Yes

When the 2023 football schedule was announced, I immediately knew the Iowa football team had a great chance to win the Big Ten West Division. 

The Hawkeyes drew a very favorable mix of non-conference and Big Ten games that could lead to a second trip to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, in three years. 

Iowa took care of business against Utah State, Iowa State, and Western Michigan, setting the Hawkeyes up for the hardest game of the season against the Nittany Lions.

Even with the conference-opening loss to Penn State, 31-0, Iowa still has a great chance to punch its ticket to Indianapolis, Indiana. 

It certainly helps that this is an overall down year for the west division. Only two teams currently hold winning records: the Wisconsin Badgers and the Hawkeyes. 

Traditional Big Ten West Division competitors such as Minnesota, Nebraska, and the 2022 Big Ten West Division champion Purdue Boilermakers have all disappointed this season. 

The division’s results will ultimately come down to the Iowa and Wisconsin game played in Madison, Wisconsin, on Oct. 14. Every other game should easily favor the Hawkeyes. 

But the Hawkeyes will be aided by the Ohio State Buckeyes, who the Badgers square off against — and will most likely lose to — in Week Nine.

If the Hawkeyes take care of business against every other opponent this season, they will make a trip to Indianapolis regardless of the result in Madison.

No

As much as I hate to say it, Iowa will not win the Big Ten West Division this year. 

Although the Hawkeyes have one of the easiest schedules in the entire country, they just don’t have what it takes to go all the way.

The offense is better than it’s been in recent years. Putting up 41 points against Western Michigan was nice to see, but against any high-caliber team, it won’t be enough. 

The Iowa offense is so easily telegraphed. Every team knows what the Hawkeyes will do before they do it: Run on first down and throw on second down almost every single time. 

It’s not hard to beat a team when you know what it’s going to do. 

On defense, the absences of Jack Campbell, Riley Moss, and Lukas Van Ness to the NFL are strongly felt. Our defense isn’t what it was last year, and even with the slight offensive improvement, Iowa isn’t a team that can win without amazing play in that area. 

Coming off a brutal and, frankly, embarrassing loss to Penn State, Iowa theoretically has an easy walk to win out, but how many times have we seen Iowa lose to teams it should be blowing out?

Take Purdue beating No. 2 Iowa at home in 2021. 

Seemingly easy games like Northwestern, Michigan State, and Minnesota are all going to be bigger challenges than they seem, and with the way Iowa has been playing so far this year, I don’t see it passing the test. 

That is not to mention that we will still have to go through Wisconsin, a team that gives Iowa a close game almost every time. 

Iowa will finish the season 9-3 with a loss to Wisconsin and a close game with either Nebraska or Minnesota, so some other team that plays with more passion and more energy will come in and take the Big Ten West Division yet again.