Sports Illustrated Named Iowa As One Of It's Sleeper Picks To Make The College Football Playoff
SI- Losses in three of its first five conference games kept Iowa from having any shot in the Big Ten title race last year, but the Hawkeyes quietly put together a significant leap from a 4-8 campaign in 2012 and held their own with LSU in the 2014 Outback Bowl. Iowa has 14 starters returning, including quarterback Jake Rudock (2,383 yards, 18 touchdowns, 13 interceptions), power running back Mark Weisman (975 yards, 4.3 yards per carry, eight touchdowns) and wide receivers Kevonte Martin-Manley and Tevaun Smith (64 combined receptions, 698 yards, six touchdowns). Those offensive returnees could be crucial as the Hawkeyes lose all three linebackers from last year’s talented corps, but standout defensive tackle Carl Davis and cornerback Desmond King will help to fill a leadership void while the new linebackers gain experience. The biggest reason to be bullish on Iowa is a shockingly easy schedule. The Hawkeyes miss Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan in their divisional crossover games and get Big Ten West rivals Wisconsin and Nebraska at home. Iowa has all the makings of a classic Big Ten team with a cakewalk schedule that endlessly frustrates a one-loss SEC team’s fan base as the Hawkeyes pile on wins on their way to the playoff.
I should be pumped about this and I am. I’m as excited as the next guy that the Hawkeyes could be good this year but these expectations are starting to make me nervous. The expectations are fair. Iowa is returning a bunch of starters, Jake Rudock should take a step forward this year, Brandon Scherff will be a beast, Carl Davis will be a beast and oh yeah, the Hawkeyes schedule is fucking cake. About as easy at it gets. Not having OSU, Michigan State or Michigan on our schedule helps a shit ton. Not to mention we get Wisconsin and Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium. Everything seems to be lining up for Iowa this year. That’s what scares the shit outta me. It’s a fact that Iowa plays better when there are zero expectations. Not an opinion, a fact. No expectations is best case scenario for them. When nobody thinks they’re going to do anything, that’s when they shock the world. Not when people are tabbing them to possibly go undefeated, win the Big Ten West and maybe make the College Football Playoff. Kirk Ferentz even alluded to it to the media a few days when he said there’s a lot of chatter around the ceiling of his team. Ferentz absolutely hates chatter and so do I. Remember 2009? No chatter. No expectations and all of the sudden the Hawks almost went undefeated and finished the season ranked #7 in the country. People saying Hawks could go undefeated before the season starts? Hate it.
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If you think it’s weird that I’m not happy my favorite college football team is getting hype and people like the way their season could play out, I get it. But that’s simply how me and the rest of the Hawkeye fans are wired.