Hard to have any confidence in the offense unless until you see it look different from the last 3 years. But here is how I am going to talk myself into an optimistic outlook:
I think the OL and running game were deceptively decent last year. It was hard to see because the scheme lacked creativity, and defenses has ZERO fear of Iowa beating them with the pass. ZERO. NADA. And there were still games that Iowa ran the ball very effectively. With more consistency (the OL had too many blown assignments), a bit of creativity in the scheme, and a bevy of solid backs, I think Iowa will be able to impose their will at the LOS in a way we haven't seen since 2016.
It is hard to believe in this passing game, it has been so underwhelming for so long. But, Lester does have a history of putting his receivers in position to succeed. If we can find someone decent to pull the trigger, we should have enough WR talent to approach mediocrity in the passing game. I am going to pretend I am confident in that "if."
I am going oto predict our best opener since 2019, a 38-14 win over a game Miami of OH team. I am going to say 38 - 3, just barely hitting that over.
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