Dear Old Gold
Fansided

B10 West Power Ranking: It’s a Mess After Wisconsin

By Jeremy Karll

Oct 22, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) is the first to the Heartland Trophy after their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. The Badgers beat the Hawkeyes 17 to 9. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) is the first to the Heartland Trophy after their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. The Badgers beat the Hawkeyes 17 to 9. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 8
Next
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4 – Iowa Hawkeyes 5-3 (3-2)

Last Week: 3

2015’s 12-0 regular season seems like an eternity ago. The Iowa Hawkeyes have been a mess this season and it continued on Saturday. They didn’t play their worst game, although their offense couldn’t find the end zone, failing to complement the defense. It’s hard to blame Iowa for losing to a then top-10 team, but that’s the position the Hawkeyes were suppose to be in this season.

Now, Iowa sits at 5-3 with little confidence that their offense can score against good defenses. Simply put, if Iowa’s defense doesn’t score or force turnovers, the Hawkeyes will have a very hard time scoring enough to win. It’s shame, too, because the defense has done enough for Iowa to be better than 5-3.

More from Iowa Football

With a bye week coming up, Iowa has a chance to get healthy before taking on top-25 teams such as Penn State, Michigan and Nebraska to end the season. Barring an upset, the Hawkeyes will finish the regular season 6-6, just a year after going undefeated.

There have been some questionable coaching calls and major injuries, but it boils down to Iowa simply not playing well enough. Their defense allowed Northwestern to score 38 points when the offense finally caught fire, and the offense ranks 69th in the nation in points per game.

The Hawkeyes should be bowl eligible, but will need to win their bowl game to finish above .500. At this point, Iowa is still technically not out of the Big Ten West race, but it’s extremely hard to picture a scenario they come out on top.

It’s not how many people envisioned the Hawkeyes’ season going, but a Desmond King return touchdown would definitely sweeten the season a little.

Home/Iowa Football