Midterms and midterm grades are often useful in school and they can provide that in football as well. The Iowa Hawkeyes are halfway through their season and staring down the second half of the year.
Halfway through, they are sitting at a pretty solid record of 5-1 with a 2-1 Big Ten mark. Their one loss came to Penn State in a game that was over the second it started. That said, the Nittany Lions are doing that to most teams.
Iowa has since bounced back with two more wins and is now heading to Wisconsin with an inside track to the Big Ten West on the line. Ahead of the matchup, CBS Sports offered their grades for the Big Ten at the halfway point.
No single coach does more for his team than Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker. Without him, the Hawkeyes might not win a game. The Iowa offense, meanwhile, has scored over 30 points just twice but the Hawkeyes sit at 5-1. In modern college football, Iowa’s model isn’t sustainable for winning, yet it keeps finding ways to do just that.
Maybe this team stumbles to a Big Ten West title, or maybe things fall apart over the final two months. Either way, it’s hard to give a team with just one loss a bad grade—even if the offense is setting the game back several decades. Grade: B-; – Backus, CBS Sports
The grade is hard to argue. Yes, Iowa is carried by Phil Parker and the defense. But, it works well enough to have them at 5-1. If something works enough to keep winning games, it’d be silly to stop it. The Hawkeyes have their recipe and it somehow keeps finding a way to win.
Iowa’s upcoming opponent, the Wisconsin Badgers, headline the biggest game on the schedule for the Hawkeyes with the Big Ten West in play. The Badgers haven’t lost in conference play yet and graded out accordingly.
Wisconsin is the odds-on favorite to win a very lackluster Big Ten West. Its only loss thus far came on the road against a Washington State team that now ranks 19th in the AP Top 25. Otherwise, the Badgers have taken care of business.
The offense has looked decent under first-year coordinator Phil Longo and his air raid system, though it’s been the running game that is stealing the show. The Badgers lead the Big Ten with 204 rushing yards per game. If Wisconsin does what it’s supposed to do, Luke Fickell will deliver the program’s first division title since 2019. Grade: B; – Backus, CBS Sports
Wisconsin has its grasp on the West at the moment and can really increase its chances of a trip to Indianapolis for an appearance in the Big Ten Championship. Their date with Iowa pits two hard-nosed teams against each other in a matchup that will see downhill running and defense.
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