Tag: Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes ranked No. 21 in 247Sports’ preseason college basketball rankings

It’s almost time to tip off the 2022-23 men’s college basketball season. According to 247Sports, Iowa starts as the nation’s No. 21 team.

You can tell a season is right around the corner when the market becomes flooded with preseason rankings. Everyone loves a good set of rankings, especially as they try to get a gauge on teams before they step on the court. Nothing boosts your self worth quite like correctly predicting who the top teams will be in advance!

247Sports’ Kevin Flaherty and Isaac Trotter recently took their hand at predicting the field, releasing their college basketball preseason rankings. Coming in as the 21st ranked team in the country is the reigning Big Ten Tournament champion in Iowa.

This could be one of Fran McCaffery’s better defensive teams, and if Kris Murray makes the expected leap to All-Big Ten caliber player, the scoring will be there as well. Patrick McCaffery, Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort can all put the ball in the basket. – 247Sports.

Iowa is one of only three Big Ten schools featured on the list, Illinois ranked 15th with Indiana a place behind.

The Associated Press also only ranked three Big Ten teams in their initial top 25, notably leaving Iowa on the outside looking in. According to the AP voters, Indiana is the highest-ranked Big Ten team at No. 13, followed by No. 22 Michigan and No. 23 Illinois.

It will once again be a tough competition for the conference crown, but it seems the national media is not expecting a national champion to come from the Big Ten this season.

There is a lot of projection in regards to Iowa this upcoming season, making it understandable why they are a bubble top-25 team heading into the season. Of course, the notable departure is All-American forward Keegan Murray. The fourth overall pick by the Sacramento Kings, Murray would’ve been a National Player of the Year most other seasons.

A lot of pundits are projecting twin brother Kris Murray to fill his brother’s shoes as the star of the team, but, of course, that is still just a projection for now. Murray is following a similar career arc to his brother Keegan, performing really well when given a chance at extended playing time last season. We will have to see if he can handle the limelight as the true No. 1 option for Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

The other biggest projection, as Kevin Flaherty breaks down for Hawkeye Insider and 247Sports, is the team’s defense.

Fran McCaffery’s bunch lost All-American Keegan Murray, who likely would have been National Player of the Year in a number of other seasons. But he brings back an experienced roster from a team that appeared to figure things out defensively as the season went on, something that could make this 2022-23 bunch better than its predecessors.

Iowa has not had a top 70 defense in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency since the 2015-16 season, and if the Hawkeyes can find a way to keep the offensive train rolling while buffing up on the defensive end, Iowa could compete for a Big Ten title. Iowa certainly appears to boast plenty of firepower. – Flaherty, 247Sports.

That progression on the defensive side of the court is probably the biggest key for Iowa in 2022. While the team loses Keegan Murray, they still return a lot of experienced players who can put the ball in the hoop. Fourth-year forward Patrick McCaffery averaged a hair over 10 points per game last year, and is getting some breakout buzz in his own right ahead of the season.

Payton Sandfort showed a lot of scoring potential off the bench last year, especially as a shooter hitting 36% of his 3-point attempts. You can go down the roster list and find potential breakout candidates: Kris Murray, Patrick McCaffery, Dasonte Bowen, etcetera.

There are a lot of things to be excited about with this team, but a ton to prove as well. They’ll have plenty of opportunities to show why they’re a top team right away, with Seton Hall, Clemson, and Duke scheduled early in the season.

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Several Iowa Hawkeyes freshmen already starting to make an impact

Running back Kaleb Johnson and kicker Drew Stevens are the two prominent names, but there’s several other freshmen making impacts for Iowa.

If there are any bright spots on this middling 3-3 Iowa football team (we certainly need some good with Ohio State coming up this week), it is the youth carving out roles already.

We already know the impact sophomore Cooper DeJean has made in the secondary this year, looking like the next star Hawkeye defensive back. Multiple freshmen, though, have started to gain significant playing time early in the season.

According to Sean Bock of 247Sports’ Hawkeye Insider, his midseason Iowa redshirt tracker shows that six true freshmen have received game time this season.

Running back Kaleb Johnson, kicker Drew Stevens, and defensive backs Xavier Nwankpa and TJ Hall have all played in Iowa’s six contests thus far. Defensive tackle Aaron Graves has appeared in five games, tight end Addison Ostrenga in four and running back Jaziun Patterson has one lone appearance this season.

