Mr. Optimist and Mr. Pessimist preview Iowa’s season opener at Purdue
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For over two decades, Mr. Optimist and Mr. Pessimist have been debating about Hawkeye athletics, but this is a first.
The following debate, which took place within the last 48 hours at a secret location, marks the first time that they have previewed an Iowa football season opener.
They figured with this being one of the longest off-seasons in program history, and with such surreal circumstances caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, and by the racial tensions surrounding the Iowa program, this game deserves special treatment.
Mr. Optimist always sees the glass half full, while Mr. Pessimist always sees it half empty.
And here’s what they see heading into Saturday’s much-anticipated season opener against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.
This time they even did some research and have statistics to help support their arguments instead of just having conflicting opinions.
Mr. Optimist: Iowa has won four of the last five games at Purdue and 10 of the last 14 games in the series dating back to 2004.
Mr. Pessimist: Purdue has won two of the last three games in the series since Jeff Brohm became the Purdue head coach.
Mr. Optimist: The Iowa defense allowed touchdowns only 44.83 percent of time in the red zone last season. Only Ohio State (41.38) was better among defenses last season as the Hawkeyes ranked No. 7 overall in that category.
Mr. Pessimist: Purdue turned 41 red zone trips into 29 touchdowns and 10 field goals last season, a 95.12 percent scoring rate that ranked second in the Big Ten and fifth in FBS.
Mr. Optimist: Purdue’s running game was woeful last season, averaging just 83.8 yards per game to rank last in the Big Ten in rushing.
Mr. Pessimist: Purdue defeated Iowa in 2017 and 2018 despite rushing for just 65 yards on 29 attempts in the 2017 matchup at Kinnick Stadium and for only 101 yards on 31 attempts in the 2018 game in West Lafayette, Ind.
Mr. Optimist: Purdue will have to overcome some serious distractions with Jeff Brohm and some of his assistant coaches not available to coach on Saturday after having tested positive for COVID-19. Purdue will also reportedly be without five to six players.
Mr. Pessimist: Iowa is coming off a tumultuous offseason filled with distractions that only got worse when eight former black players less than a week ago demanded the removal of Kirk Ferentz, offensive coordinator Brian and Athletic Director Gary Barta, claiming they were subjected to intentional race discrimination by the coaching staff and administration during their times as Hawkeyes.
The players also have threatened to file a $20 million lawsuit if their demands aren’t met.
Mr. Optimist: Iowa returns its top seven receivers from last season, including four who had at least 36 catches.
Mr. Pessimist: Purdue returns two of the best receivers in college football in junior Rondale Moore and sophomore David Bell, who had at least 100 receiving yards in six of the last nine games last season, including 13 catches for 197 yards against Iowa.
Mr. Optimist: Purdue has a 6-12 record since its 2018 upset of then No. 2 Ohio State, including just 4-8 last season.
Mr. Pessimist: Most of Purdue’s problems from last season were caused by injuries and are a considered temporary more than a system failure under Brohm.
Mr. Optimist: Saturday’s game will be the first career start for Iowa sophomore quarterback Spencer Petras, and you could say that he has history on his side. Eight of Iowa’s last nine quarterbacks dating back to 2002 were victorious in their first career start, the exception being 2013 when Iowa lost to Northern Illinois 30-27 in Jake Rudock’s first start.
Mr. Pessimist: Seven of the eight wins with a new quarterback came at Kinnick Stadium and against vastly inferior opponents. The exception was Iowa’s 24-10 victory at Purdue in 2014 in C.J. Beathard’s first career start.
Mr. Optimist: Iowa returns all but one starter on the offensive line, and also has Indiana graduate transfer Coy Cronk ready to make his 41st career start at tackle, and his first start as a Hawkeye.
Mr. Pessimist: Iowa has to replace three of its four starters on the defensive line, including both tackle positions, will be without starting linebacker Djimon Colbert, who opted out of the season due to concerns with COVID-19, and will have two new starters in the secondary with Michael Ojemudia and Geno Stone having moved on to the NFL.
Mr. Optimist: The edge in home-field advantage should be greatly reduced with a limited number of fans in the stands at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday.
Mr. Pessimist: There have been times when it seemed that Iowa had almost as many fans as Purdue for the games in West Lafayette.
Mr. Optimist: The last time Iowa opened the season against a Big Ten opponent was 1980, a 16-7 win at Indiana.
Mr. Pessimist: Iowa would go on to to finish 4-7 that season.
Mr. Optimist: You know the old saying if you have two quarterbacks who both are capable of starting, then really you have none. Well, that’s Purdue heading into Saturday’s game with sophomore Jack Plummer and junior Aidan O’Connell in a hotly contested battle for the starting position. UCLA grad transfer Austin Burton also is the mix for playing time.
Mr. Pessimist: Rondale Moore and David Bell could make a third-string quarterback look pretty good.