Previously: Iowa Offense Now that we got the dystopian portion of the program out of the way, let's turn our attention to the Iowa defense. They roll into Indianapolis having wrestled the #1 SP+ ranking away from Michigan and Ohio State, who were too good at offense last week to hang onto the pole position defensively. Should've tried playing six games against the B1G West this season. The Film: Like the offense piece, there are significant injuries to factor in when analyzing the Iowa defense. Though not as severe in volume, the loss of star corner (and punt return extraordinaire) Cooper DeJean was a tough blow for the Hawkeyes as DeJean almost certainly would've been given the Dangerman designation in this piece. DeJean's injury was sustained in November, so it limited me to only a few options. That said, I don't think Iowa has faced a single good offense all season, so this was slim pickings regardless. Factoring in time considerations, I decided t
The 2023 Iowa football team is one head coach Kirk Ferentz will talk about “10 years from now.” And it’s not because of what this year’s squad has achieved but how they managed to do it. Enduring a preseason gambling scandal that has kept defensive lineman Noah Shannon out the entire season, losing four.