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MaxyJR1

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I know that Nebraska and WI get most of the offseason pub with new coaches, but Iowa seems to be doing really well in the portal. QB, TE, 2OL, and 2 WR coming via the portal to overhaul the offense. Defense will still be good. We'll see how the Ferentz's do with the new model of incorporating a bunch of transfers into their typically developmental culture.
 

I know that Nebraska and WI get most of the offseason pub with new coaches, but Iowa seems to be doing really well in the portal. QB, TE, 2OL, and 2 WR coming via the portal to overhaul the offense. Defense will still be good. We'll see how the Ferentz's do with the new model of incorporating a bunch of transfers into their typically developmental culture.
I fully expect them to be better than WI or Neb. Probably the favorites.
 

Iowa is definitely the team to beat in the west:

Nebraska - new coach, should be better
Wisconsin - new coach, major scheme changes both sides of the ball
Minnesota - replacing a lot of key pieces that have been here a long time
Purdue - new coach in his first job, Brohm an offensive genius…what does their offense look like without him
Northwestern - definitely should be unanimously picked 7th…11 game losing streak and lost some high end talent
Illinois - 8-5 last year, losing an nfl back 4, an nfl running back, and a QB who played great for them. Lost 4 of their last 5 and one of those was to 5-7 Michigan state. Also lost to 4-8 Indiana last year.


Iowa gets the gophers at home (my pick for second)
Iowa crossover
@ penn state (I predict 3rd in east)
Rutgers (I predict 6th in east)
Michigan state (I predict 5th in east)
 

Iowa is definitely the team to beat in the west:

Nebraska - new coach, should be better
Wisconsin - new coach, major scheme changes both sides of the ball
Minnesota - replacing a lot of key pieces that have been here a long time
Purdue - new coach in his first job, Brohm an offensive genius…what does their offense look like without him
Northwestern - definitely should be unanimously picked 7th…11 game losing streak and lost some high end talent
Illinois - 8-5 last year, losing an nfl back 4, an nfl running back, and a QB who played great for them. Lost 4 of their last 5 and one of those was to 5-7 Michigan state. Also lost to 4-8 Indiana last year.


Iowa gets the gophers at home (my pick for second)
Iowa crossover
@ penn state (I predict 3rd in east)
Rutgers (I predict 6th in east)
Michigan state (I predict 5th in east)
Avoiding OSU and Michigan is the biggest advantage.
 

I know that Nebraska and WI get most of the offseason pub with new coaches, but Iowa seems to be doing really well in the portal. QB, TE, 2OL, and 2 WR coming via the portal to overhaul the offense. Defense will still be good. We'll see how the Ferentz's do with the new model of incorporating a bunch of transfers into their typically developmental culture.
Ferentz Jr. may not have any idea how to use talented players in a way that keeps his job.
There are many interesting experiments that will be done in the West next year that should make for interesting Saturdays.
 



You can get a lot of portal bodies ... and still not get good ones.

Generally with the portal I just think teams are adding players "in the mix" and maybe a rare "high % starter / productive guy". Are Iowa's additions really good?
 

I know that Nebraska and WI get most of the offseason pub with new coaches, but Iowa seems to be doing really well in the portal. QB, TE, 2OL, and 2 WR coming via the portal to overhaul the offense. Defense will still be good. We'll see how the Ferentz's do with the new model of incorporating a bunch of transfers into their typically developmental culture.
The OL transfers seem decent but not great. The QB and TE both have potential to improve the offense. The WRs seem like wildcards, the OSU guy was rated high but hasn’t done anything yet, the other guy is from FCS and didn’t have mind blowing production, and they lost a some of their best wrs to the portal, so not sure they’ve upgraded there. The linebacker from UVA is a big get for their defense. Now if they could get a transfer OC…
 

You can get a lot of portal bodies ... and still not get good ones.

Generally with the portal I just think teams are adding players "in the mix" and maybe a rare "high % starter / productive guy". Are Iowa's additions really good?
I like how Fleck manages the portal. Basically he seems to look for three types.
1. instant impact guys that can push to start, usually multi year guys.
2. guys with potential with lots of eligibility that can develop.
3. depth pieces with a year or two of eligibility.
 



I know that Nebraska and WI get most of the offseason pub with new coaches, but Iowa seems to be doing really well in the portal. QB, TE, 2OL, and 2 WR coming via the portal to overhaul the offense. Defense will still be good. We'll see how the Ferentz's do with the new model of incorporating a bunch of transfers into their typically developmental culture.
247 only shows 1 WR and it was a guy already on the roster. Did some others just happen?

It will be interesting to see if their defense takes a step back kind of how Wisconsin's did after they lost some truly great players. I would still expect their D to be very good but guys like VanNess, Campbell and Moss are not easy to replace.
 

The bar in the west continues to rise. Someday maybe we’ll get over that hump. PJ continues to do well recruiting but will need to keep doing better especially when divisions are gone.
 

The bar in the west continues to rise. Someday maybe we’ll get over that hump. PJ continues to do well recruiting but will need to keep doing better especially when divisions are gone.
I often think if PJ wasn't here we would have gotten trampled with a lot of 3 win seasons as the West seems to be getting better.
 

You can get a lot of portal bodies ... and still not get good ones.

Generally with the portal I just think teams are adding players "in the mix" and maybe a rare "high % starter / productive guy". Are Iowa's additions really good?
The best thing is to get transfers that aren't just talented bodies, but whose strengths and attitudes fit pretty seamlessly into what you want your team identity to be. PJ is really good at that. The Ferentzes, this year, might well have used the portal with precision to move out of extreme offensive doldrums to a viable offense virtually overnight. Time will tell.

