The Iowa Hawkeyes had extremely high hopes going into their 2016 football campaign. In 2015, Iowa went 12-2 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten, earning a spot in the Big Ten championship game, where they eventually lost a tight, hard-fought contest to Michigan State 16-13. Still, despite all of their regular season success last year, the Hawkeyes’ 2015 season will be remembered for their Rose Bowl debacle against Stanford where Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey torched them for 386 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Despite their two-game losing streak to end the 2015 season, the Hawkeyes remained optimistic for this season. Iowa managed to retain several key pieces from last year’s team including starting quarterback C.J. Beathard, star running back Akrum Wadley and Desmond King, last season’s recipient of the Jim Thorpe award given to the best defensive back in college football. As such, coming off a 12-2 season with numerous talented returning starters, Iowa was looking forward to another extremely successful season.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they have not built on their prior success, as Iowa has struggled through its first seven weeks of 2016.
Iowa began the season ranked 17th in the AP poll and proceeded to defeat Miami (OH) 45-21 and Iowa State 42-3. Iowa played extremely well during these games thanks to a strong running game and a stout defense.
However, the season took an unexpected turn when the 13th ranked Hawkeyes travelled to Fargo, N.D., to face FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. North Dakota State dominated the trenches as well as the time of possession and upset the Hawkeyes 23-21.
That loss could not have come at a worse time for the Hawkeyes as they began their Big Ten conference schedule without any of the momentum that they had built in the preceding weeks. After barely squeaking past Rutgers 14-7, Iowa played 1-3 Northwestern at home. The defense failed to show up for the game, and the Hawkeyes gave up nearly 40 points in a 38-31 home loss to the otherwise struggling Wildcats. After that disappointing loss, Iowa fell to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Still, Iowa did respond well to that loss, beating Minnesota 14-7 on the road and then putting up nearly 50 in a 49-35 shoot-out with Purdue. Even though Minnesota and Purdue are not elite teams, the Hawkeyes have nonetheless found a way to go 3-1 in the Big Ten heading into their matchup against Wisconsin.
Somehow, even though the early losses against Northwestern and North Dakota State have killed Iowa’s College Football Playoff hopes, the Hawkeyes still have an outside shot to make the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis. In order for that to happen, Iowa needs to win out in a very difficult conference schedule including home games against No.10 Wisconsin, No. 3 Michigan and No. 8 Nebraska. If the Hawkeyes can go 10-2, then they can advance to the conference title game via head-to-head tiebreakers.
In order to keep its back-to-back Big Ten West championship aspirations alive, Iowa’s experienced starters will need to carry the load to survive against Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska. The Hawkeyes will need to maintain their identity, which revolves around a strong running game, solid defense, dominating the line of scrimmage and limiting turnovers.
This upcoming week will be a true test for the Hawkeyes as the No.10 Wisconsin team travels to Kinnick Stadium in the hopes of avenging last season’s defeat. The Badgers fell 10-6 to the Hawkeyes last year due in large part to former quarterback Joel Stave’s four-turnover performance. Wisconsin is coming off of a heartbreaking overtime loss to Ohio State and should be extremely motivated for this contest as it attempts to win out during the rest of the regular season and earn a spot in an elite bowl game. This game will likely be a defensive battle in which a turnover or coverage bust could decide this must-win contest between two desperate teams.