Johnson already has 50 carries for 232 yards with three rushing touchdowns. He finished with seven carries for 103 yards and a pair of scores from 40 and 55 yards out against Nevada. Then, versus Michigan, Johnson scored Iowa’s first points on a 2-yard touchdown run.

Kaleb Johnson has shown flashes of success as perhaps the Hawkeyes’ starting running back of the future, however, the struggles of the offensive line this season have really hampered any consistent impact he’s been able to have. Aaron Graves currently has seven tackles and Patterson has six carries for 20 yards.

Kicker Drew Stevens has probably seen the most success of the Iowa youngsters, staking his claim as the starting kicker. Stevens is 6-of-7 on field goal attempts this season, his first miss a 45-yarder coming in Iowa’s most recent 9-6 loss against Illinois. Despite the miss, special teams coordinator Levar Woods had a lot of positive things to say about the freshman kicker.

“As far as that goes, field goal units, I think Drew is coming along as a player,” Woods said. “He is definitely young. He has had — every game is really like a new experience for him in some way because he was a high school kid a year ago. Really less than a year ago. I think he has made a huge transition since spring. We’ve all kind of seen that. He missed a kick, his last kick, against Illinois, which I know is just eating at him, but to me that shows the guy is a competitor. He may be young. He may be inexperienced, but he is a competitor, and he has that drive inside.”

Both Nwankpa and Hall have received significant playing time on special teams so far this season. While many are anxious to see the five-star Nwankpa get on the field for Phil Parker’s defense, I’d like to remind them of Cooper DeJean’s career arc at Iowa thus far. A lot of his contributions his freshman year came on special teams, and we see how well he’s done in his second year.

It may not be the most glamorous on the stat sheet, but special teams is a great way for both Nwankpa and Hall to get their feet wet, to adjust to the speed of Division 1 ball. Their time will come.

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Notre Dame bowl projections following Stanford stunner

You can only have one: Duke’s Mayo or Tony the Tiger?

Monday we looked over what one of the computers had to say about Notre Dame as we examined how their loss against lowly Stanford impacted how ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) graded them.  In a not-surprising move, significantly worse is the best way to describe what FPI found.

What may be surprising however is where Notre Dame is now projected by the major prognosticators to end up this bowl season.  Remember, at 1-2 a few weeks back the USA TODAY Sports bowl projections had Notre Dame staying in South Bend for the winter.

After what one could argue was just as bad of a loss as Marshall, all of the outlets we track still have the Irish bowling.  Here are the latest places they’re sending them:

Iowa vs Illinois Prediction, Game Preview

Iowa vs Illinois game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 6 game on Saturday, October 8

Iowa vs Illinois prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 6, Saturday, October 8

Iowa vs Illinois How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 8
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
How To Watch: BTN
Record: Iowa (3-2), Illinois (4-1)
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College Football Week 5 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 5 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | Hot Seat Coach Rankings
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Cavalcade of Whimsy: The Silly Coaching World
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Iowa vs Illinois Game Preview

Why Iowa Will Win

The defense is still working.

The much-maligned offense had a few nice moments in the 27-14 loss to Michigan – it hit the 200-yard mark through the air for the first time all season – but it was the defense that kept the game in range.

Illinois isn’t going to wing the ball all around the yard. It can, but it’s not going to against the Hawkeye secondary. This will be about the lines, the ground games, and the ability to capitalize on mistakes. Illinois has been careful with the ball over the last few games, but it’s had a few rough patches with turnovers.

Iowa hasn’t turned it over in three weeks.

As long as the Hawkeyes can hold up against the run and force a slew of third and long plays – Illinois doesn’t push the ball downfield at all – this will be a fight deep into the fourth.

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 5

Why Illinois Will Win

Bret Bielema and his team went into Madison and did what Wisconsin wishes it could do.

His Illini were able to grind it out, were +3 in turnover margin, and held the supposedly biggest, baddest running game around to just two yards.

The defense is No. 1 in the nation in scoring D allowing just over eight points per game, Chase Brown and the ground attack are ultra-efficient, and more than anything else, the team knows how to maintain control.

