Tag: 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Schedule

Which bowl game does College Football News project the Iowa Hawkeyes to in 2022?

Let’s talk postseason! College Football News projects Iowa to make a bowl game, but which one?

The season might not start for a couple more months, but why not start thinking about the postseason?! Much like Roman Bellic from Grand Theft Auto IV, bowling is always on our minds, but which bowl should Iowa Hawkeye fans set their sights on? The good folks at College Football News recently gave their predictions for every Big Ten team’s bowl game for the 2022 season.

The Hawkeyes indeed were selected to go bowling this upcoming year, an honor that unfortunately will elude fellow Big Ten rivals Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana, and Rutgers. However, they are not on course to make the Rose Bowl like Michigan or contend for the national title like Ohio State. Instead, Hawkeye Nation should start to center their New Year’s Eve plans around Nashville, Tenn.

Currently, College Football News has Iowa facing off against Ole Miss in the Transperfect Music City Bowl against Ole Miss. It’s an intriguing matchup on the surface. Ole Miss has been one of the best offenses in college football over the past several seasons, while the Hawkeyes bring back plenty of key pieces to one of college football’s stingiest defenses in 2021. The Rebels are breaking in USC transfer quarterback Jaxson Dart in 2022.

While it doesn’t have the prestige of a College Football Playoff game or the Rose Bowl, the Music City Bowl does have one of the higher payouts amongst the bowl games… so there’s something at least. It’s also without the novelty of the Cheez-It Bowl or the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, but that just means you’re safe from a mayo bath this time Kirk Ferentz.

The Music City Bowl, played between SEC and Big Ten teams, has a history of upsets. That upset history is mostly from the early 2000s, but in recent years it has become one of the most exciting and tightly contested games in the postseason slate. Last year’s iteration between Purdue and Tennessee, a 48-45 overtime thriller, has an argument for the best postseason game last season even with a very controversial ending. Jaylen Wright 100% was in.

Iowa was supposed to be in the 2020 Music City Bowl, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Missouri program. Last year, Iowa lost to Kentucky 20-17 in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl. They hold a 20-17-1 overall bowl record and have gone 9-9 in bowl games under Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2022 schedule breakdown: Rutgers

Rutgers is starting to turn things around a bit under Greg Schiano. Will they pose a threat to Iowa in the Hawkeyes’ first away game?

Finally, a road game. After starting off the 2022 season with the first three games at home, the Hawkeyes start their Big Ten slate in Piscataway, N.J., against Rutgers.

After a disastrous era under former head coach Chris Ash, last year the Scarlet Knights really started to make some progress under now-Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano. The Ash era included an 8-33 overall record, a 3-27 mark in Big Ten play and three of his four seasons were winless conference campaigns. Now, Rutgers is starting to become somewhat respectable again with Schiano back at the helm.

While 5-7 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten games aren’t the most glamorous records in the world, they are miles better than previous years for a Scarlet Knights program that has really struggled to adjust to the Big Ten. They still weren’t that good, but certainly don’t appear close to as bad as the squad that lost 78-0 at home against Michigan in 2016.

While 2021 was one of the more respectable years in program history, Rutgers lost some key players on offense. Wide receiver Bo Melton and running back Isiah Pacheco both were selected in the 2022 NFL draft and will be big losses for the Scarlet Knights.

Schiano is starting to build something in North Jersey, bringing in two four-star recruits in the 2022 recruiting class, but it is yet to be seen whether or not they can take another step forward this coming season. Here are the opposing players to watch during Iowa’s first away game of the season against Rutgers.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2022 schedule breakdown: Nevada

Nevada will be a very different looking team when they travel to play Iowa in 2022. Here is a breakdown of the new-look Wolfpack.

It’s week three and the (hopefully) 2-0 Iowa Hawkeyes just took care of business against a new-look Iowa State squad at home! Now, they have a team in a very similar situation in Nevada. At least on the surface, the 2022 season has the appearance of a bit of a rebuild for the Wolfpack.

For the first time in three years, it will not be Carson Strong throwing the passes for the Mountain West contenders. Strong graduated this year and is now fighting for a roster spot on the Philadelphia Eagles.

Top receiver Romeo Doubs was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of this year’s draft, and tight end and secondary pass catcher Cole Turner was a fifth-round pick as well.

By the way, the other two notable starting pass catchers, Melquan Stovall and Tory Holton, both transferred to Colorado State this offseason. Not only are the Wolfpack losing one of the best Mountain West quarterbacks in recent years, but they also have to find a way to replace 3,088 receiving yards and 27 receiving touchdowns. Oh, and they have to replace head coach Jay Norvell who went to guess who, Colorado State.

