After nearly eight months after playing in the Insight Bowl, the Iowa Hawkeyes will take the field to begin its 122nd season as a collegiate football program. While there is not much to be said about a game that fans have been waiting for the entire offseason, I will try to give my thoughts about things that I am curious to see on Saturday. Here are my thoughts.
Who? A program or printed roster will be everyone’s friend on Saturday. With the news earlier this week that Kirk Ferentz plans to play a number of freshmen and the impending season-long defensive line rotation, many
Iowa fans will be scrambling to determine who is in the game. While Ferentz has been coy about which freshmen will play, if I had to venture a guess, I would posture that Mik’ail McCall, Jordan Canzeri, Ray Hamilton, Torrey Campbell, and Darian Cooper will all see playing time on Saturday. Perhaps others will see team through special teams, but the number thrown out has been anywhere from four to eight.
Defensive Line Rotation. The million dollar question for this season is the quality and dependability of the defensive line. It does not take ownership of an internet domain devoted to Hawkeye sports or a column featured an Iowa newspaper to figure out that this unit’s ability will dictate how well the defense does this season. While I made my thoughts clear that I am skeptical about this unit, I am curious to see how they perform against an offense that is predicated on quick tempo—a fortuitous offense to face in anticipation of next Saturday’s matchup against that other team in Iowa. Call me crazy, but I think Broderick Binns has a better season this year. Scott Dochterman of the Cedar Rapids Gazette had an interesting piece about Binns and how his DUI arrest from last summer really seemed to affect mentality, which arguably derailed him for the remainder of the season. While I think everyone knows what the line has with Mike Daniels and Binns, we are all curious to see how Lebron Daniel, Thomas Nardo, Joe Forgy, Mike Hardy, Dominic Alvis and Steve Bigach play. Kudos to those of you who even recognize those last five names. Bonus points to those of you who can match a name with a jersey number.
Offensive Line Dominance. A healthy dose of stretch plays will be on display Saturday, as Ken O’Keefe will likely try to wear down the Tennessee Tech defense before getting its defensive backfield to bite on play action. While Marcus Coker and Mik’ail McCall will have plenty of big holes to run through, keep your eye on Jason White. The walk-on junior from Davenport is still listed as the number two running back on this week’s depth chart. Pat Harty of the Iowa Press Citizen wrote a great column about White and his dreams about being an Iowa Hawkeye. After reading that column, I really hope that he is able to earn a scholarship and have some meaningful, productive carries this season. Two years ago I said that Iowa would miss Rob Bruggeman the most. Last year I said that the defense would miss A.J. Edds the most. This year I think the team will sorely miss three year starter Brett Morse at fullback. Morse quietly paved the way for Shonn Greene, Adam Robinson, and company for the past three season. Matt Meyers was listed as the first team fullback in this week’s depth chart. As long as the young man keeps James Vandenberg upright and does not miss any linebackers hunting the Iowa running backs, he will have done his job and anything beyond that is gravy.
Every fan of every football team has the same laundry list of curiosities heading into a season opener, and I am sure you have your own. Rather than list those, I think it is more appropriate to wait and see how things shake out on Saturday. Enjoy the start of the season, there are twelve weeks of Hawkeye football ahead of us and for that we can all be thankful.
Prediction: Iowa 38 Tennessee Tech 10
Pick to Click: Mike Daniels
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