In the first season with the West Coast arrivals, can the Iowa Hawkeyes make what would be considered an improbable return to the Big Ten Championship game?
In a recent episode, Cover 3 Podcast host Bud Elliott made a case for why Iowa might be a team to watch in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game hunt.
“Iowa. Iowa’s way easy. The Big Ten West, it’s like, hey, welcome to playing a real schedule. Except for Iowa. Somebody forgot to schedule Iowa a Big Ten East schedule. Have you seen who they play?” Elliott said when asked which Big Ten teams got the cushiest 2024 path.
“I think Iowa is pretty cakewalk. There is a real chance that Iowa—to steal a basketball term here—is a bid thief, right, for the conference title. If the loser of Oregon-Ohio State, if they lose one extra game, there’s a real chance they don’t make the conference title game because Iowa’s sitting there at 8-1. So, they play Minnesota, at Ohio State, Washington, Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, UCLA, Maryland, Nebraska. So, they play one of the best five teams in the Big Ten. And the only bad team they miss is Purdue,” Elliott said.
Many seem to think that the Hawkeyes’ schedule is friendly. In ESPN’s recent Football Power Index release, Iowa’s 2024 schedule was ranked as the second-easiest among Big Ten teams.
Of course, Iowa will need to combine that potential scheduling fortune with an improved offense and its always-stingy defense.
In its history, Iowa has made three appearances in the Big Ten Championship game. Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes have come up empty each time.
Iowa fell to Michigan State, 16-13, in a heartbreaker in the 2015 Big Ten Championship game. Spartan running back L.J. Scott plunged in for a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 27 seconds left to propel Michigan State past Iowa in that Big Ten Championship game.
Then, Iowa returned to the Big Ten Championship game in 2021 where the Hawkeyes fell to Michigan, 42-3.
Lastly, playing in the final version of the Big Ten that included the East and West divisions, Iowa was the West representative in the Big Ten Championship game last season. The Hawkeyes were blanked by eventual national champion Michigan, 26-0.
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