Tag: South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Every Iowa football opponents’ players on the 2022 Senior Bowl watch list

The Hawkeyes will see plenty of talent in 2022. Which players on Iowa’s schedule were featured on the Senior Bowl watch list?

The Senior Bowl is the most prestigious all-star event in college football. For those unaware, the week-long mega festival is an NFL draft followers dream. Executive Director Jim Nagy and his team scour the college ranks all season, working with NFL teams to find the next crop of graduating players that have league interest. These are the guys the league wants to get a closer look at. There’s the weigh-in, an event that has to be silly to all non-sports fans, three days of practice, and finally the game. The practice is the main attraction for those in attendance, and while extremely important for the select players down there, the chance to interview with NFL coaches and front office personnel is everything. The week can make or break your draft stock at the end of the day.

On Wednesday, the Senior Bowl released its official watch list. Iowa was well represented with seven players on the list, but what about their opponents. Which athletes currently on the Hawkeyes’ scheduled slate are recognized as potential NFL talents? Here is your one stop shop for all of the players on opposing teams that made it on the Senior Bowl Watchlist.

Where do the Iowa Hawkeyes and their 2022 opponents rank in ESPN’s final SP+ projections?

ESPN’s final SP+ rankings are out. Here’s where Iowa ranks and every 2022 opponent of the Hawkeyes ranks as well.

Week zero is officially upon us, which means the season is essentially here. That also means it’s the last chance for any final preseason rankings. ESPN’s final SP+ rankings from Bill Connelly are here.

Back in May, the Iowa Hawkeyes checked in with the nation’s No. 27 SP+ ranking. Has that changed at all? How have the Hawkeyes’ opponents rankings altered in the months since?

Real quick, here’s a reminder on what exactly the SP+ ranking from ESPN is and how exactly it works.

SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date. – Connelly, ESPN.

SP+ rankings are created using three primary factors: returning production, recent recruiting and recent history. Keep in mind that South Dakota State will not appear in these rankings as the Jackrabbits are an FCS opponent. Without further ado, let’s take a look at where Iowa and all of the Hawkeyes’ opponents are ranked in ESPN’s final preseason SP+ rankings.

Iowa Football: Hawkeyes’ Week 1 opponent ranked No. 2 in FCS top 25

While it is Week 1 and the Iowa Hawkeyes will be locked in, South Dakota State is no slouch coming to Kinnick as the No. 2 team in FCS.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are welcoming in the South Dakota State Jackrabbits during Week 1 of the 2022 college football season on September 3 and will have anything but a pushover victory.

The Jackrabbits will be entering Kinnick Stadium as the No. 2 in the country in the FCS top 25. They are coming off of an extremely successful 2021 campaign which saw them end the season 11-4 and a trip to the FCS playoff semifinals.

The Jackrabbits still have one of the FCS’ best backfields, led by RB Isaiah Davis, and two tremendous wideouts in the Janke twins. Now, they’re healthier at QB. This team has a great chance to get back to the FCS championship game. – Hunt, CBS Sports

One extremely interesting, and slightly stomach churning, piece of information regarding Iowa and South Dakota State lies in Colorado of all places. Last year the Hawkeyes and Jackrabbits shared one common opponent, the Colorado State Rams.

The Jackrabbits went on the road and really sort of dismantled Colorado State on their home turf by a score of 42-23. The Jackrabbits passed for 224 yards and ran for 242 yards for 466 total yards of offense on their way to a dominant victory.

Iowa hosted Colorado State last season and went into halftime with a deficit of 14-7 before prevailing 24-14. The Hawkeyes had 278 total combined yards on offense.

Now, the Hawkeyes defense is in a different stratosphere than Colorado State and should thwart much of the success that South Dakota State saw against the Rams. That said, this won’t be any sort of walk in the park to open up the season.

Iowa knows that South Dakota State wants to come in and make a resounding statement against not only an FBS team, but a Power 5 team from the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes need to be ready to fire on all cylinders come September 3 and not let this thing stay close for very long to avoid giving the Jackrabbits even more pep in their step.

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

Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Why the Iowa Hawkeyes have sold out every home football game in 2022

The Iowa Hawkeyes have sold out all seven home games for 2022. But why? What caused that this year? A look into the draw of 2022 for fans.

All seven of the Iowa Hawkeyes home games have officially sold out for the 2022 college football season. The sellouts became a note of interest over the last few weeks as hype and news began to circulate more and more amongst Hawkeyes fans. This led to a rapid buying of whatever single-game tickets were left and, ultimately, to the Iowa Hawkeyes with a prideful slate of sold out home games.

