Each week during the off-season we dive into a question of the week. This week I threw out one that almost always generates a good conversation, ranking the Iowa football schedule from toughest to easiest.
What makes this interesting is that when you dive into it, there is a realization that the talk of Iowa potentially being a bit of a sleeper team in the College Football Playoff conversation. Earlier this month, Andy Staples from On3.com brought up this fact on his daily show.
“Iowa is in that weird position of a Big Ten team, that didn’t get a terrible Big Ten schedule draw and it’s realistic,” he said.
Cody Bellaire from On3.com also agreed with Staples assessment of the Hawkeyes CFP chances in 2024.
“If this team has a pulse on offense, they have every right to compete for a playoff spot,” he said.
But, the predictions for the upcoming college football season will happen once again on July 4. Now we want to examine the Iowa football scheduled from a toughest to easiest game on the schedule. When you do that, you realize that this schedule is certainly manageable because most of the challenging games are scheduled to be played at Kinnick Stadium.
Let’s rank the schedule, starting with the toughest game.
@ Ohio State – This one is easy. The Buckeyes are the odds on favorite to win the Big Ten this year and Iowa rarely wins in Columbus and most of the time it’s been pretty one-sided.
Washington – The new Big Ten team comes in second on the list. It’s worth noting that there are plenty of question marks surrounding the Huskies under the direction of new head coach Jedd Fisch.
Wisconsin – The expectations were sky high for the Badgers last year, but Luke Fickell had a tough first season in Madison. That means this is pretty significant season coming up for him.
Iowa State – There seems to be a pretty good buzz about the Cyclones heading into this season. Rocco Becht played well down the stretch, but it’s tough to win in Iowa City.
Nebraska – In his coaching career, Matt Ruhle has always seemed to make a big jump in year two. The Husker fans are already handing out a Heisman to freshman Dylan Raiola.
@ Maryland – This starts a string of road opponents and the Terps might be the best of the bunch. Storyline of the year, Brian Ferentz is working for Maryland.
@ UCLA – Chip Kelly apparently flirted with being Iowa’s OC before leaving for Columbus. That tells you what he thinks of the state of the Bruins program. Could be challenging on a short week after Wisconsin.
@ Minnesota – Poor Floyd. He has had to spend the last year up in Minneapolis with P.J. Fleck. There’s a 100% chance Iowa will be off the charts motivated for this game.
@ Michigan State – New head coach Jonathan Smith takes over in East Lansing. While transfer QB Aidan Chiles is interesting, it’s going to take Smith a year or two to get this thing rolling.
Northwestern – I like the hire of Zach Lujan as the new OC, but there are a boat load of question marks in Evanston, including at quarterback.
Troy – The Trojans really had a couple of strong seasons under Jon Sumrall, but he was hired away by Tulane. Pretty significant rebuild this year.
Illinois State – The Redbirds are a middle of the pack team in the Missouri Valley. Should be an easy debut a new look Iowa offense.
The post Ranking the 2024 Iowa Football Schedule appeared first on On3.