I don't think Iowa's defense can be as good as it was for the past two years. Too many experienced studs gone to the NFL--like losing three Tyler Nubins in one year. But its defense will still be damn good. And the key personnel infusions via the portal mean that Iowa's offense should be much, much better than the smelly turd it was over the past two years ... unless Brian Ferentz really is as bad as some think.

I think we kind of blew our chance to beat Iowa in 2021 and 2022, when it had an offense that couldn't find its way to the end zone. Now we will face an Iowa team that most likely has a functioning, perhaps even formidable offense to complement its rugged defense. But, in classic PJ fashion, maybe this is the year we finally beat Iowa, defying the odds.
 



247 only shows 1 WR and it was a guy already on the roster. Did some others just happen?

It will be interesting to see if their defense takes a step back kind of how Wisconsin's did after they lost some truly great players. I would still expect their D to be very good but guys like VanNess, Campbell and Moss are not easy to replace.
Iowa has a very good, athletic QB transfer (albeit one coming off an injury) and two excellent TEs (one a Michigan transfer). Iowa will still run its offense, first, through the TEs and RBs--but, for the first time in a few years, with an athletic and competent QB.
 

Have a brother who lives in Iowa and I get an ear full every time I talk to him (much to my dislike). The word down in Iowa is they believe their defense will be very very good again ——a lot of studs coming back—along with their real good punter and kicker. If their offense is much improved due to their new quarterback and tight end they could be very hard to beat —for everyone
 

I think Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska will all be in the mix. Would not be surprised if any of them finish 1-4 with 5-7 conference wins.
 

Have a brother who lives in Iowa and I get an ear full every time I talk to him (much to my dislike). The word down in Iowa is they believe their defense will be very very good again ——a lot of studs coming back—along with their real good punter and kicker. If their offense is much improved due to their new quarterback and tight end they could be very hard to beat —for everyone

Iowa fans are underestimating the loss of Jack Campbell. Iowa has some great defensive players coming back and they'll likely put out a stingy D but there is no replacing him in the middle of their D and in the locker room.
 

Have a brother who lives in Iowa and I get an ear full every time I talk to him (much to my dislike). The word down in Iowa is they believe their defense will be very very good again ——a lot of studs coming back—along with their real good punter and kicker. If their offense is much improved due to their new quarterback and tight end they could be very hard to beat —for everyone
So the same as they are every year?
 

247 only shows 1 WR and it was a guy already on the roster. Did some others just happen?

They got a transfer WR from OSU yesterday who was behind a bunch of first round picks. Kid from Illinois who was the #13 high school WR in the country one year ago. He played a little bit as a freshman last year. He'll have three years of eligibility.

After a couple of years of ignoring the portal, Iowa doing some work in that regard now. NIL is a factor for them, they have some money to go get people, including the Michigan QB and TE; and now the OSU WR.
 

Iowa fans are underestimating the loss of Jack Campbell. Iowa has some great defensive players coming back and they'll likely put out a stingy D but there is no replacing him in the middle of their D and in the locker room.
I still think their d will be very good.
Might not be a top 5 in the country d like last year. Will still be a top 20 d though
 

247 only shows 1 WR and it was a guy already on the roster. Did some others just happen?

It will be interesting to see if their defense takes a step back kind of how Wisconsin's did after they lost some truly great players. I would still expect their D to be very good but guys like VanNess, Campbell and Moss are not easy to replace.
Iowa seems to have no problems reloading on defense.
 



They got a transfer WR from OSU yesterday who was behind a bunch of first round picks. Kid from Illinois who was the #13 high school WR in the country one year ago. He played a little bit as a freshman last year. He'll have three years of eligibility.

After a couple of years of ignoring the portal, Iowa doing some work in that regard now. NIL is a factor for them, they have some money to go get people, including the Michigan QB and TE; and now the OSU WR.
I thought they were lagging behind on NIL. Weren’t they one of the last P5s to organize a collective? They are getting some transfers that think they are walking into P5 playing time, I don’t think NIL has anything to do with it.
 

I would think Iowa would have some pretty dedicated corn and hog farmers willing to back some NIL, maybe throw in some free BBQ lunches.

State still smells like manure, though. Feel bad for the transfers that don't know this yet.
 


I thought they were lagging behind on NIL. Weren’t they one of the last P5s to organize a collective? They are getting some transfers that think they are walking into P5 playing time, I don’t think NIL has anything to do with it.

The Iowa collective - called The Swarm - is quite active and 100% played a role in landing the Michigan QB and TE, and this OSU WR. The Michigan QB got a substantial chunk of NIL money to play his final two years at Iowa.
 

Iowa seems to have no problems reloading on defense.
I have zero doubt that they will still be very good on defense but I also think it is highly likely they take a step back as well.

That defense last year was unbelievable and the only thing that kept them in most games while their offense was out there crapping all over themselves.
 

I have zero doubt that they will still be very good on defense but I also think it is highly likely they take a step back as well.

That defense last year was unbelievable and the only thing that kept them in most games while their offense was out there crapping all over themselves.
How many actual hard tests did they face from opposing offenses, last year?

In Iowa City, Michigan put up 27. Then in Columbus, OSU put up 54.


Up until the last week of the season, when they crapped the bed against Nebraska, no other team put up more than 13 on them.

We ran the damn ball every friggin play against them, other than the one series where we scored our only TD by throwing the ball 4 times and then never going back to that.

Some test we gave them there ...
 

How many actual hard tests did they face from opposing offenses, last year?

In Iowa City, Michigan put up 27. Then in Columbus, OSU put up 54.


Up until the last week of the season, when they crapped the bed against Nebraska, no other team put up more than 13 on them.

We ran the damn ball every friggin play against them, other than the one series where we scored our only TD by throwing the ball 4 times and then never going back to that.

Some test we gave them there ...
They couldn’t stop it until we coughed up the ball.
 




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