There is a little bit of everything as a draw for Iowa fans to file their way into Kinnick this fall. There are big games, high-profile players, interesting circumstances, and much more.

One interesting tidbit of the home slate is that each of the seven games has its own special event and occasion tied to it. Giving each game its own designated event can certainly entice fans to snatch up tickets for something that piques their interest.

With the first home game at Kinnick to kick off on Sept. 3 as the Hawkeyes welcome in the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, there is one question to be asked. And that is simply, “why?”

We see that the games have been sold out. We hear that. But why? What caused the home games for the Hawkeyes to rapidly sell out and set up for a raucous 2022 season inside the walls of Kinnick Stadium? There are a few reasons behind this and all of them get fans excited in very different ways. Let’s look at why the 2022 home slate for the Iowa Hawkeyes has led to a clean sweep of sellouts.

Iowa’s 2022 importance rankings: Breaking down the schedule’s games with the most significance

Every college football game is important, but which games are the most important for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022?

Let’s establish this from the start. Every single game in college football is important. You cannot afford to take a game off. That one loss could make or break your season.

The Hawkeyes have to view every game as a must-win. That being said, there certainly are games with more at stake, or with more of a narrative in play than others. Games hold a special significance. About a month before the season, here is my ranking of every Iowa 2022 football game from least important to most important.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ season opener versus South Dakota State joins the 2022 home sellout list

Iowa’s season opener versus South Dakota State is officially sold out, meaning six of seven 2022 Hawkeye home dates are now sellouts.

Iowa fans can’t wait to watch their squad heading into the 2022 season. The Hawkeye faithful keep snatching up home tickets and now the UI Athletics Department is reporting a sixth home sellout.

The season opener at 11 a.m. CST on Sept. 3 versus the South Dakota State Jackrabbits from inside Kinnick Stadium is the latest home sellout. Now, only the regular season finale versus Nebraska for Senior Day still has tickets for sale. Early on Monday, just a little more than 600 tickets remained for that final home date versus the Huskers.

All of the other home dates are also sold out. That includes the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series versus Iowa State on Sept. 10 at 3 p.m., Nevada for the “Gold Game and Family Weekend” at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 17, Michigan on Oct. 1 for the “ANF Black and Gold Spirit Game,” Northwestern at 2 p.m. for homecoming on Oct. 29, Wisconsin on Nov. 12 for the “Military Appreciation Black Out Game” and Nebraska on Nov. 25 at 3 p.m. for the “Heroes Game” and Senior Day.

After a Big Ten West championship in 2021, it makes sense why Iowa fans can’t wait to see the encore act from these Hawkeyes. There’s all sorts of preseason thoughts about Iowa out there, but the prevailing consensus seems to be that Iowa will once again be one of the primary challengers in the Big Ten West.

In the preseason Big Ten media poll, Iowa was picked second in the West. According to Phil Steele, Iowa enters 2022 as the nation’s No. 20 team. The Hawkeyes should once again feature one of the country’s best defenses. College Football News pegged it as the No. 6 defensive group nationally.

[listicle id=6884]

[listicle id=6845]

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

Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Wisconsin, Nevada join list of Iowa Hawkeyes’ 2022 home sellouts

With Nevada and Wisconsin joining the list, four of Iowa’s seven-game home slate are now officially sellouts.

It’s now looking like just a matter of time before the entirety of Iowa’s 2022 home slate turns into sellouts. Two more home dates inside Kinnick Stadium were added to the list of preseason sellouts for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The official Iowa football account announced on Friday that both the Wisconsin and Nevada home games were officially sellouts. Iowa welcomes in Nevada on Sept. 17 for a night game during the Hawkeyes’ “Gold Game & Family Weekend.” The final nonconference tilt of 2022 for the Hawkeyes is set for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on the Big Ten Network.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s second-to-last home game is against Wisconsin on Nov. 12 for the Hawkeyes’ “Military Appreciation Black Out Game.” At least going in, the date against the Badgers appears to be one of the most important games all season long in the Big Ten West.

Iowa lost last season in Madison, Wis., 27-7, losing three fumbles and registering just 156 total yards of offense. The last time the Badgers were in Iowa City, though, Iowa handed Wisconsin a 28-7 setback as Hawkeyes quarterback Spencer Petras had 211 passing yards and a pair of touchdown passes.

Earlier this week, Iowa announced that both the Iowa State home game on Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and the Michigan home game on Oct. 1 were sellouts.