Iowa games are low scoring defensive fights, but its D is on the field way too much thanks to an inept offense. Illinois is seventh in the nation in time of possession keeping it for close to 35 minutes per game.

So, basically …

– Schedules, Previews College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

A week after outbadgering the Badgers, Illinois will do what Iowa wants to do, only better.

Look elsewhere if you want a slew of points. Neither passing game will take any big chances, both running games will keep giving it the old college try to kill some time, but this will be all about the defenses and field position.

Iowa has the better kicking game, it’s punting game is far superior, and it’s going to keep chipping away as the Illini defense holds firm time and again.

Illinois, though, will get that one second half touchdown Iowa won’t.

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 6

Iowa vs Illinois Prediction, Line

Illinois 20, Iowa 16
Line: Illinois -3.5, o/u: 35.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Iowa vs Illinois Must See Rating (out of 5): 4

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ESPN’s College GameDay makes their picks, including Notre Dame vs BYU

Who do you think wins the big games today?

For the first time in College GameDay history, the crew of host Chris Fowler and analysts Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Kirk Herbstreit, and Pat McAfee  traveled down to Lawrence, Kansas as the undefeated Jayhawks host TCU in a top 25 matchup. They were joined by comedian and  Kansas alum Rob Riggle to make their picks for today’s slate of games. Find out below who Howard, Herbstreit, McAfee, and Riggle select to come out on top this Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Iowa

The top public-access layout in Iowa promises a casual round on excellent terrain.

The top-ranked public-access golf course in Iowa, Spirit Hollow in Burlington, promises a casual experience on bold terrain with plenty of elevation changes that have proved to be a hit with Golfweek’s Best raters.

Designed by Rick Jacobson and opened in 2000, Spirit Hollow is No. 1 in the state on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for top public-access layouts around the U.S.

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with the list of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for Iowa is likewise included below.

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960
Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.
* New to or returning to list

ESPN’s College GameDay makes their picks for week 5

Agree or disagree?

For the first time all season, ESPN’s College GameDay guest picker has some legit football knowledge. Actually, he has a lot of it. Since the crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and Pat McAfee (Lee Corso was out with an illness) was in Death Valley, they brought back Christian Wilkins, who was on Clemson’s national championship teams in 2016 and 2018. They made their picks for who was going to win today’s big games and you can find out below who they selected.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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Michigan vs Iowa Prediction, Game Preview

Michigan vs Iowa game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 5 game on Saturday, October 1

Michigan vs Iowa prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 5, Saturday, October 1

Michigan vs Iowa How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 1
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Michigan (4-0), Iowa (3-1)
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Roundup: Overrated, Underrated, What it all Means
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 4 Scoreboard | Week 5 Early Lines
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Hot Seat Coach Rankings after Week 4
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Michigan vs Iowa Game Preview

Why Michigan Will Win

Ooooooh, Iowa scored 27 points for two weeks in a row.

The defense continues to be great, but the passing game has yet to push past 175 yards and everything is still a struggle.

Third down conversions are a rumor, the ground game hasn’t been anything great, and overall, even with the two wins, Iowa is still dead last in the nation in total offense.

Yes, the defense makes up for it – it’s No. 1 in the country in scoring D – and takeaways are a concern, but there’s no ability whatsoever to mount any semblance of a comeback if the Wolverines can get up fast.

With some due respect to Iowa State – animals were walking two by two on the field in the 10-7 Iowa win in the rain – the Hawkeye D has yet to face anyone who can pound away.

The Michigan offensive front is killing everyone, Blake Corum is the hottest running back in college football, and overall there’s a great consistency to what the offense can do.

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 4

Why Iowa Will Win

Can the Iowa defense and overall style be enough to stuff the Michigan offense?

Yeah, Iowa hasn’t exactly dealt with the Buffalo Bills so far, but Michigan has yet to face a defense that can put up even the slightest resistance.

On the one side, the Wolverines had three tune-ups and then passed the test against Maryland. The Iowa defense attacks more, does a better job of taking the ball away with seven forced turnovers in the last three games, and it’s going to generate pressure on JJ McCarthy.

The Michigan quarterback was more than fine in the win over the Terps, but he wasn’t able to do much with his legs and the explosiveness wasn’t quite there with the passing game.

