By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A narrative seems to be building as the Iowa football team’s season opener against South Dakota State on Sept. 3 at Kinnick Stadium approaches.

Iowa isn’t ranked in either preseason poll, Athlon Sports has picked Iowa to finish third in the Big Ten West Division behind Wisconsin and Purdue, and Joshua Perry from the Big Ten Network has Iowa ninth in his Big Ten power rankings, and one spot behind Maryland, which Iowa defeated 51-14 last season in College Park, Maryland.

So, if Kirk Ferentz is looking for ways to motivate his players, finding disrespect should be easy.

Iowa certainly has problems on offense that have festered for two seasons, as well as having key players that have to be replaced on offense, defense and special teams.

But Iowa also won the Big Ten West Division last season, and 10 games overall, and many of the key players from that team return for this season.

Iowa will be challenged by its schedule, which includes games at Ohio State, Purdue and Minnesota, but Iowa State, Michigan and Wisconsin also have to play at Kinnick Stadium.

All these factors were taken into consideration as I did my Big Ten preseason rankings.

Here is where the teams stands right now:

1. Ohio State: This is one of the very few programs in the country in which an 11-win season, including a victory in the Rose Bowl, isn’t enough to satisfy a spoiled fan base.

So, as strange as it might seem, Ohio State is coming off a disappointing 11-win season because it lost to Michigan and didn’t even make the Big Ten Championship game.

This year’s team, in addition to being incredibly talented as usual, should also have extra motivation from failing to live up to Ohio State’s high standards last season.

Sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud is considered one of the early frontrunners for the 2022 Heisman Trophy after passing 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns last season.

He lost two dynamic receivers to the 2022 NFL draft as Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave both were picked in the first round, but junior Jaxon Smith-Njigba returns after having led the Buckeyes with 95 receptions for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns last season.

Smith-Njigba was at his best in the Rose Bowl where he hauled in 15 passes for 347 yards and three scores in a 48-45 win over Utah.

To help put that in perspective, Keagan Johnson finished second for Iowa in receiving yards last season with 352 yards on 18 catches.

Ohio State also has one of the top running backs in the country in sophomore TreVeyon Henderson, who rushed for 1,248 yards and scored 15 touchdowns as a true freshman last season.

But it starts on offense with Stroud, who completed 71.9 percent of his passes last season, and only threw six interceptions on 317 attempts.

There is work to do on defense with just five returning starters.

But nobody except for maybe Alabama reloads better than the Buckeyes.

Combine the high level of talent and experience with having failed to meet expectations last season and Ryan Day’s squad should be on a mission to reclaim its spot on top of the Big Ten.

2. Michigan: Jim Harbaugh finally beat the Buckeyes last season and won the Big Ten East Division for the first time.

But now the question is whether Michigan can sustain that level of success?

Eight starters return from an explosive offense that torched Iowa for 42 points in the Big Ten title game, including senior quarterback Cade McNamara.

Hassan Haskins will certainly be missed at running back after having rushed for 1,327 yards last season.

But the cupboard hardly is bare as Blake Corum returns after having rushed for 952 yards last season. He also averaged 6.6 yards per carry and scored 11 touchdowns.

Ronnie Bell also returns at receiver after having suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the 2021 season opener.

When healthy, Bell is one of the top receivers in the conference.

Michigan also has a dynamic backup at quarterback in sophomore J.J. McCarthy, who passed for 516 yards in spot duty last season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if McCarthy played a bigger role this season.

Defensively, eight starters have to be replaced, including All-America defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who was taken third overall in the 2022 NDL draft by the Detroit Lions, linebacker David Ojabo and safety Daxon Hill.

But as is the case with Ohio State, the level of talent is always high at Michigan. So, while there could be some growing pains on defense, there is plenty of talented players ready to make name for themselves.

3. Wisconsin: There is a lot of evidence to support the belief that Wisconsin is just one decent quarterback from being elite.

Graham Mertz returns for his third season as the starting quarterback in what could be a make-or-break season for the former prep superstar. He has been mediocre at best as the starter.

Mertz actually threw more interceptions (11) than touchdown passes (10) last season, and yet, the Badgers still won nine games and crushed Iowa 27-7 at home.

Mertz is fortunate to have one of the best running backs in the conference in sophomore Braelon Allen, who grinded his way to 1,268 yards last season while avergaing 6.8 yards per carry.

Allen led the FBS in rushing yards when facing an eight-man box last season with 814 yards, and yards after contact (4.5). according to PFF.

He will obviously be a focal point on offense, but he can’t do it alone.

