With the 2023 Rutgers Football season right around the corner, we here at The Knight Report have decided to go around to each of the beat writers from the Scarlet Knights upcoming opponents this season to learn more about each team ahead of the first kickoff to the season.
With that being said, let's continue with our Iowa preview as TKR spoke with GoIowaAwesome.com to learn more about the Hawkeyes.
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ICYMI: Northwestern | Temple | Virginia Tech | Michigan | Wisconsin
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What are Iowa’s expectations going into the season?
Iowa expects to contend for the Big Ten West this season and a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. That's generally been the expectation every year since divisional play was introduced in the Big Ten, but it's more realistic in some years than others. This season, that seems like a pretty reasonable expectation, in part because of what Iowa brings back from 2022 and what they've added for 2023 -- and also because of the composition of the rest of the division. Four of seven teams in the West have new coaches entering 2023, including Wisconsin, which has historically been Iowa's biggest challenger in the division. Illinois had a strong season in 2022, but the Illini lost their star defensive coordinator and have to prove that last year wasn't a fluke. Minnesota might be the biggest challenger for Iowa in the West.
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are bringing back several key defensive linemen and the preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in cornerback Cooper DeJean. There are holes to fill at linebacker (replacing Butkus Award winner Jack Campbell won't be easy), but Iowa's defense has been among the nation's best year in and year out thanks to coordinator Phil Parker. There's plenty of reason to think that he'll be able to assemble another very strong defense this season.
Iowa's offense was a national punchline last season and for good reason -- it was historically terrible for a Power 5 team. The Hawkeyes lost their best-receiving threat from a year ago (TE Sam LaPorta), but they are returning a budding star at RB in Kaleb Johnson as well as the majority of the offensive line. That line struggled last season with injuries and inexperience, but the hope is that the wear and tear they took last year will pay dividends this season. Iowa was also active in the transfer portal to try and address the shortcomings on offense, adding Michigan QB Cade McNamara, Ohio State WR Kaleb Brown, and Charleston Southern WR Seth Anderson to try and inject some pop into Iowa's very weak passing attack. Time will tell how improved the Iowa offense is, but it should be at least somewhat improved from what it was in 2022.
What would you say Iowa’s greatest strength and weakness is?
The greatest strength is certainly the defense. Iowa has ranked in the top 20 in scoring defense for eight consecutive seasons, including three finishes in the top 6 in the last four seasons. This defense makes it incredibly difficult for opposing offenses to score points. The Iowa defense is very disciplined, tackles well, and prevents big plays. The Hawkeyes try to make opponents be very patient on offense and move the ball down the field methodically; when opponents make mistakes, Iowa is also excellent at turning those mistakes into turnovers (if not defensive scores).
The greatest weakness is, well, the other side of the ball. As mentioned, last year's offense was a national joke and one of the worst in the country. The Hawkeyes were 123rd in scoring offense (17.7 ppg) and 130th in total offense (251.6 ypg). Weaknesses don't get much more glaring than that. Having an offense that ineffective put a tremendous amount of strain on the Iowa defense. While last year's offense was even worse than the usual Iowa offense, the Hawkeyes also have regularly had bad or below-average offenses over the last two decades. Some of that is a function of having a ball-control offense that emphasizes risk minimization, which is part of Kirk Ferentz's overall philosophy. The team is built around defense and a key job for the offense is to not make things more difficult for the defense by turning the ball over and putting the defense in difficult positions. Still, an offense that was at least respectable, or middle of the pack in terms of scoring, would make things much easier for the defense. Iowa fans hope this year's offense can be closer to respectable than the offense has been for the last few years.
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What is the biggest difference between last year’s Iowa team and this one?
Leadership, which seems to have flipped on both sides of the ball. Last year Iowa had a tremendous amount of experienced leadership on the defensive side of the ball, including LB Jack Campbell, CB Riley Moss, SS Kaevon Merriweather, and DE John Waggoner. The presence of those experienced leaders was a key reason for Iowa's defense being as stellar as it was last season. But those leaders are all game now, which has left a real leadership void for the defense -- new players are going to have to step into bigger leadership roles and try to fill the shoes of Campbell, Moss, Merriweather, et al. The Hawkeyes do have some players (DT Noah Shannon, LB Jay Higgins) who seem ready to take on more leadership for the defense, but there might still be an adjustment period in the early part of the season. On offense, the addition of Cade McNamara seems like it's been a tremendous boost to the leadership on that side of the ball. His teammates and the coaches have been raving about the leadership and maturity that he's brought since he arrived from Michigan. He was the QB on a Michigan team that made the Big Ten Championship Game two seasons ago, so he does have quite a bit of on-field credibility. And it seems like his leadership style is one that a lot of players on Iowa's offense respond well to, which seems like a good sign heading into 2023. Confidence and leadership alone won't solve the problems of the Iowa offense, but they're a decent starting point.
Who do you think is poised for a breakthrough season?
On defense, Iowa fans and observers are very excited to see what sophomore strong safety Xavier Nwankpa can do this season. Nwankpa was a 5-star defensive back out of high school, so he has tremendous recruiting bona fides. He played sparingly as a true freshman last year, mostly on special teams, before getting a start in Iowa's win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Nwankpa finished with eight tackles, a pass breakup, and an interception that he ran back for a touchdown. It was an absolutely dazzling debut for Nwankpa and one that really got the hype flowing for 2023 to see what he could do with a full season. Nwankpa has said over the offseason that he feels more comfortable on the field now and that he's reading the game better, so it seems like there's a very good chance that he'll be able to be Iowa's next great breakout performer at defensive back.
It's a little bit harder to pick a breakthrough player on offense because there are so many new faces, particularly at QB and WR. Ultimately I'll go with Ohio State WR Kaleb Brown. I think his speed and route-running is going to add a dimension to Iowa's passing game that it's sorely lacked in recent years. The threat that he can provide should also force opposing defenses to play Iowa a bit differently this season, which should open up a bit more space for other players on offense. I'm not sure Brown will wind up with dazzling numbers at the end of the season -- few WRs do at Iowa -- but I do think his presence will still have a significant impact on the Hawkeye offense.
What would mark a successful season for Iowa?
A 10-win season would make this a strong one for Iowa. At a minimum, for this season to be considered at least somewhat successful, Iowa needs to be in contention for the Big Ten West into November. But if Iowa is able to win the Big Ten West and play in one of the Big Ten's better bowl games, that would be a solid season. Winning the Big Ten Championship Game would be ideal, of course, but a) no Big Ten West has managed to do that in the history of the East-West alignment, and b) the last time Iowa made the Big Ten Championship Game, the Hawkeyes lost by almost 40 points. If they make the title game this season, having a more competitive game against the East champion would be a small victory.
What is your season-long prediction for Iowa?
I haven't locked in game-by-game predictions for Iowa yet, but right now a final record around 9-3 seems likely to me. The toughest game on the schedule is the road night game at Penn State; that's going to be a very difficult game to win. The Hawkeyes also play their two most likely rivals for the West, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, in back-to-back weeks, which ought to be challenging, especially given the physical nature of those games. There are a few potential late-season landmines, as well, like Illinois and Nebraska -- both of those teams tripped up Iowa in 2022. But Iowa also misses Michigan and Ohio State from the East and doesn't face a daunting non-conference schedule (Utah State, at Iowa State, Western Michigan). If the defense performs close to its normal level and the offense is improved, this team should have an opportunity to win 8-10 regular season games this year.
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