Yeah, UM being on that list is puzzling. DRob's status is still up in the air (to my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong though), Forcier is gone, the defense will probably still be horrendous (or at LEAST below average), AND UM will be implementing at least a somewhat new offensive philosophy with RichRod's spread personnel. Color me skeptical that UM is going to turn it around this year.
I'd be willing to bet my house that Iowa finishes better than 8th in the Big Ten this season. Steve, you of all people (someone who has covered Iowa sports for years), should know that the key component to a successful Iowa season is OL play....name me an Iowa team that had a poor season with above average play at OL? The 2011 OL will be probably the best since 08 (maybe equal to that line), and we have a good QB, a RB that appears to be pretty solid, and a couple of pretty good WR's.
Defensively, sure there are question marks, but the beautiful thing about Iowa's D under Norm Parker: players matter less than the scheme. Better players make the scheme more effective, but even when Iowa doesn't have the best talent on D (see 05-07), the defense isn't going to be horrendous because of the conservative nature of the scheme we employ.
