The Comeback’s college football preview coverage continues with the next team in our Top 50 countdown, the Iowa Hawkeyes. We’ll move up the list each day, leading up to the beginning of the regular season.
Kirk Ferentz is the dean of college football coaches now that Bob Stoops has rode off into the sunset. He enters his 19th year in Iowa City, and his tenure has been marked by peaks and valleys. And if we’re being honest, a lack of any kind of real consistency.
The roller-coaster-riding Hawkeyes program would be enough to usher most head coaches out the door at many big-time programs, but the administration at Iowa has a history of being patient and loyal with their head coaches. In fact, over the last 37 years the program has had just two coaches, Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz. That’s it.
Now we go into a new year with expectations that once again could go either way. The coaching staff must find replacements at quarterback, receivers must step up, and both starting cornerbacks are also gone.
However, an offensive line that might be one of the best in the country returns, as well as a talented 1,000-yard rusher in Akrum Wadley. Two of the top three defensive ends return, as does experience at safety. Can the mixture of experience, talent, and the formulation of the unknown grow together?
No. 41 Iowa Hawkeyes
Record: 8-5 overall, 6-3 Big Ten (Lost to Florida in the Outback Bowl 30-3)
Coach: Kirk Ferentz 147-113 overall, 135-92 at Iowa
Last Year in a Nutshell
It was a bit of a disappointing year in 2016. The Hawkeyes were coming off of an undefeated regular season with a lot of returning talent. Instead of taking that momentum into the following season, Iowa struggled to get things going early on in the season. In a bit of a shocker, Iowa dropped a game at home against FCS opponent North Dakota State 23-21 in the non-conference. That would be the first signs of trouble.
Iowa split the next three games — winning against Rutgers, Minnesota, and Purdue — while taking it on the chin against Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Penn State. At the end of the day on Nov. 5, the Hawkeyes had a very mediocre record of 5-4 (3-3).
Then something changed. The offense that had largely been underachieving for the majority of the season began to gel. The offensive line started to find itself by pushing people around. With the offense able to sustain longer and more productive drives, the defense also began to play with more energy and effectiveness.
The highlight of the Hawkeyes’ season came on Nov. 12, when they were able to beat an undefeated Michigan team at home. The win seemed to springboard the team on, winning the next two games to close out the regular season at 8-4 (6-3). Iowa finished as the runner-up to West Division champ Wisconsin and earned a berth in the Outback Bowl. It did not go well. Iowa got pummeled by the Gators 30-3 to put a sour cap on the season.
At the end of it all, 2016 will be remembered as another up-and-down season for a team that seems to find those types of years more often than not.
Recruiting Roundup
247 Sports Composite Ranking: 41st
The Hawkeyes signed the eighth-best recruiting class in the Big Ten, according to 247 sports.com. It was another fairly typical recruiting class in which there’s expected to be development from some guys the coaching staff hopes are diamonds in the rough.
By far, the cornerstone of the class is five-star 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end A.J. Epenesa (29). He could push for playing time immediately. Also keep an eye on four-star offensive-tackle Tristin Wirfs (322), who could keep the tradition of great offensive lineman in Iowa City going. The rest of the class is a collection of solid, blue-collar guys that typify the Iowa program, and you better believe there will be some household names in there that factor in down the line.
3 Key Stats
6.4 – Akrum Wadley’s yards per carry in 2016. That was second in the conference for a true running back last year. And if you watched the upset of Michigan, then you know exactly what kind of talent Wadley possesses. He split time with LeShun Daniels last year, but he should be the featured guy in 2017. With potentially the best offensive line in the Big Ten, the 5-foot-11, 191-pounder should have plenty of opportunities to be an all-Big Ten type performer.
Most times sacked, P5 QBs:
D. Francois, 30
K. Benkert, 29
CJ Beathard, 27
J. Wolford, 26
*8 of top 23 are in ACC.— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) November 15, 2016
30 –The amount of times C.J. Beathard got sacked last year. No other quarterback got sacked more in the Big Ten. So, although Iowa won the Joe Moore Award that goes to the most outstanding offensive line annually in college football, protecting the quarterback was not the reason why. Beathard took a bit of a step back production-wise last year, and a lot of it had to do with a collapsing pocket. The Hawkeyes front did a stellar job of moving people off the ball in the running game, but there’s no doubt there will need to be some development in pass protection as the team breaks in a new starter under center.
17.9 – The amount of points given up per game by the Iowa defense. That’s getting it done in today’s day and age of spread offenses and up-tempo efforts. Throw out a couple of clunkers and it would be even better. The Big Ten had five of the top 10 defenses in the country in allowing points, and Iowa was one of them, right at No. 10. And with the entire linebacking corps back, and some experience on the defensive line, the Hawkeyes should be able to control things at the line of scrimmage to make up for some of the changes on the back-end of the D.