With Nevada and Wisconsin joining the group of 2022 Iowa sellouts, that means that now four of Iowa’s seven-game 2022 home schedule is officially sold out.

If you’re interested in getting a single-game ticket to one of the Hawkeyes’ other home games, you may be running out of time. Hawk Central’s Chad Leistikow noted that Iowa is awfully close to selling out the remainder of its home games, too.

According to Leistikow, there’s just 2,500 tickets left for the South Dakota State home opener on Sept. 3, 500 tickets for homecoming versus Northwestern on Oct. 29 and 1,100 tickets for Senior Day versus Nebraska on Nov. 25.

The South Dakota State home opener is set for an 11 a.m. kickoff on FS1, Northwestern will be a 2 p.m. kickoff and Nebraska will kickoff at 3 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

[listicle id=6760]

[listicle id=6757]

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

Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ week one matchup has special family ties for linebacker Seth Benson

Not only did Seth Benson play high school football in South Dakota, his family ties to South Dakota State are very deeply-rooted.

Iowa’s week one matchup against South Dakota State might mean a little more than other games to Seth Benson, even though he would probably never admit it.

Before donning the Tigerhawk logo, Seth Benson spent his high school career manning the defense for Washington High School in Sioux Falls, S.D. He was in the backyard of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. It is no surprise his initial intent was to call that home.

As reported by Inside the Hawkeyes’ Rick Brown, Benson was committed to the Jackrabbits up until the very end. Right before the signing period, the Iowa Hawkeyes offered Benson a scholarship and the rest is history.

As fate would have it, Benson’s final season at Iowa starts with a Sept. 3 meeting with South Dakota State in Kinnick Stadium. This runs much deeper than just a season opener. This one is personal.

Seth’s dad, Chuck, led the Jackrabbits in rushing in 1977. His brother, Austin, also played football for South Dakota State. His mom, JoElle, played basketball there and led the 1985-86 team in field-goal percentage and blocked shots.. His sister, Ellie, played volleyball there. And Seth was poised to follow in their footsteps.

So the choice was this. Continue the family legacy in Brookings or take a bite out of the Big Ten. It wasn’t a decision Seth took lightly. – Brown, Inside the Hawkeyes.

The predicament was clear. Benson’s family is engrained into the South Dakota State athletic department. His father and brother played football there. His mother played basketball there. His sister played volleyball there. It all appeared that he was going to be the next in line to become a jackrabbit.

Making the decision to come to Iowa City was not easy. His decision weighed on him with the distance and what it meant for his future.

“I’m a big family man. That was the hardest thing. I wanted to be a loyal guy, too,” Benson said to Inside the Hawkeyes. “And I had committed to a school and a program (at South Dakota State). I was going to be five and a half hours from my family. I had to think about that. But ultimately, I didn’t want to look back and say, ‘What if?'”

While the matchup will no doubt make Benson reflective, he said he’s at ease with the decision he made.

“It’s fun to look back at that. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m just blessed I had the opportunity and I was able to come to Iowa. And I’ve got a lot ahead of me,” Benson said.

Benson, part of the linebacking trio of Jack Campbell and Jestin Jacobs, has found himself a home in one of the best linebacker groups in the entire nation. He was part of a defense that was near the top in most major statistical categories in 2021 and Benson registered 105 tackles individually.

The 6-foot, 232 pound redshirt senior linebacker thinks that improving upon last season is also possible.

“Yeah, I think so. Obviously, just got to keep pushing ourselves. Communication. It comes down to communication and executing everything, so just continue to push ourselves, not set limits for ourselves and just keep going upwards,” Benson said with HawkeyeReport’s Tom Kakert when discussing the potential of an even better defense.

Come week one, Benson will have the opportunity to strap it up against South Dakota State and begin a 2022 season in which he looks to continue elevating his game to the next level.

[listicle id=6430]

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

Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

‘I was more decisive than I’ve ever been’: Iowa’s Spencer Petras reflects on spring ball growth

Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras said he was more decisive than he’s ever been throughout the spring and he’s ready to showcase that in 2022.

While there’s still a quarterback competition set to be waged throughout fall camp, Iowa’s Spencer Petras sounded confident with the Hawkeyes media in how his spring and offseason has gone thus far.

Everyone that’s been paying attention knows that Petras has been staying busy attending the Manning Passing Academy and continuing his work with personal quarterback trainer Tony Racioppi.

As he should, Petras did take time for a family vacation to Alaska over the Fourth of July holiday.

