The Iowa football team has had a very unique season in 2023. The Hawkeyes have one of the best defenses in the country, but their offense is one of the worst not only this season, but it is historically bad. Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz had his work cut out for him as Iowa has been subpar on offense for a few years under his leadership, and he has not answered the call this season. The Hawkeyes brought in some good transfers on that side of the ball that were supposed to help solve the problem, but a couple bad injuries have plagued this team, and Ferentz will not return next season.
In the last three games, Iowa football has set the record for the lowest over/under in a college football game three different times. So far, the under has hit in both games. The Hawkeyes take on Rutgers this weekend, which is the third straight game that broke the record, and the over/under is currently set at 28.5. The uniqueness of this Iowa team has caught a lot of attention, and it's been easy to forget about their ongoing sports betting scandal (speaking of over/unders).
Some student-athletes at Iowa and Iowa State have been allegedly illegally gambling, and the scandal came right back into light this week as one Iowa football player's season is now officially over. Defensive tackle Noah Shannon was suspended in August over the ordeal, and he submitted an appeal in hopes of returning to the football field. That appeal was denied, and he will not play for the Hawkeyes in 2023, according to an article from The Athletic.
It's unfortunate to see the results of a scandal like this and it's sad to see players being sidelined for the season, but it's the right call by the NCAA, especially for players that were betting on their own games. For Shannon, he was caught betting on Iowa women's basketball.
There are still a lot of moving parts to this whole situation for both Iowa and Iowa State, and it will be interesting to see what the final results of it are. For the Hawkeyes, they're just focused on beating Rutgers, and perhaps getting that over to hit.