Iowa's 2014 Schedule Is Weak..As in the Weakest in the B1G?

[JonDMiller]

Back in December, I wrote an article talking about how favorable Iowa's 2014 football schedule was going to be. But I didn't know then how it would stack up to the rest of the league.

Jesse Temple of Fox Sports-Wisconsin took a look at every Big Ten team's schedule for the upcoming year and applied a ranking measure to it. He took the combined Big Ten record of last year's league foes and added them up related to this year's schedule.

Wisconsin's slate was the easiest with their 2014 Big Ten foes going 22-42 last year. Iowa was next in line with their 2014 opponents adding up to 23-41 from one year ago.

Here was the entire list that Temple came up with:

Wisconsin: 22-42 (.343 winning percentage)
Iowa: 23-41 (.359)
Nebraska: 28-36 (.437)
Northwestern: 28-36 (.437)
Michigan State: 29-35 (.453)
Minnesota: 29-35 (.453)
Ohio State: 29-35 (.453)
Penn State: 31-33 (.484)
Illinois: 33-31 (.515)
Purdue: 33-31 (.515)
Michigan: 34-30 (.531)
Indiana: 35-29 (.546)
Maryland: 40-24 (.625)
Rutgers: 41-23 (.640)

You'll note that the first four in this ranking are Big Ten West foes, as are four of the first five. You should also be reminded that Iowa nor Wisconsin plays Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State or Ohio State next season.

Here is Iowa's schedule in 2014
Aug 30 Northern Iowa
Sep 06 Ball State
Sep 13 Iowa State
Sep 20 at Pittsburgh
Sep 27 at Purdue
Oct 4 Bye
Oct 11 Indiana
Oct 18 at Maryland
Oct 25 Bye
Nov 1 Northwestern
Nov 8 at Minnesota
Nov 15 at Illinois
Nov 22 Wisconsin
Nov 28 Nebraska

Iowa's non-conference slate is hardly a murderer's row, while Wisconsin plays LSU and Nebraska hosts Miami of Florida as well as playing Fresno State at Fresno. Yes, Derek Carr is gone but still, I give the Huskers credit for playing there.

Iowa plays two 'BCS' league opponents in Iowa State and Pitt, but the Cyclones will struggle to match last year's win total (3) and Pittsburgh is not LSU.

So does Iowa have the easiest overall schedule in the Big Ten in 2014?

You've seen the winning percentage numbers from last year listed above. Here are the schools listed 1 through 5 on that list and their out of conference opponents.

Northwestern
08/30 - California
09/06 - Northern Illinois
09/20 - Western Illinois
11/15 - at Notre Dame

Nebraska
08/30 - Florida Atlantic
09/06 - McNeese State
09/13 - at Fresno State
09/20 - Miami (FL)

Minnesota
08/28 - Eastern Illinois
09/06 - Middle Tennessee
09/13 - at TCU
09/20 - San Jose State

Michigan State
08/30 - Jacksonville State
09/06 - at Oregon
09/20 - Eastern Michigan
09/27 - Wyoming

Wisconsin
08/30 - LSU (at Houston, TX)
09/06 - Western Illinois
09/20 - Bowling Green
09/27 - USF

Considering the fact that Minnesota plays at TCU and Michigan in back to back weeks and also hosts Ohio State, they trump Iowa.

It's tough to come to any other conclusion other than this one; Iowa has the MOST FAVORABLE schedule of any Big Ten team

 

[vgshwk]

Back in December, I wrote an article talking about how favorable Iowa's 2014 football schedule was going to be. But I didn't know then how it would stack up to the rest of the league.

Jesse Temple of Fox Sports-Wisconsin took a look at every Big Ten team's schedule for the upcoming year and applied a ranking measure to it. He took the combined Big Ten record of last year's league foes and added them up related to this year's schedule.

Wisconsin's slate was the easiest with their 2014 Big Ten foes going 22-42 last year. Iowa was next in line with their 2014 opponents adding up to 23-41 from one year ago.

