Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good in sports. The Iowa Hawkeyes hope to be both in the 2023 college football Season.
Through the offseason, the Hawkeyes have done their best to improve the team and bring a contender to Kinnick Stadium.
New Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai literally threw more touchdown passes in a single game against Houston than the entire Iowa quarterback room threw the entirety of last year. What does that mean then for the Hawkeyes? Hit the transfer portal and add a key starter in former Michigan Wolverine Cade McNamara.
All of your wide receivers of note left after you already had one of the worst passing attacks in the league? Go and snatch Kaleb Brown from fellow Big Ten rivals Ohio State. Oh yeah, go and grab McNamara’s buddy Erick All to form a dynamic duo with Luke Lachey at tight end. That’s one way to help ease the loss of Sam LaPorta.
The team has done its part this offseason to try and get good, and it seems that luck may be on their side as well. In Brad Crawford’s look at the top nine Power 5 five teams with the easiest schedules in 2023, the 247Sports writer featured Iowa at No. 8.
If Kirk Ferentz’s offense has a pulse and Iowa survives the first half of the conference schedule, the Hawkeyes could control their destiny in the divisional title race in mid-October. Iowa’s not far away from being a top-25 team and gets a couple chances in September to get it right offensively before traveling to Penn State. Outside of the trip to Happy Valley and a road trek to Wisconsin a couple weeks later, the Hawkeyes could be the betting favorite in every other contest. – Crawford, 247Sports.
While it should be said that no game in the Big Ten is a gimme, Iowa did really luck out. They don’t have to face either Ohio State or Michigan, and instead get to invite Rutgers and Michigan State to come out west.
Michigan State has experienced an extremely tumultuous offseason following their disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2022. Multiple players have transferred away looking for new pastures with a better shade of green.
Rutgers is of course still Rutgers.
Then, of course, there is the nonconference schedule. No disrespect to those teams, but Iowa certainly did not book a trip to Tuscaloosa early on in the season. If Iowa cannot handle Utah State, Iowa State, and Western Michigan, then they should just send Brian Ferentz packing right now.
There will be some really tough games this upcoming year. Big Ten West foes Wisconsin and Minnesota are never easy games, especially late in the year. Penn State has a lot of potential this year as well with new quarterback Drew Allar.
Again, there aren’t any teams on the schedule that Iowa can afford to simply overlook. However, with the changes they have made this offseason and the aspirations that a program Iowa’s caliber should have, this schedule sure sets the scene for a big season for Hawkeye football.
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