Updated 2021 Season Predictions

NCHawker

NCHawker

Well-Known Member
Well here it is. This is the most difficult start to a schedule that I can recall since following Iowa. Maybe 1981 when Iowa played UCLA and Nebraska . This could be a special year or Iowa could once again claim to be the best 7-5 team in the country.



Iowa’s 2021 football schedule​

Sept. 4: Indiana (home)

Sept. 11: Iowa State (away)

Sept. 18: Kent State (home)

Sept. 25: Colorado State (home)

Oct. 2: Maryland (away)

Oct. 9: Penn State (home)

Oct. 16: Purdue (home)

Oct. 23: Bye week

Oct. 30: Wisconsin (away)

Nov. 6: Northwestern (away)

Nov. 13: Minnesota (home)

Nov. 20: Illinois (home)

Nov. 26: Nebraska (away)
 
I thought our rotation with Penn State was over. I'm sick of playing them. I like the sound of "Best 7-5 team in the country" and maybe we could Mississippi State in a bowl game to settle it.
 
I see that they put the Iowa-Nebraska game back on Black Friday on Thanksgiving weekend and moved Iowa-Wisconsin to the middle of the season.

The original 2021 schedule it was supposed to be Iowa-Wisconsin on Saturday on Thanksgiving weekend.

As awful as everything was in 2020, I kind of liked how Iowa played Nebraska on Black Friday AND played Wisconsin in its last game 2 weeks later.

I wonder if they could change it in the future so that the Big Ten CCG is pushed out 1 or 2 weeks. I guess it helped that the weather was not awful in Dec 2020 which is not always certain. And there were no fans in the stands either that could get cold. So not sure if it would work every year.
 
NCHawker said:
Well here it is. This is the most difficult start to a schedule that I can recall since following Iowa. Maybe 1981 when Iowa played UCLA and Nebraska . This could be a special year or Iowa could once again claim to be the best 7-5 team in the country.



Iowa’s 2021 football schedule​

Sept. 4: Indiana (home)

Sept. 11: Iowa State (away)

Sept. 18: Kent State (home)

Sept. 25: Colorado State (home)

Oct. 2: Maryland (away)

Oct. 9: Penn State (home)

Oct. 16: Purdue (home)

Oct. 23: Bye week

Oct. 30: Wisconsin (away)

Nov. 6: Northwestern (away)

Nov. 13: Minnesota (home)

Nov. 20: Illinois (home)

Nov. 26: Nebraska (away)
Click to expand...
Aside from our annual loss to NW, there are some winnable games on the schedule. I guess alot depends on who everybody lost (Indiana, Iowa St., Penn St and Wisc specifically) and what kind of talent they got coming in. (And Covid. No one seems to think about the fact that the disease may NEVER go away.)
 
NCHawker said:
Well here it is. This is the most difficult start to a schedule that I can recall since following Iowa. Maybe 1981 when Iowa played UCLA and Nebraska . This could be a special year or Iowa could once again claim to be the best 7-5 team in the country.



Iowa’s 2021 football schedule​

Sept. 4: Indiana (home)

Sept. 11: Iowa State (away)

Sept. 18: Kent State (home)

Sept. 25: Colorado State (home)

Oct. 2: Maryland (away)

Oct. 9: Penn State (home)

Oct. 16: Purdue (home)

Oct. 23: Bye week

Oct. 30: Wisconsin (away)

Nov. 6: Northwestern (away)

Nov. 13: Minnesota (home)

Nov. 20: Illinois (home)

Nov. 26: Nebraska (away)
Click to expand...

Do you really think the games up to the first bye will be that hard to win like against top teams. IU was really good this year but did they lose a lot of players? Same with ISU who doesnt play against a defense like Iowa's hardly ever. Those ISU teams that get 500 yards offense sputter usually against Iowa the last 6-7 or more years.

The hawks need to replace AJackson but we have a lot of really good OLinemen. Offensive backfield is back, Tracy and Ragaini can do very well for two receivers and TEnd is usually really good. I think the offense will be able to avg 24 pts a game or more.

Need to fill some big shoes on the DLIne which is the biggest question mark but who knows maybe Campbell can be a pass rusher on the edge on passing downs. but the linebackers and Dbacks are sturdy.

I can see the hawks being 7-0 by the bye week if they can be ready to go the first two games rather than some other slower starts like just last year. Of course even 5-2 at the bye will be good.
 
uihawk82 said:
Do you really think the games up to the first bye will be that hard to win like against top teams. IU was really good this year but did they lose a lot of players? Same with ISU who doesnt play against a defense like Iowa's hardly ever. Those ISU teams that get 500 yards offense sputter usually against Iowa the last 6-7 or more years.

