Iowa football: Know your 2019 opponents, Iowa State

The Iowa football team will travel to Ames this season to face a David Montgomery-less Cyclone team. See who they need to account for in 2019.

The Iowa football team has beaten their in-state rivals four years in a row but must travel to Ames this season to face the Cyclones. Last season, the Iowa football team suffocated the Cyclones on defense and beat them 13-3. Running back David Montgomery accounted for just 44 rushing yards on 17 carries.

The Hawkeyes did a great job of limiting wide receiver Hakeem Butler to just 3 receptions for 35 yards. He would go on to have a near 200-yard receiving performance the following week against Oklahoma. Quarterback Kyle Kempt was granted a sixth year of eligibility last season but left the Iowa game with an injury. The team experimented with Zeb Noland in relief of Kempt, but he proved to be of no improvement.

Later in the season, freshman quarterback, Brock Purdy took over and completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 2,250 passing yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The aforementioned Montgomery will no longer be in the backfield for the Cyclones. Instead, Sheldon Croney, Jr. is projected to be the starter at running back.

The redshirt senior had just 23 carries for 56 yards in 2018 but will get most of the carries this season. His scenario reminds me a lot of Miles Sanders who had 56 carries as a freshman and sophomore behind Saquon Barkley but really shined once it was his turn. The Hawkeye defense should expect similar from Croney in 2019.

As for who will replace Hakeem Butler’s production in the receiving corps, the Cyclones expect big things from senior wide receiver Deshaunte Jones. He quietly hauled in 43 receptions for 366 yards and four touchdowns last season and figures to be Brock Purdy’s number one target.

The Iowa State defense could be one of the best in the nation and will be anchored by senior weak-side defensive end, JaQuan Bailey. He has wreaked havoc in his three years, accumulating 102 total tackles with 31 tackles for loss and 18 sacks. The Iowa offensive line will have their hands full with Bailey as well as senior defensive back Braxton Lewis.

Lewis shined as a full-time player last season and recorded 70 tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack, and four interceptions. Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley will have to be precise and play mistake-free football against the Cyclones this season.

The Iowa football team has won the last four, but they should be on high alert. This is not the same old Cyclones team we’ve seen in years past. While the Iowa football team is showing up in early top-25 rankings so are the Cyclones. This year’s matchup will mark the first in a while that they will be facing a competent quarterback with excellent accuracy. It will definitely be a tough test for a defense breaking in two new starting safeties.