By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – This coming Saturday in the Big House at Michigan, the question of whether the Iowa football team’s nonconference schedule was fools gold or a sign of something special brewing will start to gain some clarity.

No. 18 Iowa is 3-0 and its offense is performing so well that the defense is sort of an afterthought, even with two shutouts in the first three games.

Victories over Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa by a combined score of 95-0, coupled with a 16-13 win over Iowa State in game two, has created a mix of optimism and some skepticism.

The offense was explosive and highly efficient in the two wins against overmatched opponents, but against the one power conference opponent Iowa has faced so far, the offense looked more ordinary than extraordinary.

It wasn’t that long when the Iowa offense was a laughingstock and a national punchline for having produced historically low numbers, with the 2023 season probably the lowest point under head coach Kirk Ferentz.

The offense rarely has been a strength under Kirk Ferentz, so even with all of the eyebrow-raising statistics after three games, it probably would be wise to take a wait-and-see attitude.

Tim Lester, in his third season as Iowa’s offensive coordinator, has certainly been an upgrade, while the Iowa offensive line has flourished under its position coach, George Barnett.

The win over Northern Iowa was such a mismatch that at times it seemed as if the Panthers were playing with eight or nine players on defense.

Iowa rushed for 422 yards and averaged 10.3 yards per carry.

Iowa quarterback Hank Brown also completed all 12 of his passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

The quarterback competition between Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski appears to have been decided, at least for now.

Brown has started all three games, and the only time he and Hecklinski have rotated was in the first half of the 40-0 victory over Northern Illinois in the season opener.

Kirk Ferentz was asked in his post-game press conference on Saturday if Brown is the starter moving forward?

“Yeah, I guess I’d say he’s our starter,” Ferentz said. “This will be the third time, or today was the third time. He’s helped himself with every opportunity.”

Brown has made five career starts overall in college, the first two coming at Auburn in 2024.

This coming Saturday’s game at Michigan will be his first start against a Big Ten opponent, and his first start on the road for Iowa.

Michigan is also 3-0 after defeating UTEP 52-17 this past Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but not without some controversy, which came in the 13-12 victory over Western Michigan on Sept. 5.

Michigan won on a Hail Mary pass after the replay official had put one second back on the clock when Wolverine quarterback Bryce Underwood’s first try was incomplete.

The Mid-America Conference, of which Western Michigan is a member, protested the result, but to no avail as the CFP said it “does not have the authority to change or otherwise alter the outcome of games during the regular season.”

Former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is in his first season as the Michigan head coach, and while he’s 3-0 in his new job, there have been some struggles, mostly on offense where Michigan has fumbled six times in three games, losing four.

Underwood, a former five-star recruit, also has been hot and cold as Michigan’s starting quarterback, though his athleticism is always a threat.

Iowa, meanwhile, has shown big-play capability on offense for a change, including averaging 10.0 yards per play against Northern Iowa.

Running back Xavier Williams had touchdowns runs of 48, 16 and 37 yards against the Panthers, while fellow running back Braeden Jackson had a 62-yard touchdown run and a 24-yard touchdown catch.

Starting running back Kamari Moulton, who missed the Northern Iowa game due to an injury, also had touchdown runs of 50 and 37 yards in the season opener against Northern Illinois, while receiver Tony Diaz had a 56-yard catch that set up Iowa’s only touchdown in the win over Iowa State.

That’s a lot of explosive plays for an offense that used to struggle just a few years ago to make first downs and complete passes.

But again, two of Iowa’s three opponents have left much to be desired from a talent standpoint, making it hard to know for sure if the offense truly is evolving, and if the defense, which has eight new starters, is once again a strength.

“There are a lot of things you look at. We’re still a little bit behind in a couple areas, but they’re making the effort and trying to do things the way we want them to,” Kirk Ferentz said of his team. “When you do that, that’s how growth and improvement take place.

“I think that’s kind of the overriding theme, and again, we’re only a quarter of the way. As easy as it sounds to get ready for three games and go, it’s not always easily done. So at least we’re off to a good start there. Then you hope having a little success, they figure out like, it actually works if we do things the way we’re supposed to do them. None of this stuff is rocket science, but hopefully that’s getting reinforced a little bit with them right now.”

It is reasonable to believe that Michigan will load the box to stop the run, and to put more pressure on Brown as a passer.

Iowa State used that strategy and it came close to working.

Northern Iowa, on the other hand, was completely overmatched on both sides of the line of scrimmage as Iowa beat the Panthers for the 18th straight times, with most of the game not even competitive.

The few times when the games have been competitive, like for example in 2012 when Iowa won 27-16 after trailing 10-7 after the first quarter, Iowa has usually gone on to struggle, including finishing 4-8 in 2012, its last losing season under Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa also had a close game against Northern Iowa in 2014, winning 31-23 in the season opener. That is the most points that Northern Iowa has scored against the Hawkeyes, who would go on to finish just 7-6 that season.

The one outlier, of course was the 2009 game when Iowa had to block two Northern Iowa field goals in the final seconds to escape with a 17-16 victory. Iowa would go on finish 11-2 that season, making the close call against Northern Iowa a fluke.

And while Iowa can’t be any better than 3-0 after three games, how it has reached this point can certainly be scrutinized from playing what can fairly be described as an easy nonconference schedule.