The hawks need to replace AJackson but we have a lot of really good OLinemen. Offensive backfield is back, Tracy and Ragaini can do very well for two receivers and TEnd is usually really good. I think the offense will be able to avg 24 pts a game or more.

Need to fill some big shoes on the DLIne which is the biggest question mark but who knows maybe Campbell can be a pass rusher on the edge on passing downs. but the linebackers and Dbacks are sturdy.

I can see the hawks being 7-0 by the bye week if they can be ready to go the first two games rather than some other slower starts like just last year. Of course even 5-2 at the bye will be good.
Click to expand...


Yes, I do think the first 2 will be hard to win. This is Iowa. Kirk's teams rarely look good on opening day. Lots of history to draw on here.
 
Weird opening with Indiana, don't like it, but I think all the games are winnable. Possible 6-1 or 7-0 depending on what ISU lost on defense and Indiana lost on offense.
 
If Iowa can open the season with a win against Indy it would be great. But Kirk's teams take a few games to warm up, especially with all the question marks on the D-line and place-kicking to name a couple things.
 
NCHawker said:
Well here it is. This is the most difficult start to a schedule that I can recall since following Iowa. Maybe 1981 when Iowa played UCLA and Nebraska . This could be a special year or Iowa could once again claim to be the best 7-5 team in the country.



Iowa’s 2021 football schedule​

Sept. 4: Indiana (home)

Sept. 11: Iowa State (away)

Sept. 18: Kent State (home)

Sept. 25: Colorado State (home)

Oct. 2: Maryland (away)

Oct. 9: Penn State (home)

Oct. 16: Purdue (home)

Oct. 23: Bye week

Oct. 30: Wisconsin (away)

Nov. 6: Northwestern (away)

Nov. 13: Minnesota (home)

Nov. 20: Illinois (home)

Nov. 26: Nebraska (away)
Click to expand...
Iowa started the 1992 season with NC State, The U, Iowa State, and Colorado.

That was a rough start to a season of ever there was one.
 
If Pennicks is back and healthy...game one is going to be a bitch. At least he may not be as mobile as he used to be.

ISU...they will be favored and depending how the first game goes...maybe by 10 or more. Everyone back on offense...ISU is going to be a handful and you are going to have to outscore them.

Our streak of giving up less than 25 points and defensive prowess is going to be on the line in both of these early games. I'm assuming that streak will be bulletin board material in the Indiana and ISU lockerrooms. Well...that and ISU hasn't beaten us in 2236 days.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
If Pennicks is back and healthy...game one is going to be a bitch. At least he may not be as mobile as he used to be.

ISU...they will be favored and depending how the first game goes...maybe by 10 or more. Everyone back on offense...ISU is going to be a handful and you are going to have to outscore them.

Our streak of giving up less than 25 points and defensive prowess is going to be on the line in both of these early games. I'm assuming that streak will be bulletin board material in the Indiana and ISU lockerrooms. Well...that and ISU hasn't beaten us in 2236 days.
Click to expand...
R u an accountant? Do you do taxes?
 
NCHawker said:
Well here it is. This is the most difficult start to a schedule that I can recall since following Iowa. Maybe 1981 when Iowa played UCLA and Nebraska . This could be a special year or Iowa could once again claim to be the best 7-5 team in the country.



Iowa’s 2021 football schedule​

Sept. 4: Indiana (home)

Sept. 11: Iowa State (away)

Sept. 18: Kent State (home)

Sept. 25: Colorado State (home)

Oct. 2: Maryland (away)

Oct. 9: Penn State (home)

Oct. 16: Purdue (home)

Oct. 23: Bye week

Oct. 30: Wisconsin (away)

Nov. 6: Northwestern (away)

Nov. 13: Minnesota (home)

Nov. 20: Illinois (home)

Nov. 26: Nebraska (away)
Click to expand...

It's doable. Since when were we worried about Indiana and ISU? Win those, and PSU at home is the next challenge.

Four of the last five worry me more than the first four. Nebraska won't worry me for a while...
 
Ian Pike Hammer said:
Aside from our annual loss to NW, there are some winnable games on the schedule. I guess alot depends on who everybody lost (Indiana, Iowa St., Penn St and Wisc specifically) and what kind of talent they got coming in. (And Covid. No one seems to think about the fact that the disease may NEVER go away.)
Click to expand...
Lordy if we aren't pretty much past the Rona by mid to late fall (Im talking shatting our pants over it, the virus itself aint ever going away), then we will be in SAD shape. Even the 1918 Flu was over well within the amount of time we will have spent dicken around with this thing. And their tech and medicines back then were FAR inferior.
 
You guys have to remember the hawks play great team defense, great scoring defense, the hawks should be really solid in the back 7 on defense. We could be loaded at Lbkr.

