Week two of the college football season is almost here, and there are some good matchups lined up for Saturday. Week one provided a lot of excitement, and we are ready to do it all again in just a couple of days. One of the best matchups of the weekend features the Iowa football team and in-state rival Iowa State. The Cyclones are traveling to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes, and this is a massive game for each team. Whoever comes out on top in this one is going to be in great shape as conference play approaches.
Both Iowa and Iowa State are hoping to contend for their conference crowns and both are hoping to make a trip to the College Football Playoff this season. The CFP is expanded now and 12 teams will be making it. That obviously makes it much easier to qualify, and it gives teams like Iowa and Iowa State a chance to make it. Neither team has made the CFP before, but it could happen this year. This game is one of the more tricky matchups that both of these teams have, so whoever wins will be feeling very good.
Before we take a deeper look into this matchup and make some predictions, let’s take a closer look at both of these teams.
Iowa football scored 40 points in week one
The biggest question mark surrounding the Iowa football team heading into the season was their offense, and it still is. The Hawkeyes have had one of the best defenses in college football in recent years, but their offense has been one of the worst. Yes, defense wins championships, but they need their offense to show a little bit of life. For example, in three of their biggest games last year, the Hawkeyes scored zero points. Against Penn State, Michigan and Tennessee, Iowa did not score one point.
Michigan ended up winning the national championship, and Iowa’s defense gave them maybe the most fits out of any other team. One touchdown that the Wolverines scored was because of a punt return that set them up with a first and goal, and the other one was because of a turnover that set them up with golden field position as well. The defense more than did their job in that game, but the offense not only scored zero points, they also set Michigan up with some easy scores.
This year, the Iowa offense absolutely has to be way better than last if they want to have a successful year. Their defense is going to be good, and if their offense can just be okay, the team can be really good. Unfortunately, just okay is quite a step up from where they were last year.
In week one, the offense looked a lot better than it did last year. The Hawkeyes played Illinois State last week, so the competition wasn’t very stiff, but they did exactly what they needed to do, and they scored more points than they have scored in a long time.
Iowa’s defense once again played a great game as they gave up zero points, and the offense surprised a lot of people, scoring 40. That is exactly what this team needed, and they now have some momentum going forward.
Iowa State took care of business in week one
Iowa State also won their week one game as they easily handled North Dakota. The Cyclones didn’t have very much trouble as their defense played great and gave up only three points. They probably would’ve liked to see their offense play a little better though as they scored just 21 points.
The Cyclones are a bit of a sleeper this year in the Big 12, and we are going to find out a lot about this team this weekend against Iowa. The Big 12 doesn’t have a ton of top teams and it is very wide open this year. It feels like anyone could make a run and win it, and the Cyclones are definitely one of those teams.
If the Iowa State football team can go on the road and take down their rival this weekend, they are going to be in great shape. It will show that they are legit, and it will give the team confidence going forward.
It’s not going to be easy. Kinnick Stadium is one of the hardest places to play in college football, and it is going to be rocking on Saturday. Iowa State is going to give it all that they got.
This game is going to be a lot of fun, and it is definitely one of the top week two matchups. Here are three predictions for the rivalry game.
Cade McNamara will throw for 200-250 yards
© Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
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This isn’t that bold of a prediction, but for the Iowa offense, it’s more bold than it looks. Last week, Cade McNamara threw for 251 yards and he tossed three touchdown passes. Not that crazy of a stat line for most teams, but that does not happen at Iowa very often. With how good this defense is, performances like that are more than getting the job done. McNamara will have a solid game again this weekend.
The Iowa football defense will give up under 10 points
The Iowa State football team is not going to score a lot of points this weekend. This should be a low-scoring slugfest, and it would be surprising if the Cyclones got to double digit points. The Iowa football team pitched a shutout in their week one win against Illinois State, and they could do that again this weekend.
Iowa football will win by two scores
This should be a pretty close game for awhile, but Iowa is going to pull away and win this one comfortably at home. If the Hawkeyes can play well on offense again, they could end up winning by a lot, because their defense is going to shut Iowa State down. This will be a big rivalry win for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa and Iowa State will kick off at 3:30 ET on Saturday from Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. The game will be airing on CBS, and the Hawkeyes are currently favored by three points.
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 02:06:00
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