247Sports explores the Iowa Hawkeyes’ reason for optimism in 2022
In Nick Kosko’s latest for 247Sports, he takes a look at why each Big Ten team has a reason for optimism in 2022.
Iowa football doesn’t change much. The mentality and team build has been pretty consistent under Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz: hard-nosed running and 11 guys who work their butts off on defense. Iowa has a team-first mindset, and it’s largely been the reason for its success.
They don’t plan to recruit with the likes of Ohio State, though they are starting to set their sights on some higher-ranked recruits. Trying to compete with some of the other flashier programs might be futile and direct Iowa’s focus from what’s made them consistently good for the better part of two decades.
For the Hawkeyes, Kosko’s reason for optimism is pretty much faith in what they’ve been doing for years.
Iowa can replicate last year’s success and turn it into another Big Ten title game appearance. The biggest reason? The Hawkeyes’ quarterback play will not totally hinder the team. And, the biggest competition in the Big Ten West, arguably, is Wisconsin, which has its own quarterback issues with Graham Mertz. So it comes down to this: can Iowa run the ball effectively, not turn it over a lot and play lights-out defense? The answer is, well there’s a good chance. That’s the formula that practically won the division last year. Although it led to a blowout loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Championship. But Iowa can at least get back to Indianapolis this year. – Kosko, 247Sports.
Iowa is relatively running back the same squad as last year, a team that made it to the Big Ten Championship game. Of course, they lost some key pieces in Tyler Linderbaum and Dane Belton, but the Hawkeyes have a good mix of proven stars and youngsters waiting for a breakout, especially on the defense.
One cause for optimism is that the quarterback play really has nowhere to go but up. Spencer Petras’ stats were not pretty last year, under 2,000 passing yards and only ten touchdowns. Despite the shaky quarterback play, Iowa still was a top 25 team yet again and competed for the conference crown. If Petras can just get a little bit better, Iowa might even have a chance to improve on a very strong 2021 season.
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