While they lost a lot of pieces on offense, no team should ever be counted out from rebounding in college football. Here are five players to watch on a new-look Nevada when they travel to Iowa City in week three.

5 Iowa football kickoff times announced on the Hawkeyes’ 2022 schedule

As the season is rapidly approaching, five kickoff times and four TV designations for the 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes’ season were announced.

After a 10-win campaign that included a Big Ten West division championship, there’s reason for optimism entering 2022 for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Sure, quarterback Spencer Petras and Iowa’s passing offense needs its sorting out, but the defense returns star power that should keep the Hawkeyes in a position to once again be a factor in the Big Ten West and perhaps repeat within the division.

Naturally, the hope is that Iowa progresses enough offensively to where Hawkeye fans can dream bigger than just capturing the Big Ten West. In the meantime, there’s eternal optimism here about how the 2022 season might unfold and what’s in store for the Hawkeyes next season.

With that in mind, fans can now plan accordingly for five dates on Iowa’s 2022 schedule as kickoff times and television designations have been announced for the first three weeks of the season by the Big Ten Network, ESPN and FOX Sports. Several other select dates were unveiled as well.

CBS Sports picks Minnesota as Big Ten West division champion

At least one writer sees Iowa’s reign atop the Big Ten West as a short-lived one. CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson picked Minnesota.

CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson has a bold prediction for the Big Ten West division in 2022. Patterson sees neither Iowa repeating nor Wisconsin taking the crown, but Minnesota advancing to the Big Ten championship game.

Iowa is in the midst of an ongoing quarterback battle on an offense that finished No. 121 nationally in total offense at 303.7 yards per game last season. With that in mind, not picking Iowa to repeat as Big Ten West champions isn’t necessarily the most shocking thought in the world, but choosing Minnesota instead of Wisconsin definitely qualifies as a surprise.

The Golden Gophers nearly won the division in 2021 despite significant injury issues. It just flew below the radar because many wrote off P.J. Fleck’s team following their loss to Bowling Green. Minnesota’s ability to figure out different ways to win suggests the program does have a strong foundation, and one of the keys to establishing that foundation is back with Kirk Ciarrocca returning as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ciarrocca was Minnesota’s OC for three seasons, last in 2019 when the Golden Gophers went 11-2, and I think his return sparks a breakthrough Big Ten championship game appearance. – Chip Patterson, CBS Sports.

Minnesota was a strong team last season, finishing with a 9-4 record in a bounce-back season. The return of Ciarrocca appears to be a big one for the Golden Gophers. When Ciarrocca was last coaching the team, quarterback Tanner Morgan experienced his best season. Morgan’s play has dipped after a very strong 2019 season.

The Golden Gophers will have stiff competiton for the crown in the West. Wisconsin is always a tough team, as is reigning champion Iowa. Do not forget about Purdue and Nebraska as well. It will be a dogfight for a spot in the Big Ten championship game.

The Hawkeyes captured the Big Ten West last season with a 7-2 mark in conference play. In Iowa’s 6-0 start to the 2021 season, the Hawkeyes won all three of their games against Big Ten East opponents to start league play 3-0.

That string of victories included the season-opening triumph over then-No. 17 Indiana, 34-6, a 51-14 blowout of Maryland and a 23-20 victory over then-No. 4 Penn State inside Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa stumbled after that, losing its first two contests against Big Ten West opponents in Purdue and Wisconsin. Purdue held the Hawkeyes to just 271 total yards of offense and a lone score in a 24-7 win on Oct. 16, 2021. Iowa starting quarterback Spencer Petras was intercepted four times against the Boilermakers, including three times in the game’s final four minutes.

It was more of the same against Wisconsin. Iowa had just nine first downs and 156 total yards of offense in Madison, Wis. Petras finished that game with only nine completions for 93 passing yards as Wisconsin topped Iowa, 27-7.

Iowa rebounded, though, winning each of its final four regular season games. A banged-up Petras played just three series at Northwestern. Backup quarterback Alex Padilla helped lead the Hawkeyes to a 17-12 win at Northwestern and proceeded to start the next three games for Iowa.

In his first career start, Padilla passed for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for another in Iowa’s 27-22 win over Minnesota. The Hawkeyes followed that victory with a win over Illinois, 33-23, and closed the season with a 28-21 win at Nebraska after Petras came off the bench to help spearhead the rally.