Mertz, or whoever plays quaterback, will also have to do their part for Wisconsin to have any chance at being a national contender.

Only three starters return from a rock-solid defense that led the nation in rushing defense and total defense last season.

But Wisconsin also has one of the top defensive coordinators in college football in Jim Leonhard, who was an All-Big Ten safety for the Badgers.

Leonhard has some work to do, but he also has plenty to work with from a talent and culture standpoint.

4. Michigan State: One player certainly doesn’t make or break a football team, but the loss of running back Kenneth Walker III is significant, and reason to doubt whether the Spartans can match last season’s 11 wins.

Walker left early for the NFL after having been a star in his only season at Michigan State where he rushed for 1,636 yards and scored 18 touchdowns last season.

The good news is that Payton Thorne returns at quarterback after having set a school record with 27 touchdown passes last season. He also passed for over 3,000 yards and showed poise in the pocket and the ability to escape from the pocket.

The program is without question trending in the right direction under third-year head coach Mel Tucker, but much of the rebuild has been done through the transfer portal, so, it’s hard to judge how sustainable the success is at this point.

The top two candidates to replace Walker at running back are Colorado transfer Jarek Broussard and Wisconsin transfer Jalen Berger.

There appears to be a solid nucleus on the offensive line where there are proven performers at all five positions, led by returning  starters Jarrett Horst at left tackle, J.D. Duplain at left guard and Nick Samac at center.

Eight starters also return on defense, including four starters in the secondary.

So, there is definitely reason to be optimistic, even with Walker having moved on.

5. Iowa: The Hawkeyes are similar to Wisconsin in how they managed to win a majority of their games over the past two seasons despite being hampered by inconsistency at quarterback.

Senior Spencer Petras is entering his third season as the starter, but has yet to complete 60 percent of his passes for a season.

Iowa is also thin at receiver due partly to attirtion and because of injuries, and the running game only averaged 123.1 yards per game last season.

Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who is Kirk Ferentz’s son, is under a lot of pressure to fix his sputtering offense and whether Brian succeeds or not will depend largely on the quarterback play.

Iowa won 10 games last season due mostly to having a top-notch defense and reliable special teams.

The defense should be strong again with eight starters returning, including star linebacker Jack Campbell and fifth-year senior cornerback Riley Moss. But there are questions on special teams where All-America kicker Caleb Shudak and 2021 Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year Charlie Jones both have to be replaced.

Punter should again be a strength with junior Tory Taylor having averaged 46.1 yards on 80 attempts last season.

Iowa also gets to face Michigan and Wisconsin at home, although, the Badgers have won five of the last six games at Kinnick Stadium.

6. Purdue: Some would argue that Purdue should be ranked ahead of Iowa.

And maybe so with Purdue having won four of the last five games against the Hawkeyes.

But it seems more a case that Purdue has Iowa’s number, while Iowa is better at sustaining success.

Iowa lost to Purdue at home last season, but still would go on to win the West Division and 10 games overall, while Purdue finished 9-4, its highest win total since 2003.

The Boilermakers are obviously moving in the right direction under head coach Jeff Brohm, whose spread offense just causes fits for Iowa, and for most of the teams in the Big Ten.

Purdue’s problems have mostly been on defense, but there were signs of improvement last season when the Boilermakers ranked seventh in the conference in scoring defense (22.4) and eighth in total defense (366.6)

Purdue should receive a major boost on special teams with the addition of former Iowa receiver Charlie Jones, who surprised a lot of people by transferring in early June.

Former Iowa receiver Tyrone Tracy Jr. also has transferred to Purdue.

So, there should be plenty of emotion when the teams meet on Nov. 5 in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The good news for Iowa is that former Purdue receiver and Hawkeye nemesis David Bell has moved on to the NFL.

7. Penn State: How far this once might program has fallen.

The Nittany Lions have gone 11-11 over the past two seasons and they lost six of their last eight games last season to finish just 7-6 overall.

The return of veteran quarterback Sean Clifford is huge for the offense, but most of Penn State’s problems on offense have been caused by poor line play.

Penn State simply has to get better on the line of scrimmage to have any chance of  being a contender this season.

The pressure is building on James Franklin as he enters his ninth season as the Penn State head coach. His name often gets mentioned for other coaching jobs, but that might stop if the struggles continue.

8. Minnesota: The Gophers have to replace four starters from a very effective offensive line, and quarterback Tanner Morgan returns after having thrown just 10 touchpown passes and nine interceptions last season.

That explains why Minnesota isn’t ranked higher after winning nine games last season.

