doesn’t have to face the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Michigan State Spartans. That might just be enough to get the Hawkeyes to a bowl this year.
I expect Iowa to be nothing more than what they have been in the past: average. I have them finishing fourth in the Big Ten West at 4-4 with a 6-6 overall record and Ferentz’s seat getting a little bit hotter.
Brooks Hooley is a Junior Big Ten Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brookshooley.
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