The college football offseason is almost over as we are halfway through July. The season will get going in about a month and a half, and college football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but also because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July. All in all, it’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Iowa football fans. The Hawkeyes have a big season ahead of them.
This college football season is going to be a big one for a number of reasons. The sport is going through big changes, and some of those changes are going to be seen for the first time this season. Let’s take a look at what some of them are.
First off, there are going to be some new rules seen this year in college football, and some fans aren’t really in favor of them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning. Fans have already started getting sick at all of the commercials that are happening in today’s era of college football, and the two-minute warning is another way for tv networks to get more commercial times in.
The bigger changes, however, come with conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff. College football is going to look completely different next year because of those two things. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has shaken things up big time in college football. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams and seem on the verge of forming two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
Does Iowa football have a chance in the Big Ten?
The biggest question mark surrounding the Iowa football team heading into the season is their offense. The Hawkeyes have had one of the best defenses in college football in recent years, but their offense has been one of the worst. Yes, defense wins championships, but they need their offense to show a little bit of life. For example, in three of their biggest games last year, the Hawkeyes scored zero points. Against Penn State, Michigan and Tennessee, Iowa did not score one point.
Michigan ended up winning the national championship, and Iowa's defense gave them maybe the most fits out of any other team. One touchdown that the Wolverines scored was because of a punt return that set them up with a first and goal, and the other one was because of a turnover that set them up with golden field position as well. The defense more than did their job in that game, but the offense not only scored zero points, they also set Michigan up with some easy scores.
This year, the Iowa offense absolutely has to be way better than last if they want to have a successful year. Their defense is going to be good, and if their offense can just be okay, the team can be really good. Unfortunately, just okay is quite a step up from where they were last year.
If Iowa can show life on offense, they can have a good year. If not, it'll be another struggle. Being in the Big Ten West can't save them anymore. It seems like a huge long shot, but here are three reasons why Iowa can win the Big Ten:
Experienced, winning quarterback
Iowa's offense certainly would've been better off last season if QB Cade McNamara had stayed healthy. He went down with a season-ending injury pretty early on, and Deacon Hill took over as the starter. Hill struggled, to say the least.
This season, Iowa will have Cade McNamara back as their starter, and that is huge. McNamara has a ton of experience as he was the starter for an entire year at Michigan before coming to Iowa, and he also knows what it's like to win a Big Ten title. He led the Wolverines to one in 2021, and he is trying to do the same with the Hawkeyes this year.
Defense
One thing that Iowa football doesn't have to worry about this season is their defense. The offense has been atrocious in recent years, but Iowa has made multiple trips to the Big Ten title game because of their championship-level defense. The Hawkeyes should once again have one of the better defense in the Big Ten, and that should keep them in any game.
New offensive coordinator
Was Brian Ferentz the only reason why Iowa has struggled on offense? Probably not, but he needed to be fired, and Kirk Ferentz did it. It couldn't have been easy to fire his son, but Kirk absolutely had to get that done. Now, Iowa has a new OC, and it seems like things can only go up from here for the offense.
Everything this season for Iowa depends on their offense. They are going to have a good defense that can keep them in most games, but their offense could also be bad enough to put them at risk of losing any game. We'll see what it'll be.
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