#7-IOWA HAWKEYES

The seat is getting warm for Kirk Ferentz in Iowa City as he tries to reverse a 3 year trend of winning fewer games than the year before. A quiet offseason and the emergence of some young talent has Hawkeye fans hoping Ferentz can turn around his fortunes once again.

Jake Rudock appears to have won the quarterback competition however he is yet to take a snap in a college game. Despite the inexperience, Rudock figures to be an upgrade over the dismal performance given by James Vandenberg in 2012. For the first time in years, the running back situation appears calm and deep, with Mark Weisman listed as the starter and several others pushing for time as well. The wide receiver group is very much unproven but should be aided by an excellent crop of tight ends highlighted by CJ Fiedorowicz. The strength on the offensive side of the ball for Iowa will be the offensive line, nothing new in Hawkeye land.

In 2012, the Iowa defense was as bad as it has been in a decade. The main reason for this was a defensive line that was subpar by Big Ten standards. This fall, a young and athletic group of lineman move in hoping to regain control of the line of scrimmage. The linebacker group of Hitchens, Morris and Kirksey is solid and reliable as all 3 seniors have years of game experience. In the secondary, the Hawkeyes are waiting for the light bulb to come on for Nico Law. Law oozes talent but thus far has had a difficult time understanding the college game.

An early test vs. Northern Illinois should give us a good idea where the Hawkeyes stand this fall. Weeks later, a trip to Ames will test Iowa as they square off against Iowa State. Iowa misses Illinois, Indiana and Penn State this season which is a tough break as 2 of these teams fall in the bottom 4 of our rankings. The Hawkeyes will be in most games this fall, outside of the dreaded trip to the Horseshoe in mid-October.

PREDICTION: 4-0 non-conference, 3-5 conference, 7-5 overall.