Maybe PParker will go to the Fry type 5 man Dee line which was really a sort of 3-4-4 because the Dee ends were many times fast, smaller 220 types that were as much linebackers.

Pennick thru a lot of jump balls, and his accuracy wasnt great, his sub was a better passer. Indy's defense gave up yards so we will see what they have back.

Yeah, ISU will have that offense back but again the hawks usually take care of their running game, Montgomery never went off against the hawks. Just need to keep Purdy from making a few big pass plays each have. A great pass rush will help and Van Valkenberg is back, Joe what's his name is good in pass situations, a few Dee linemen need to step up.

I was hoping Kallenberger would stay at on of the tackles because he had the frame for it. Is Cronk the Indy transfer going to stay?
 
Its October 16th and I am going to prognosticate. This has been a wild first half of the season. The media said how great the defense is. And we all hoped the offense would improve.

My conclusion is in the absence of turnovers, this defense is good, not great. An Iowa defense if you will. And the offense is among the worst we've seen since 2012..maybe the same as 2012. Not for lack of talent but really because the O LIne is horrible. But what's new.

So Iowa will finish the season 8-4 with losses to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska. It-might be worse. This offense is that bad. They'll be one of the worst 8-4 teams in America

I've emotionally punched out. Not unlike Iowa basketball where I never emotionally punch in..as I know better.

Offense is really hard at Iowa. Average OLine play is really hard at Iowa .. it takes 3 years or so until people can play competitively...except that one all american they have every year.

Quarterback is really hard to play at Iowa. It takes 3 years or so until people can play competitively.

KF simply does not insist on good offense. Offense is KF's blind spot.
 
NCHawker said:
Its October 16th and I am going to prognosticate. This has been a wild first half of the season. The media said how great the defense is. And we all hoped the offense would improve.

My conclusion is in the absence of turnovers, this defense is good, not great. An Iowa defense if you will. And the offense is among the worst we've seen since 2012..maybe the same as 2012. Not for lack of talent but really because the O LIne is horrible. But what's new.

So Iowa will finish the season 8-4 with losses to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska. It-might be worse. This offense is that bad. They'll be one of the worst 8-4 teams in America

I've emotionally punched out. Not unlike Iowa basketball where I never emotionally punch in..as I know better.

Offense is really hard at Iowa. Average OLine play is really hard at Iowa .. it takes 3 years or so until people can play competitively...except that one all american they have every year.

Quarterback is really hard to play at Iowa. It takes 3 years or so until people can play competitively.

KF simply does not insist on good offense. Offense is KF's blind spot.
Click to expand...

Hey man, cool it with the negativity. "worst 8-4 teams..." Nonsense. My "best 7-5 team in the country" prediction could still be in play. How many 7-5 teams in the history of college football can say they were ranked number 2 at one point in the season?
 
NCHawker said:
Its October 16th and I am going to prognosticate. This has been a wild first half of the season. The media said how great the defense is. And we all hoped the offense would improve.

My conclusion is in the absence of turnovers, this defense is good, not great. An Iowa defense if you will. And the offense is among the worst we've seen since 2012..maybe the same as 2012. Not for lack of talent but really because the O LIne is horrible. But what's new.

So Iowa will finish the season 8-4 with losses to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska. It-might be worse. This offense is that bad. They'll be one of the worst 8-4 teams in America

I've emotionally punched out. Not unlike Iowa basketball where I never emotionally punch in..as I know better.

Offense is really hard at Iowa. Average OLine play is really hard at Iowa .. it takes 3 years or so until people can play competitively...except that one all american they have every year.

Quarterback is really hard to play at Iowa. It takes 3 years or so until people can play competitively.

KF simply does not insist on good offense. Offense is KF's blind spot.
Click to expand...
Sorry, but I cannot agree with your conclusions. I think Iowa will rebound from a classic trap game including a really bad match up. We will be very competitive against the likes of NE and MN and WI, and will not be seriously challenged by NW and IL. Those two are far below in Iowa on talent this year. MN is at Kinnick. WI can’t even beat Army in a dominant fashion and offensively are virtually inept. Yes, much worse than Iowa. Road game at NE could be tricky, but as has become their tradition, they will screw up a one car parade. Purdue will lose at least two more. MN will as well. WI will not get better. So, we will win the west, take on OSU in Indy and have a fighting chance, but likely lose. We have a really good football team. We can be proud. Our temporary #2 ranking and I predict, a top ten finish, will impact recruiting in a big way. We’re we over rated? Absolutely not! It was confirmed in the Coaches and AP Polls. Argue away. We were there, in print, on ESPN, etc. Cannot take that back. We have a lot to play for in the next few weeks. I like this team and think we will rise to the challenge. Go Hawks!
 
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