For all the good that Kirk Ferentz has done for the Iowa Hawkeyes in his 17 years with the program, he still continues to take heat from the alumni and fans who expect more than what this team has put forth. The fact of the matter is that Iowa is a mid-level Big Ten team at this point, and that isn't going to change for quite some time, especially here in 2015.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Illinois State
9/12: at Iowa State
9/19: vs. Pittsburgh
9/26: vs. North Texas
10/3: at Wisconsin
10/10: vs. Illinois
10/17: at Northwestern
10/31: vs. Maryland
11/7: at Indiana
11/14: vs. Minnesota
11/21: vs. Purdue
11/27: at Nebraska
Iowa does get the short end of the stick in the Big Ten West this year, drawing road games against both Wisconsin and Nebraska, but the rest of this schedule isn't all that bad when you think about it. There aren't many games in which you'd think the Hawkeyes will be favored by comfortable margins, but there aren't many in which they'll be double-digit dogs either.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
The Hawkeyes have been used to winning seven games a year, as they have generally fallen right in that 6-8 win range for quite some time. Last year, they finished 7-6. This season, they have a season win total right at seven wins with just the slightest amount of vig on the under at -130.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
The big question for the Hawkeyes this year is going to be whether C.J. Beathard is going to be good enough at quarterback to replace Jake Rudock, who transferred to Michigan. Granted, we didn't have all that much confidence in Rudock as a top-level passer in the Big Ten, but Beathard is still a question mark at this point with just 92 passes thrown last year.
Tevaun Smith might not have the big time stats of some of the elite level receivers, but he has the ability to come up with huge plays. Don't let his 596 receiving yards fool you. Iowa really needs him to step up and be a key cog to the offense this season.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Iowa wasn't very good defensively at times last season, ultimately allowing 25.6 points per game. You might say that the 344.2 yards per game allowed isn't bad, and in fact it isn't. However, the Hawkeyes played in a lot of very short games last year due to the way their offense played ball control with Rudock throwing short passes parlayed with a power running game.
Drew Ott and Desmond King were both All-Big Ten players last season, and they could have bigger impacts than they did last year.
SEASON PREDICTION
Iowa is what it is. It'll win most of the games it should (Illinois State, North Texas, Illinois), and it'll lose most of the games it should (at Wisconsin, at Nebraska). There are a lot of swing games in here though, that will sway whether the Hawkeyes reach their season win total or not.
What we do know is that this team isn't contending for anything aside from a bottom barrel Big Ten bowl game. There's a reason that Iowa is 800 to 1 to win the National Championship.
Sure, the Hawkeyes are probably going to start off at 4-0, but the Big Ten season is going to be really tough on them. Going better than 4-4 in conference play would be a shocker to us unless all of a sudden, Ferentz has found himself a gem in Beathard.
Whether a 6-6 or 7-5 season is enough to keep Ferentz in Iowa City for 2016 would be the biggest question for the Hawkeyes after the season comes to a close.
BookMaker will put out the first point spreads for all of the college football games this season. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on your television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today!
