Two DI staffers debate if Iowa will remain undefeated heading into the Big Ten schedule.
Yes
The Hawkeye football team will finish their nonconference schedule with a 4-0 record. Why?
The Hawkeyes have the two toughest games out of the way. When Illinois State visited Kinnick Stadium on Sept. 5, it was one of the top-ranked Football Championship Subdivision schools, and it was not to be taken lightly. Iowa handled the Redbirds fairly easily, allowing just two scores in garbage time.
Then the Hawks snagged a win at a raucous Jack Trice Stadium last weekend with defensive lineman Drew Ott and starting running back LeShun Daniels Jr. injured in the game.
Pittsburgh will test the Hawkeyes, but Kinnick will be rocking, helping Iowa to another win. All that remains after that is North Texas. The Mean Green should be the fourth win for Iowa in its nonconference schedule.
The team is also embracing the “next man in” concept very well, which it looks like it will need to continue to do After Ott went down with a left-arm injury in Ames, Parker Hesse stepped up as his replacement and impressed observers.
And — there’s no way around it — this offense is much better than it was last year. C.J. Beathard’s willingness to throw downfield creates many big-play opportunities, and it also opens up the running game.
An offense that once featured check-down passes and three-and-out drives now has signs of becoming a force to be reckoned with in the nonconference schedule and in Big Ten play.
— by Jake Mosbach
No
There has been a big uptick of support and confidence in the Iowa football team after the first two weeks of the season.
After a convincing win against Illinois State and a victory against Iowa State in the always-tricky Cy-Hawk game, there has been talk about the Hawks going 9-3 or 10-2.
Curb your enthusiasm, folks. Iowa has to get through its nonconference schedule unbeaten to even think about going there, and I do not believe that will happen.
The Pittsburgh game has been chalked up as a win for the Hawkeyes by some after news that James Conner, the Panthers’ star running back, will miss the rest of the season after an injury in the Youngstown State game.
Not so fast.
Replacing Conner will be Qadree Ollison, a 6-2, 230-pound freight train built much like Conner. Ollison has racked up 288 yards on the ground, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
The Panthers also have arguably the best wide receiver in the nation in junior Tyler Boyd. He finished last season with 78 receptions for 1,261 yards and 8 touchdowns. As a freshman, he finished with 85 receptions for 1,1174 yards and 7 touchdowns. CBS Sports has Boyd going 12th overall in its 2016 NFL mock draft.
The Hawkeyes cannot afford to look past North Texas, either. Does anybody remember a certain Central Michigan game in 2012? Crazier things have happened.
The game will serve as a homecoming for Mean Green head coach Dan McCarney. A former Hawkeye player (1971-74) and assistant coach under Hayden Fry, not to mention headman at Iowa State, McCarney grew up in Iowa City. McCarney is very familiar with Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.
— by Blake Dowson