“It was good. I’m wearing this shirt. I was just in Alaska for the Fourth of July. I went on a fishing trip with my parents and my godparents and their son. Caught a lot of salmon, which was fun. Long flights, so I’m kind of happy to be back and just back into the routine. But, it was a lot of fun. Went to a couple weddings. That was fun,” Petras said.

Other than that brief getaway, every other report this offseason is that Petras has been hard at work looking to perfect his craft as he and the Hawkeyes get to set to embark upon defending their 2021 Big Ten West division title.

For the first time since early in the spring, Petras sounded off with local reporters on what he took away from Iowa’s spring practices.

“I was really happy with spring ball. I just felt like I was more decisive than I’ve ever been. I felt really good how I threw the ball. Some of the changes we’ve made, I feel really good about and just I’m excited to see how it carries over to camp. We were still working through a lot of stuff schematically and now I think we’ve got a better idea of exactly where we want to go. It feels good and I’m excited,” Petras said.

Asked what precisely was different with the Hawkeyes’ offense heading into 2022, the 6-foot-5, 231 pound quarterback from San Rafael, Calif., didn’t want to divulge too much.

“We’re always trying to make our plays as schematically sound as they can be. The thing I love the most, I just think we’re a lot more detailed now. Without, I don’t want to give away too much, we’re very detailed now. I feel like I have a really good plan for every play and that excites me as an analytical guy, as a guy that can identify coverage really fast and having the solid plan. I mean, Brian’s been working his (expletive) off, trying to just detail everything. I’m really happy with how it looks right now. The real test will be training camp and getting a feel for it all, getting the reps that I need and then obviously just got to go do it in the season,” Petras said.

Iowa saw one notable wide receiver target and return specialist in Charlie Jones elect to transfer out to Purdue. That means added reps for the known returning commodities in Arland Bruce IV, Keagan Johnson and Nico Ragaini.

Petras has been pleased in the work they’ve gotten in so far this offseason and how that trio has approached their leadership roles.

“Yeah, you know, they’ve been good. The thing we have to worry about in the summer is just our strength and conditioning program is very vigorous and very demanding. So, it’s trying to toe the line between getting the work we need, but not running them too much because the worst thing would be for a guy to pull a hammy right before camp. So, that’s what we have to deal with right now, but certainly a motivated unit.

“I really love what I’ve seen from Nico and just the leadership that he’s putting out and making sure that the young guys are growing. The not-so-old veterans like Keagan and Arland have been stepping up. I’m excited to see what they can do. There’s a lot of young guys that I think have a lot of opportunity and hopefully will make a big difference this fall. Just got to get to camp and let everything go from there,” Petras said.

As Big Ten media days and fall camp near, Petras isn’t naive to the narrative that surrounds him. He’s been labeled as one of Iowa’s biggest question marks after a 2021 season where battled through injuries and finished passing for 1,880 yards and 10 touchdowns against nine interceptions.

In the spring, he discussed how his completion numbers of 57.3% was an area that he needed to improve upon. He didn’t feel then and he certainly doesn’t feel now that it’s been a talent issue with himself.

“It definitely can fuel. I mean, it kind of depends on the situation and stuff like that, but, yeah, it certainly can fuel. Sometimes it’s better to ignore it, sometimes it’s better to let it fuel you. It just kind of depends,” Petras said of how he handles criticism.

It’s true of any college football team that a large part of its success will be defined by how the quarterback play goes. Petras knows that. He remains confident in what he brings to the table for the Hawkeyes, the changes that Iowa has made schematically and their collective outlook heading into the 2022 college football season.

[vertical-gallery id=5694]

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

Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ game-by-game FPI chances to win in 2022 season

How does ESPN’s Football Power Index rate the Iowa Hawkeyes’ percentage chances to win each game in the 2022 college football season?

Now that ESPN has its updated Football Power Index rankings, it also means that there’s game-by-game percentage chances for each of Iowa’s 2022 football schedule.

If you missed it, the Hawkeyes weren’t among the top 25 teams in ESPN’s updated FPI. Instead, Ohio State at No. 2, Michigan at No. 6, Michigan State at No. 15, Penn State at No. 16 and Wisconsin at No. 21 comprised the five Big Ten teams that made the top 25 in the latest FPI from ESPN.

It’s of no concern to Hawkeye fans. ESPN’s FPI rankings don’t determine results on the field. However, it does give at least one indication of how a predictive model views the various teams.

In case you’re unfamiliar with what FPI is, here’s ESPN’s description on what the model is.

The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. – ESPN.

So, there you have it. Let’s take a look at what percentages ESPN’s FPI gives the Hawkeyes to win each of its games throughout the 2022 season.