College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Iowa Hawkeyes season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Iowa Schedule Analysis
– Iowa Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
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2020 Record: 6-2 overall, 6-2 in Big Ten
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz, 23rd year, 168-106
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 17
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 27
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 23
Iowa College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– The Iowa offense wasn’t bad, but there’s a whole lot of room for improvement. It didn’t move the chains all that easily, was awful on third downs, and wasn’t nearly efficient enough throwing the ball, but it was No. 1 in the Big Ten in the red zone, took advantage of every opportunity, and it scored a whole lot of points. Now it’s time to be more explosive.
– Spencer Petras has the arm. The 6-5, 231-pound junior quarterback has no problems pushing the ball down the field. However, he’s got to be more accurate and has to come up with more big plays for a passing game that hit just 57% of its throws with nine touchdowns in eight games.
Leading wide receivers Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith are gone, but TE Sam LaPorta is a good one and veteran Nico Ragaini is a decent receiver to start with. However, new big play targets have to emerge fast.
– It’s Iowa, so the offensive line is going to be solid. However, just two starters are expected to be back – starting with junior Tyler Linderbaum at center – with a whole lot of shuffling being done to get the right starting five in place. This isn’t a massive group, but again, it’s Iowa – the O line will be fine.
The running game wasn’t spectacular, but it was sneaky-good with Tyler Goodson leading the way with 762 yards and seven scores. Mekhi Sargent is done, and the depth is going to be an issue early on.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Iowa Schedule Analysis