In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a loss to dissect on the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 2022 schedule. History and the difficulty of running the gauntlet unblemished during any college football season tell us that there’s a setback coming somewhere.
With the departures of a host of impact players from rival Iowa State and quarterback Carson Strong from Nevada, the Hawkeyes appear well positioned entering 2022 to get off to a fast start.
The Cyclones are replacing longtime starting quarterback Brock Purdy who threw for 12,170 passing yards and 81 touchdowns over the course of his Iowa State career. Star running back Breece Hall is also out of the picture for Iowa State after rushing for 3,941 yards and 50 touchdowns over the past three seasons. Linebacker Mike Rose’s 321 tackles need to be replaced as well.
Again, it sets up well for Iowa to get out of the nonconference portion of its schedule unscathed. Rivalry games have a tendency to remain interesting regardless of personnel, though. South Dakota State also presents more talent than some would suspect in the season’s opening week and Nevada has won seven or more games each of the past three seasons.
If Iowa gets by those three, then there’s a date at Rutgers before a big home test versus the Michigan Wolverines. That Michigan home date is precisely where 247Sports’ Nick Kosko sees the Hawkeyes’ first loss in 2022.
The defending Big Ten champion comes to town, and the Wolverines should be favored over everyone except Ohio State next season. Iowa could slip up against rival Iowa State at home Sept. 10 or stumble in Big Ten play at Rutgers Sept. 24, but it’s more likely to happen against Michigan. This should be a great defensive battle but the Wolverines’ offense favors them and in the end, could be too much for the Hawkeyes to overcome. – Nick Kosko, 247Sports.
The matchup against the Wolverines in the 2021 Big Ten championship game would certainly lead plenty to believe that Iowa is in for a difficult test in the rematch this coming season. Michigan routed Iowa in that championship tilt, 42-3. The Wolverines had 211 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, while Iowa could only muster up a Caleb Shudak field goal.
It’ll be the “ANF Black & Gold Spirit Game” when Michigan rolls into town on Oct. 1, so the environment will be electric if Iowa can make plays to keep the crowd engaged. In what has been a prevailing thought leading up to Iowa’s 2022 season, the Hawkeyes have to figure out a way to improve offensively before collision’s course versus Michigan.
This game should be tighter than a season ago given that the setting is in Kinnick Stadium and the Wolverines are replacing their own key personnel. That list for Michigan includes star pass-rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, who went No. 2 and No. 45 overall in the 2022 NFL draft to the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens, respectively.
The Wolverines are also replacing star running back Hassan Haskins who carried 270 times a season ago for 1,327 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. Haskins is off to the Tennessee Titans after being selected with the 131st pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Still, with recruiting classes that ranked No. 8 nationally in 2019, No. 10 in 2020, No. 13 in 2021 and No. 9 in 2022 according to the 247Sports composite team rankings, it’s no secret that the Wolverines’ roster will still be littered with talent.
It’s easy to understand why Kosko has Michigan pegged as Iowa’s first loss of 2022, and if that’s indeed the case, it will at least mean the Hawkeyes navigated their nonconference portion of the schedule unbeaten and picked up a road win at Rutgers.
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