You have no idea. I've lived in Duck Country for five years and, while I will always be a hawkeye, have begun following the team over the last 3-4 years, and the difference in the programs is night and day despite their comparable circumstances. Oregon doesn't have any natural recruiting advantage over Iowa. The population and demographics of the state are about the same, and the nearest hotbeds are just about as far away deep in enemy territory.
Despite that, Oregon has no problem recruiting nationwide. They compete and land top shelf recruits from all over the country. They compete in California. The compete in Texas. They compete in Ohio. They even compete in Florida, which is farther away from Oregon than anywhere in the lower 48 is from Iowa. They'll even compete in Iowa if their is someone worth snatching up like Christian French. Just the other day when Iowa stole a recruit from the clowns, Oregon stole a 4-star DB from the South from freaking LSU. And when they reach on an unknown project who no other schools are going for, they end up with Marcus Mariota.
Both Oregon and Iowa are from smallish, very white, states where they compete even for in state talent with an Ag school. Both don't have a particularly storied history pre-80's (and Oregon not really untiil the 90's).
Oregon does have the advantage of perhaps the single best booster in college football. Iowa has no answer for Phil Knight. It's not just the money. It's the opportunity to affiliate oneself with Nike which has a very real chance of landing the college player an endorsement if he goes pro or a job if he doesn't make it. But even with that, the gulf between the programs shouldn't be what it is.
What Oregon has become is the direct result of a couple decades of shrewd program decisions. They realize that they don't have a natural advantage, so they've created their own advantages. Everything about Oregon is designed to be appealing to talent. The style they play. The bling they get. The culture they have. "That's football" doesn't exist. Instead, the constant phrase is "win the day".
I'd love to see Iowa do more to emulate the success that the Ducks have had. It could be done.