All of it added up to the Big Ten West division title. Whether or not the Hawkeyes found any remedy to its ailing offense remains to be seen. Envisioning Iowa as a repeat Big Ten West representee in the conference championship game hinges on just how much progress that unit makes.

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Iowa Hawkeyes offer one of Ohio’s best, 2024 EDGE Elias Rudolph

Elias Rudolph could be the next great pass-rusher in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes offered the Ohio product last week.

Iowa is off to a hot start in its 2024 recruiting class. Now, the Hawkeyes have set their sights on one of the top recruits in Ohio.

Elias Rudolph received an offer from the University of Iowa. It is the 17th offer the 6-foot-4, 220 pound defensive end from Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, has received.

Currently, Iowa is battling it out with fellow Big Ten rivals Michigan and Purdue for Rudolph’s commitment, both of which already offered a scholarship to the four-star recruit.

Cincinnati will look to keep Rudolph in his native city, while Miami (Ohio), Toledo, Kent State, and Bowling Green are all also looking to keep one of Ohio’s top-ten recruits in 2024 in state. It should be noted that while they haven’t offered a scholarship yet, Ohio State does have interest.

According to On3, Rudolph is a four-star edge rusher and lists him as the country’s No. 162 player overall. On3 rates Rudolph as the 14th-ranked edge rusher in the country and the eighth-best prospect in the Buckeye State.

247Sports also has Rudolph as a four-star recruit, and the No. 207 player nationally. He is their 16th-ranked edge rusher, but the sixth-best prospect in Ohio.

Lastly, Rivals also lists Rudolph as a four-star talent. Rivals regards Rudolph as the nation’s No. 241 player overall, the No. 13 weak side defensive end and the No. 3 player from Ohio.

Iowa already has four commitments in its 2024 recruiting class. Offensive lineman Cody Fox, linebacker Cam Buffington and athletes Derek Weisskopf and Preston Ries have committed to the Hawkeyes.

All of those commitments are in-state products and they represent four of the top five players from the state of Iowa according to 247Sports. The Hawkeyes are a program that sends defensive ends to the NFL. Both Anthony Nelson and Chauncey Golston were drafted in recent years, and Zach VanValkenburg found an NFL roster this offseason.

They would look to develop a highly-touted recruit like Rudolph to be the next in line. Here’s a look at Rudolph’s sophomore season Hudl highlights at Taft High School.

SB Nation is the latest to tab Xavier Nwankpa as Iowa’s freshman to watch

As a five-star signee, Xavier Nwankpa arrives with hype aplenty. SB Nation is the latest to tab Nwankpa as Iowa’s freshman to watch.

Xavier Nwankpa is easily Iowa’s most exciting freshman after signing with the Hawkeyes as a five-star recruit according to both 247Sports and Rivals. 247Sports and Rivals each had Nwankpa as the nation’s top safety in the 2022 class.

According to Rivals, the Southeast Polk High School standout was the nation’s No. 19 overall player in the 2022 class. Meanwhile, 247Sports ranked the 6-foot-2, 190 pound safety as the country’s No. 25 overall player.

With all of that in mind, it’s easy to understand why Nwankpa has Hawkeye fans in a tizzy over what he might bring to Iowa’s defensive backfield as early as the 2022 season.

In the initial spring depth chart, redshirt senior Kaevon Merriweather and redshirt junior Sebastian Castro were listed as the Hawkeyes’ top two strong safeties. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Quinn Schulte and redshirt freshman Jaxon Rexroth were listed in succession as Iowa’s top two free safeties.

With the five-star billing, though, there are many that envision Nwankpa potentially finding his way onto the football field in 2022. The latest calling for big things from Nwankpa as early as this season or very quickly in his Hawkeye career is SB Nation’s Seth Berry of Maize N Brew.

Nwankpa, an athlete from Des Moines, Iowa, signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes and is the team’s top ranked incoming freshman. In high school, he played as a defensive back with the ability to cover multiple types of wide receivers in a variety of defensive packages. He could be a scary addition to an Iowa defense that essentially carried the team to 10 wins in 2021, whether he contributes immediately or a little down the road. – Berry, SB Nation.

Iowa had the most interceptions of anybody in college football last season with 25. It looks like with Merriweather, Castro, Schulte and Rexroth that Iowa has four safeties it likes coming out of the spring.

Still, it’s obvious that Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was impressed with a pair of freshmen in the Hawkeyes’ defensive backfield coming out of the spring. That pair includes Nwankpa.