Here was the entire list that Temple came up with:

Wisconsin: 22-42 (.343 winning percentage)
Iowa: 23-41 (.359)
Nebraska: 28-36 (.437)
Northwestern: 28-36 (.437)
Michigan State: 29-35 (.453)
Minnesota: 29-35 (.453)
Ohio State: 29-35 (.453)
Penn State: 31-33 (.484)
Illinois: 33-31 (.515)
Purdue: 33-31 (.515)
Michigan: 34-30 (.531)
Indiana: 35-29 (.546)
Maryland: 40-24 (.625)
Rutgers: 41-23 (.640)

You'll note that the first four in this ranking are Big Ten West foes, as are four of the first five. You should also be reminded that Iowa nor Wisconsin plays Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State or Ohio State next season.

Here is Iowa's schedule in 2014
Aug 30 Northern Iowa
Sep 06 Ball State
Sep 13 Iowa State
Sep 20 at Pittsburgh
Sep 27 at Purdue
Oct 4 Bye
Oct 11 Indiana
Oct 18 at Maryland
Oct 25 Bye
Nov 1 Northwestern
Nov 8 at Minnesota
Nov 15 at Illinois
Nov 22 Wisconsin
Nov 28 Nebraska

Iowa's non-conference slate is hardly a murderer's row, while Wisconsin plays LSU and Nebraska hosts Miami of Florida as well as playing Fresno State at Fresno. Yes, Derek Carr is gone but still, I give the Huskers credit for playing there.

Iowa plays two 'BCS' league opponents in Iowa State and Pitt, but the Cyclones will struggle to match last year's win total (3) and Pittsburgh is not LSU.

So does Iowa have the easiest overall schedule in the Big Ten in 2014?

You've seen the winning percentage numbers from last year listed above. Here are the schools listed 1 through 5 on that list and their out of conference opponents.

Northwestern
08/30 - California
09/06 - Northern Illinois
09/20 - Western Illinois
11/15 - at Notre Dame

Nebraska
08/30 - Florida Atlantic
09/06 - McNeese State
09/13 - at Fresno State
09/20 - Miami (FL)

Minnesota
08/28 - Eastern Illinois
09/06 - Middle Tennessee
09/13 - at TCU
09/20 - San Jose State

Michigan State
08/30 - Jacksonville State
09/06 - at Oregon
09/20 - Eastern Michigan
09/27 - Wyoming

Wisconsin
08/30 - LSU (at Houston, TX)
09/06 - Western Illinois
09/20 - Bowling Green
09/27 - USF

Considering the fact that Minnesota plays at TCU and Michigan in back to back weeks and also hosts Ohio State, they trump Iowa.

It's tough to come to any other conclusion other than this one; Iowa has the MOST FAVORABLE schedule of any Big Ten team

Have the tv times came out yet? Uni if at 11 a.m being Labor Day weekend would be thought to draw a crowd also ball state at 11 would be tough to draw a crowd.

 

[uihawk82]

If the Big 10 had 10 teams and played 9 league games there would not be a problem, even a 10 team league playing 8 league games is just a slight injustice sometimes.

But when you expand to 12 teams and then to 14 and maybe 16 you are going to have these disparities.

It is cyclic and the hawks had a tough schedule last year and will have tough ones in the future.

Let's just hope they 'make hay' with this schedule because even though they pulled a few Houdini acts in 2009 all we see is that great season record and a BCS win. Same with 2002-04.

 

[uihawk82]

Have the tv times came out yet? Uni if at 11 a.m being Labor Day weekend would be thought to draw a crowd also ball state at 11 would be tough to draw a crowd.

I think UNI will be packed no matter what and as long as they are sellouts the Ath Dept gets their dough.

 

[Sooby]

The last time I remember a weak schedule was 2006 and 2007, and those years were rather forgettable (other than GameDay coming to Iowa City in 2006).
I'm cautiously optimistic with Kirk showing his cards a little more and Dinardo's comments for this upcoming season.Stil
Still don't trust the road game at Pittsburgh. Curious as to Kirk's record, out of conference on the road. It doesn't feel good.

 

[CAARHawk]

I see Iowa having scheduled 2 P5 teams in non-con. One is not really their choice, but still B12 and a heated rivalry. That is more than legit non-con scheduling and more than the mighty SEC does. The Pitt game was scheduled years ago. Who knew what that team would be like this year? But, even considering that, it is not inconceivable that Pitt could challenge for the Coastal division spot with the Miami team you indicate as a tough match-up for another B1G team.

Ball State is a QB away from challenging for a MAC title and UNI is in the top handful of FCS programs.

So, here is a quick synopsis of the non-con.

1 - Most all teams schedule FCS - Iowa's opponent should be one of the toughest.
2 - Most all teams schedule G5 - Iowa's opponent should compete for a division title.
3 - Most all teams schedule P5 - Iowa's opponent could compete for a division title.
4 - Only one other B1GW team scheduled a second P5 team - Iowa's opponent is a bitter in-state rival.

 

[HawkMD2007]

Iowa's 2014 FB schedule might just be one of the weakest in the country too (in the Top 5 Conferences, that is).

 

[HawkIPA]

If the Big 10 had 10 teams and played 9 league games there would not be a problem, even a 10 team league playing 8 league games is just a slight injustice sometimes.

But when you expand to 12 teams and then to 14 and maybe 16 you are going to have these disparities.

It is cyclic and the hawks had a tough schedule last year and will have tough ones in the future.

Let's just hope they 'make hay' with this schedule because even though they pulled a few Houdini acts in 2009 all we see is that great season record and a BCS win. Same with 2002-04.

Why didnt you give Jon a snarky reply when bringing up next years schedule like you did the poster who spent the last year plus in Iraq when he brought it up last week?

 

[HawkIPA]

Have the tv times came out yet? Uni if at 11 a.m being Labor Day weekend would be thought to draw a crowd also ball state at 11 would be tough to draw a crowd.

UNI at Iowa in 2009 was an 11AM kickoff in Iowa City on Labor Day weekend, IIRC. That was a sellout and tickets were expensive outside of Kinnick before kickoff.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

The last time I remember a weak schedule was 2006 and 2007, and those years were rather forgettable (other than GameDay coming to Iowa City in 2006).
I'm cautiously optimistic with Kirk showing his cards a little more and Dinardo's comments for this upcoming season.Stil
Still don't trust the road game at Pittsburgh. Curious as to Kirk's record, out of conference on the road. It doesn't feel good.

Yep, the game @Pitt is one that I have marked down as a possible/probable loss. As you stated, Iowa's non-conference road record under KF is not good.

I just breezed through Iowa's schedule 2002-2013 (2002 is as far back as it goes on ESPN.com). I didn't calculate the actual record, but Miami OH (2002) and Syracuse (2006) are the only non-conference road wins I came up with, other than a couple wins @ISU. Even our record in Jack Trice isn't anything to write home about... So yeah, the game @Pitt concerns me, as does any September road game.

 

[JHHawk]

At Pitt and At Md are two that concern me. Md has a returning vet QB, and they should get their two star WR's back from injury, which killed their season last year. Diggs was one of the top WRs in the country and Md beat OSU for him...definite NFL prospect. So Md is gonna be tough...they spread their offense and throw a lot.

Pitt loses their stud QB, who is rising in the draft, but the backup did play a decent amount last year and looked good to me. They have talent, and this will be a tossup.

Never know about which teams will be surprising in the fall, but I like our chances if we stay healthy. If not, we will be in trouble at o-line and lbers.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

Oh, GREAT!! On top of the obvious and inherent disrespect for Iowa by every network, including the BTN, this just offers up even more excuses for the sports media tyrants to completely disregard any coverage of Hawkeye football.

There are at least 8 games on that schedule that, despite the lower-tier competition, will be extremely close nail-biters -- possible "instant classics" -- that any football fan would enjoy to watch. Add to that the attractiveness of playing nationally known powers Wisconsin and Nebraska, not to mention the bitter, in-state rivalry games, and I am simply astounded that 11 of the 12 games have not already been pegged for a minimum of broad-based regional coverage. Just goes to show the blatant reality of the media bias against Iowa football.

Their loss! They'll be clamoring to have some stake in the broadcast rights to see if the Hawks can best their surprising 8-4 rebound of 2013 or if they take a slight step back to 7-5.

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

Yep, the game @Pitt is one that I have marked down as a possible/probable loss. As you stated, Iowa's non-conference road record under KF is not good.

I just breezed through Iowa's schedule 2002-2013 (2002 is as far back as it goes on ESPN.com). I didn't calculate the actual record, but Miami OH (2002) and Syracuse (2006) are the only non-conference road wins I came up with, other than a couple wins @ISU. Even our record in Jack Trice isn't anything to write home about... So yeah, the game @Pitt concerns me, as does any September road game.

How many non conf road games have we played since 02? Can't be many. Pitt ISU Syracuse ASU AZ Miami come to mind off top of my head. So probably ave less than one nc roadie a year. So to say we have not won many is as much a factor of not playing many

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

Iowa is 7-6 is non-conf road games since 2002.

2013 W 27-21 @ ISU
2012 W 18-17 @ NIU
2011 L 44-41 OT @ ISU
2010 L 34-27 @ AZ
2009 W 35-3 @ ISU
2008 L 21-20 @ PITT
2007 W 16-3 @ NIU
2007 L 15-13 @ ISU
2006 W 20-13 @ SYR
2005 L 23-3 @ ISU
2004 L 44-7 @ ASU
2003 W 40-21 @ ISU
2002 W 29-24 @ MIAMI

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

College football is competitive no matter who you play. The gap between teams is smaller every day. I don't care much who we play, just get Ws

 

[NEIChawk]

College football is competitive no matter who you play. The gap between teams is smaller every day. I don't care much who we play, just get Ws

And to continue to give those of us a reason to drink....

 

[uihawk82]

Why didnt you give Jon a snarky reply when bringing up next years schedule like you did the poster who spent the last year plus in Iraq when he brought it up last week?

Haha, well Jon's post isnt so much a question even though there is a question mark in the title. Jon's post is packed with stats and evidence to actually prove the point.

Also, it is like the old saying "you would have to be from Mars" to not have read or heard about Iowa's weak schedule but in this case it is more accurately "you would have to have been in Iraq".

 

[Eda]

Iowa is 7-6 is non-conf road games since 2002.

2013 W 27-21 @ ISU
2012 W 18-17 @ NIU
2011 L 44-41 OT @ ISU
2010 L 34-27 @ AZ
2009 W 35-3 @ ISU
2008 L 21-20 @ PITT
2007 W 16-3 @ NIU
2007 L 15-13 @ ISU
2006 W 20-13 @ SYR
2005 L 23-3 @ ISU
2004 L 44-7 @ ASU
2003 W 40-21 @ ISU
2002 W 29-24 @ MIAMI

If you take ISU out of it, Iowa is still 4-3; with two of the three losses being very closely contested matchups (Pitt & Arizona). We all know the story lines of how those two losses went.

I'm not worried more due to the game being a road game. What has me the most concerned for the non-con, is the lack of time for this team to gel. That is usually the MO for KirFer teams.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

College football is competitive no matter who you play. The gap between teams is smaller every day. I don't care much who we play, just get Ws

+1

This is a different time with unbalanced schedules.

The joke of this is everything is predicated off of the previous season. Coming into last season if you had a 4-8 Iowa and a 6-6 MSU on your schedule this did not look as daunting as a schedule with a 10 win NW and 8 win Michigan.

So how did things turn out? NW won 5 losing their last 7 in conference and Michigan won 3 conference games. By contrast Iowa won 8 with 5 conference wins and MSU won 13 going unbeaten in conference and winning the Rose Bowl.

Look at the SEC. How many games did the title game participants Auburn and Missouri win the year before? Not many.

Simply play who is on the schedule and expect some tough, hard fought games that can go either way regardless of opponent.