Make or Break Games of 2017
NOV. 11 AT WISCONSIN
Things just got #weird #Tailgating #IOWAvsWISc @kinnickstadium Iowa sweatshirt, WI hat and a deer head decked out in Badger gear pic.twitter.com/DYnlrsxlgD
— Todd Mizener (@MizenerTodd) October 22, 2016
Record in the last five meetings: 1-4
Last Year’s result: L, 17-9.
Why it matters: Wisconsin is the measuring stick in the West Division, and the schedule for the Badgers is set up for a run towards something special. That means there is little wiggle room if Iowa wants to keep pace and contend with the Badgers. The Hawkeyes must find a way to spring the upset in Madison if it wants to be a sleeper in the division and have a shot at Indy. It won’t be easy on the road, but the game is towards the end of the year and will perhaps give the new quarterback time to improve along with the other new pieces.
OCT. 7 VS. NEBRASKA
Record in the last five meetings: 3-2
Last Year’s result: W, 40-10
Why it matters: With games at home against Penn State and Ohio State, and road contests versus Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Nebraska, the schedule is close to the definition of brutal. Add in the annual grudge match against the Cyclones on the road in Ames, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to think one game could be the difference between the postseason and being home with families for the holidays. When the Hawkeyes travel to Lincoln for the right to hoist the Heroes Trophy, a winning record may just be on the line.
Three Key Players
Whomever is playing QB – Things were not settled in the spring when it comes to naming a starter under center for the 2017 season. It’ll continue to be a battle between sophomore Nathan Stanley and junior Tyler Wiegers likely well into the fall. And while Wiegers was thought to be the heir apparent for Beathard heading into 2016, it was Stanley who passed him on the depth chart when backup duty was called for. Based on what’s coming out of Iowa City, the race appears to be neck and neck with Stanley being the more athletic of the two, and Wiegers possessing the most experience and ability to throw a more accurate ball. Needless to say, the play at quarterback may tip the scale for a successful season for the Hawkeyes.
Akrum Wadley, RB – Iowa had two 1,000-yard rushers last year, but Wadley was more dynamic than the more seasoned LeShun Daniels. Wadley hits the hole quickly and can put his foot in the ground and change direction better than almost anyone in the league not named Saquon Barkley. With questions at wide receiver and quarterback, Wadley will be the the most trustworthy option of moving the chains on offense — at least early on in the season. But how will he hold up being the featured guy?
Matt VandeBerg, WR – One of the biggest problems for the Iowa offense last year was the lack of any consistent threat in the passing game, especially when senior Matt VandeBerg went down with an injury and missed the final eight games of the season. It actually may have been a blessing because the team then found an identity running the ball. But that can’t happen this year. Luckily, VandeBerg petitioned — and was granted — another year of eligibility. Though he has struggled at times with separation, he’s a sure handed guy that can be a security blanket for the new starting quarterback. The coaching staff would love nothing more than for the 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior to get a lot of catches, for a lot of key chain-moving moments.
Bold Predictions
Iowa will just miss out on a bowl in 2017. Breaking in a new quarterback in a rocking Big Ten conference will be like flying into a headwind. Iowa gets no breaks in the scheduling department with games against Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State in cross-over games. We’ve already touched on the difficulty of the schedule, and there just aren’t many lay-ups to be had. It’ll all result in the Hawkeyes looking forward to 2018 after the regular season is completed.
But …
The Hawkeyes will upset Penn State at home. On paper, this is a mismatch. Penn State returns a solid offensive line, and the most dynamic duo combination of quarterback and running back in the league with Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley lacing them up. But games aren’t played on paper, and just like the Hawkeyes rode the emotion of the home crowd to defeat an undefeated Michigan last year, it’ll do much of the same with a jacked up crowd willing the team to victory over a top ten Penn State team on Sept. 23.
This isn’t your grandfather’s Iowa offense. It won’t be a spread attack or anything like that, but the offense will be more attacking and take more risks in 2017, even with a new starting quarterback. Gone by way of retirement is offensive coordinator Greg Davis, and coming to take his place is a familiar face to both Hawkeye fans and one proud papa.
That’s right. Kirk Ferentz’s son Brian is your new offensive coordinator, and don’t be surprised if the 34-year old shakes things up a bit with more shots down the field rather than the short passing routes that Iowa fans began to loathe under Davis. We may never say the playbook is wide-open under Kirk Ferentz, but someone might leave the pages slightly more ajar this fall.
Follow the rest of The Comeback’s Top 50 College Football Countdown leading up to the regular season.
