Iowa Hawkeye Football Schedule

Big Ten mailbag

Luke B. from Jesup, Iowa, writes: As I've been following your position rankings the past month or so, I've noticed that Iowa players (generally speaking) fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. If the sum is equal to the whole of its parts, do you guys expect Iowa finish somewhere in the middle of the pack this year or, as they've done so before, do you expect them finish in the top 3 or so? You guys have both suggested that Iowa plays best as an underdog, but what's your gut this year? Obviously we have some depth issues at RB and a defense that is probably easy to point fingers at, but Kirk Ferentz teams regularly turn no-names into household names. Should we expect more of that? Brian Bennett: I think you make some pretty good observations, Luke. The Hawkeyes have a few established stars, like Shaun Prater, Riley Reiff and Marvin McNutt , and they have some emerging stars such as Marcus Coker and James Morris. They also have a new starter at quarterback. But mostly, the team looks pretty solid if somewhat unspectacular at most positions. What does that add up to? Probably what we're used to from Iowa football: a very good team that will be involved in a lot of close games. If a few breaks go their way, the Hawkeyes could put together a season like '09; if not, it could be more like last year. The schedule is quite manageable early, which should help. Brandon from Cleveland writes: I am a diehard Penn State fan living in Buckeye country. I am really excited about my team this year, and think we have a really legit shot at winning the B1G. I don't understand why no one else is giving us a chance. Our defense is going to be lights out, the LB's are back to fantastic, and our DB play is the best we've had since 2005. Both are starting ends are back and will be healthy. We have the best WR corp in the B1G, and a stud running back in Silas Redd . I understand Bolden is a question mark, but if he gets better which he will, and cuts down on his TO, we will be very hard to beat. Brian Bennett: I definitely like the Nittany Lions as a potential sleeper team, and outside of the Alabama game, they should be favored in every contest until the brutal closing games at Ohio State and Wisconsin. They could very well be the Leaders, uh, leaders going into those final two weeks. But you kind of glossed over the quarterback situation, Brandon.

Preview 11: Ranking Iowa Foes | Hawkeye Nation

You’ve seen how we are predicting the 2011 Iowa football season…or if you haven’t seen it, you can read it here .

Now, let’s rank Iowa’s opponents this year, from ‘easiest’ to ‘toughest’, as we continue our 2011 Iowa and Big Ten football preview during the month of July.

12. Tennessee Tech: Iowa’s first opponent is an FCS foe. There are instances where FCS opponents can be better than some weak sisters from the FBS that may be on your schedule, but as it relates to Iowa’s schedule this year, TT gets the nod.

11. Louisiana-Monroe: They return a lot of starters and like Tennessee Tech they want to run a fast paced brand of football, but they are a clear #11.

10. Indiana: Given this game is in Iowa City, that it’s Homecoming and the offensive changes Indiana has in store this year, I put the Hoosiers at this slot.

9. Minnesota: I took some time deciding on this slot. It was either going to be Minnesota or Iowa State, and while I think the Gophers will have a better team than ISU, the Jack Trice home field advantage when the Hawks come to town carries more weight with me than does the roadie at Minnesota in late October.

8. Iowa State: The Cyclones host the Hawkeyes in their biannual Super Bowl on September 10. Strap it up a little tighter for this one.

7. Purdue: They are not better than Michigan State or Pittsburgh, teams I have Iowa beating. But the Hawks have those two teams at home and I think by late in the season, when Iowa plays the Boilermakers in Ross-Ade, the Boilermakers are going to be in a position for bowl eligibility. If this game were in Kinnick I wouldn’t think twice about picking Iowa to beat the Boilers, but it’s not.

6. Pittsburgh: The Panthers will bring a very good defense on the road with them along with an offense that will put much more emphasis on the pass. Given this game comes after the CyHawk game, there is a chance for an emotional let down. This team could win the Big East this year.

5. Michigan State: This will probably raise some eyebrows, considering you haven’t seen Penn State yet. Michigan State will have a very good offense along with a salty defensive line. However, the style of offense Michigan State plays is the kind that traditionally plays into the teeth of a Norm Parker defense…but will this year’s Iowa defense have enough lead in their pencil to control the line of scrimmage against the run the way they have in the majority of Parker’s years as Iowa’s coordinator?

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