This game might be all about who’ll blink. Iowa hasn’t turned the ball over in the last two games, but …

– Schedules, Previews College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

Michigan hasn’t given away a thing.

One interception against Hawaii, one fumble against Maryland. That’s been in for the turnovers. The team has been flagged a ridiculously low nine times, and it’s been able to get through any slight adversity by being methodical.

This is the game for the Michigan defense.

The offense will sputter and cough, and Corum will be bottled up, but it’ll be a slow and steady drum beat with just enough points to get by. The Wolverine D will hold up well with a great day against the non-existent Iowa passing attack.

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 5

Michigan vs Iowa Prediction, Line

Michigan 26, Iowa 13
Line: Michigan -10.5, o/u: 42.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Michigan vs Iowa Must See Rating (out of 5): 4

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College Wire’s Big Ten top performers in Week 4

The Big Ten editorial team for the College Wires voted on their top performers in Week 4.

In all there were nine games this week featuring Big Ten teams. Of the nine, four were conference games. The Big Ten finished 3-2 in nonconference play with Indiana falling to Cincinnati and Northwestern coming up short against Miami (OH).

In Big Ten play the Wolverines were tested by the Maryland Terrapins, while Ohio State, Minnesota, and Iowa flexed their muscles this past week. With a new week of games comes the final look back at Week 4 with the top conference performers of the week voted on by our Big Ten site editors.

The Voters:

Without further ado, let’s dive into the selections made by our editorial team

Iowa vs Rutgers Prediction, Game Preview

Iowa vs Rutgers game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 4 game on Saturday, September 24

Iowa vs Rutgers prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 4, Saturday, September 24

Iowa vs Rutgers How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 24
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
How To Watch: FS1
Record: Iowa (2-1), Iowa (3-0)
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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
CFN Week 4 Expert Picks | Week 4 Schedule
NFL Expert Predictions | NFL Schedule, Picks
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Top 10 Coach Hot Seat List: After Week 3
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Iowa vs Rutgers Game Preview

Why Iowa Will Win

The defense is awesome.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, there’s that whole thing about scoring, and passing, and offense that the kids are all into, but think about it like this. Iowa is 2-1 – and was really close to being 3-0 – with 653 yards of total offense and 41 points in the three games.

Nebraska put up 575 yards and 42 points against Georgia Southern, lost, and look where it is now.

Fine, so the running game is bad, the passing attack is worse, and every game time the offense comes on the field the world becomes a sadder place. But the D …

Second in the nation in scoring defense behind Georgia, fourth in total defense, sixth in pass defense, and 15th against the run.

Rutgers cranked up 66 points against a Wagner team that’s down 24 getting up in the morning, but take that out, and it’s not like the Hawkeyes are dealing with a high-power attack here.

If you come up with 201 yards of total offense and 16 points against Temple …

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 4

Why Rutgers Will Win

The defense is awesome.

It might not be working quite at Iowa’s level, but it’s second in the nation against the run – it allowed 97 yards and 1.1 yards per carry so far – the pass rush is strong, and the secondary is good enough to keep a putrid Iowa passing attack from suddenly finding itself in Piscataway.

3-0 doesn’t care where 3-0 came from. The Scarlet Knights are winning on defense, turnover margin, and taking advantage of just about every opportunity. The team is more than happy – and capable – of playing Iowa’s style of game and doing it better.

– Week 4 Schedule, Predictions, Game Preview

What’s Going To Happen

It’s going to be gripping.

Both defenses will take center stage, both punting games are good – the field position battle should be even – and neither team will take any big chances. Here’s the difference.

Rutgers is a wee bit better offensively on third downs. Combine that with the lack of turnovers, and the Scarlet Knights will outconservative the Hawkeyes.

There will be plenty of chances for both sides to take over, but it’ll be Rutgers that does it at home.

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 3

Iowa vs Rutgers Prediction, Line

Rutgers 19, Iowa 17
Line: Iowa -7.5, o/u: 34.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Iowa vs Rutgers Must See Rating (out of 5): 3

College coaches all over America this week are raising awareness and research dollars for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive genetic disorder that takes the lives of young men. Fans can donate to Coach To Cure MD online or by texting the word CURE to 501501 to give $25.

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– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams