Phil Steele picks

[BigD]

Iowa to be a contender for the playoffs. He says the offense doesn’t have to be great just middle of the road in the conference. Made these comments on the BTN tonight.

I am thinking the same things. If we just have a somewhat responsible offense we have a good shot at being 11-1.

He sees the B1G getting four teams into the playoffs.

 

[NCHawker]

What if the paradigm is all wrong

You know none of B1G west teams last season had good offensive teams none averages 24. Iowas D was pretty much untested. Um toyed with Iowa. My point, the D lines will be the weak post and the 2024 Iowa just isn’t the 23 or 22 teams but with a better offense

 

[NorthKCHawk]

What if the paradigm is all wrong

You know none of B1G west teams last season had good offensive teams none averages 24. Iowas D was pretty much untested. Um toyed with Iowa. My point, the D lines will be the weak post and the 2024 Iowa just isn’t the 23 or 22 teams but with a better offense

Disagree with parts of this assessment. I do agree that the West was crappy on offense across the board, but Iowa's defense contributed to that by piss-pounding every one of those turds into the ground. That said, I have also argued that Iowa's D is probably a tad overrated because of the West and because teams knew they only needed to score 17 points to beat Iowa so they have played conservatively. That, and the best punter in football, have been a boon for Phil Parker the last few seasons.

What I disagree with is that the D won't be as good or that the DL is its weak point. The D will be as experienced and strong in the middle as any D in KF era (DL, LB, safeties). There are productive players returning on the outside as well. While hitting the statistical greatness of last year's team may be tough, remember that the schedule is manageable, especially opposing offenses. The only legitimate offense we will face is OSU, and maybe ISU and Nebbie will be good on O as well.

Let's say that the D takes a half step back. That is me being pessimistic. Let's say special teams is roughly the same with likely decline in punting. The offense should take a full step+ forward given the upgrade at QB and OC. The team as a whole should be better overall, with about the same level of difficulty on the schedule, and coming off a 10-win season.

Steel's analysis is spot on in IMHO.

 

[NCHawker]

to net it out. Iowa won't be able to win those low single score grinders like last year. Neb. WI will be better on offense. So Iowa will need to score more - I think they will.

 

[kicker22]

I think our defense was every bit as good as advertised last year. Our offense, or lack of offense, was unable to stay on the field and our defense as a result unable to get off of it. Just think what 10-15 additional plays on offense would have done for the defense, in terms of catching a breath or even being luck enough to play with the slightest bit of a cushion in the second half.

I'm optimistic and will continue to be, because if our offense can simply move the chains and stretch drives here and there putting a few more points on the board we've still got guys on the defensive side of the ball that are special and can impact a game. Our offense improves in the slightest bit and we may see results from it.