2014-15 Football Previews – (Big 10) – Hawkeyes
Iowa went 11-2 in 2009, but they haven’t won more than eight games since that season. The Hawkeyes had a quality 8-5 season last year. Their first three losses came against teams that lost a combined one game in the regular season (Northern Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan State).
Big Ten 2014-2015 College Football Preview – Iowa Hawkeyes (Link)
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz
2013 Record: 8-5
Iowa Odds to win the National Championship: +15,000
Season Win Total: 8.5
Kirk Ferentz is a very good coach who does a great job getting the most out of his team, and by most accounts the Hawkeyes have a favorable schedule in 2014.
Iowa plays in the Big Ten West, which is certainly the easier of the two divisions in the Big Ten.
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They draw Indiana and Maryland from the East, which is a very fortunate draw. The Hawkeyes lost only 16 letterwinners from last year, which is second least in the Big Ten. It’s a favorable setup for the Hawkeyes.
Can they take advantage and have a big season?
Let’s take a closer look at this team.
Team Strengths:
Kirk Ferentz knows how to coach up an offensive line, and once again this year he has the big boys to have a dominant line. Brandon Scherff and Andrew Donnal are great at the two tackle spots. Iowa is high on junior Austin Blythe at the center spot as well. This is probably the deepest unit on the Hawkeyes roster, so even if they experience some injuries, Iowa will be fine here.
Jake Rudock gives Iowa their most solid quarterback in several years.
Rudock isn’t a flashy player, but he does a nice job taking care of the ball and in his second year as a starter I expect improvement from him throwing the football. Ferentz likes Rudock’s smarts, and he should be a good team leader in 2014.
Iowa returns 7 of their top 8 defensive linemen.
The Hawkeyes have a great anchor in defensive tackle Carl Davis. Davis is one of the best run stuffers in the league. The group around him was inexperienced last year, but they will be good this year.
Team Weaknesses:
The glaring weakness for this Iowa team is at the linebacker spot. Iowa was very good here last year, but they lost all three starters from last year’s team. In 2014, Iowa has a grand total of two career starts between all of the players on their roster at the linebacker spot.
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Though the front line is good, the massive question mark at linebacker leaves me worried about Iowa’s front seven defensively.
Iowa is a bit short on reliable pass catchers. The loss of tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz hurts in a big way. He was easily the team’s most reliable weapon last year, and he and Rudock had good chemistry. The Hawkeyes like to run the football consistently, but in order to keep the best defenses honest they must improve their passing attack.
Can these receivers be good enough? It’s definitely a question mark.
2014-2015 Iowa Football Prediction: 9-4
I’ll bump Iowa up to 9-4 from last year’s 8-5 mark, largely because of their very favorable schedule this year. The Hawkeyes weakness at linebacker has me concerned, but their strengths in other positions should allow them to beat most of the teams on this year’s schedule.
The non-conference schedule is simple, and the Big Ten schedule is probably the easiest of any contender in the Big Ten.
Don’t be shocked if Iowa sneaks into contention in the Big Ten West, even though they aren’t the best team on that side of the conference.
Iowa Football Schedule
- 8/30/14 TBD UNI
- 9/6/14 TBD BALL
- 9/13/14 TBD ISU
- 9/20/14 TBD @PITT
- 9/27/14 12:00 PM ET @PUR
- 10/11/14 TBD IND
- 10/18/14 12:00 PM ET @MD
- 11/1/14 TBD NW
- 11/8/14 TBD @MINN
- 11/15/14 TBD @ILL
- 11/22/14 TBD WIS
- 11/28/14 TBD NEB