P.J. Fleck has rebuilt the program and made the Gophers a factor in the West Division.

But his ability to reload on the offensive line will be tested this season, and his passing game has to get better.

Minnesota ranked 118th in passing yards per game (162.0) last season and fourth from last in attempts (257), ahead of only the three service academies.

Minnesota always seems to have good running backs, and that is the case again this season with senior Mohamed Ibrahim now healthy, and with Trey Potts and Bryce Williams both proven as backups.

Minnesota at times was down to its fifth running back last season, but the running game kept producing, which says a lot about the foundation that Fleck has built.

Big things were expected from Ibrahim last season, but he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the 2021 season opener and hasn’t played since.

When healthy, Ibrahim is a dynamic performer as he showed in 2020 by rushing for 1,076 yards in just seven games.

Seven starters return on defense where the Gophers made considerable improvement last season.

Minnesota finished last season ranked in the top to nationally in scoring defense (17.3) and total defense (278.8).

Fleck certainly has the program that Hayden Fry once called a sleeping giant moving in the right direction

But Fleck’s inability to defeat Iowa, which has won the last seven games in the series, his struggling passing game and his rebuild on the offensive line are enough to keep the Gophers from being ranked any higher.

9. Maryland: Brian Williams is Maryland’s fourth defensive coordinator since 2019.

To help put that in perspective, Iowa has had four defensive coordinators since 1979.

Scoring points isn’t a problem for Maryland under head coach Mike Locksley.

The problems are on defense where Maryland allowed at least 31 points in seven games last season, including 66 in a loss to Ohio State and 59 in a loss to Michigan.

Seven starters return from that defemse, but it’s hard to say if that’s good or bad news.

Maryland should be explosive on offense behind junior quarterback Taulia Tagoviloa, who passed for 3,860 yards and 26 touchdowns last season.

He will be surrounded by talented skill players on offense, and will play behind a veteran offensive line that returns four starters.

But will the Terrapins have enough on defense to keep games from being offensive shootouts?

This ranking would say probably not.

10. Nebraska: Scott Frost is coaching for his job this season, and it’ll probably take at least six wins to save it.

The Cornhuskers always seem capable of winning six games, at least on paper, but Frost has yet to reach that win total in four seasons at his alma mater.

Texas transfer Casey Thompson was recently named the starter at quarterback as Nebraska moves on from Adrian Martinez, who transferred to Kansas State.

The hope is that Thompson will bring more consistency to the passing game.

But the concern with Nebraska is at the line of scrimmage where multiple starters have to be replaced on the the offensive line and defensive line.

11. Illinois: Bret Bielema was close to having Illinois in a bowl game last season, finishing 5-7 in his debut as head coach with four of the losses by a touchdown or less.

Six starters return from a defense that finished a respectable 29th in scoring defense last season. Illinois also jumped from No. 114 in total defense in 2020 to No. 46 last season.

The biggest concern is on offense, or, more specifically at quarterback.

The hope is that Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito will be a one-year solution at quarterback.

DeVito passed for 2,360 yards for Syracuse in 2019, but that was also three years ago.

12. Rutgers: If football games were decided solely by punting, Rutgers would be like Alabama.

Senior Adam Korsak returns for his senior season after having averaged 45.25 yards per punt last season.

There is some talent at the skill positions on both offense and defense, but also concerns on the line of scrimmage.

Gavin Wimsatt, a four-star recruit from Kentucky, is expected to take over at quarterback, but Noah Vedral should also be in the mix after starting last season. Vedral started his career at Nebraska.

13. Northwestern: Pat Fitzgerald has been at times a miracle worker at Northwestern, but even his magic only goes so far.

It still takes talented players to win games, but right now Northwestern has a lack of talent on offense, especially at the skill positions.

The defense also dropped from fifth nationally in points allowed in 2020 to 89th last season.

Fitzgerald has proven the naysayers wrong many times before, and he will have a chance to do it again this season, but only if the offense improves dramatically.

14. Indiana: Tom Allen at least won’t have to deal with high expectations as was the case last season.

The Hoosiers were ranked 17th nationally when they lost to Iowa 34-6 in the 2021 season opener at Kinnick Stadium.

To say that Indiana never recovered from that loss would be an understatement as it finished 2-10 overall and winless in conference play.

Allen has been described as a player’s coach and is known for his ability to inspire his players.

But something obviously broke down last season as Indiana lost all nine Big Ten games and was outscored 316 to 94 in those nine games.

A quick fix this fall would seem unlikely.