“I think we’re going to see a big jump just in terms of his confidence and just being a little bit more decisive with his play when we get back in August. And he’s done some really good things. He flashes some things that are like, you know, you can see the guy that we knew he is. That will show up on special teams, too.

“He’s just a tremendous young guy, great personality and demeanor, really good to work with, good work ethic and good work habits. He’s doing a great job in the classroom as well, so it’s really been great and say the same thing about TJ Hall. They’re both back there together as true freshmen. They both just are really doing a nice job so far,” Ferentz said of Hall and Nwankpa.

Whether Nwankpa’s impact is felt immediately in 2022, it seems that it’s just a matter of time before he’s roaming the Hawkeyes’ defensive backfield and making plays one would expect out of a five-star talent.

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247Sports predicts the Iowa Hawkeyes’ first loss on the 2022 schedule

247Sports predicted the first loss for every Big Ten team and according to Nick Kosko the Hawkeyes’ first setback won’t come until October.

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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Iowa Hawkeyes’ Keagan Johnson hosting youth camp with NFL stars Cade Johnson, Noah Fant

Iowa’s Keagan Johnson announced that he and his brother, Seattle Seahawk Cade Johnson, will be hosting a camp with former Hawkeye Noah Fant.

Iowa starting wide receiver Keagan Johnson has just announced that his summer camp will feature an NFL star and former Hawkeye great. Johnson and his brother, Cade Johnson of the Seattle Seahawks, will be hosting “The Johnson Brothers Football Camp” in June.

The brothers’ camp will be focused on providing insight for quarterbacks and receivers. The camp is June 18th at 6 p.m. CT at Bellevue West Football Field. Joining the Johnson brothers is former Iowa Hawkeye tight end Noah Fant.

Fant was recently traded to the Seahawks this offseason after beginning his career with the Denver Broncos. His time in Iowa City is fondly remembered for the performances he put on that boosted him to being a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. Fant ended his Iowa career with 78 receptions, 19 touchdown grabs and 1,083 receiving yards.

Cade Johnson is currently a member of the Seattle Seahawks. In a fun twist, he spent his collegiate career as a member of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. That happens to be Iowa’s opening matchup at Kinnick Stadium on September 22.

Meanwhile, Keagan Johnson is expected to be one of the primary weapons on an Iowa offense that is looking for his playmaking ability to take the next leap. Johnson finished the 2021 season with 18 grabs, a pair of touchdown receptions and 352 receiving yards.

In Iowa’s 24-14 week four win over Colorado State, Johnson became the first true freshman wide receiver to start for the Hawkeyes since Ihmir Smith-Marsette did so in 2017. Johnson made sure to reward the coaches for that decision. The Bellevue, Neb., native opened the scoring against the Rams with a 43-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Spencer Petras. He also reeled in a 49-yard reception versus Colorado State.

Along the way, Johnson had other moments of brilliance. In the Hawkeyes’ 27-22 November win over Minnesota, Johnson appeared to be stopped for a loss by Gopher defenders Thomas Rush and Coney Durr after a reception from quarterback Alex Padilla. Instead, Johnson stayed upright, bouncing off the pair of would-be Minnesota tacklers and raced 27 yards into the end zone for a pivotal fourth-quarter score.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2022 schedule breakdown: South Dakota State

With spring in the rearview, Hawkeyes Wire takes a look at the opponents on Iowa’s 2022 schedule. Up first? South Dakota State in week one.

It was a strange season for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2021. There was a six-week stretch where all of Iowa City believed that they would be playing on the national stage in the College Football Playoff.

They just beat No. 4 Penn State and had one of their highest-ever USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll rankings at No. 2. Then, everything came crashing down with crushing defeats at the hands of unranked Purdue and Wisconsin.

It was a far cry from the team that took down three ranked opponents, and while they would go on another hot streak to make it to the Big Ten championship game, let’s just say that didn’t go well.

Overall, when you take out the sting of getting destroyed 42-3 by a determined Michigan squad on national television with the conference championship on the line, it was a successful season for the Hawkeyes. They finished 10-4 (one of the losses in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl against Kentucky, 20-17) and once again established themselves as one of the Big Ten’s elite. They did lose some key players including center Tyler Linderbaum who was a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft.

On paper, the first-week matchup at home seems like the perfect tune-up game for a home encounter with rival Iowa State the following week. They’re playing an FCS opponent. That should be easy, right? Not so fast.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits should not be ignored at all. They are a strong team that is returning a lot of key players, and should not be taken lightly. Here are five players to watch out for in week one against South Dakota State.