Iowa FB predictions, rankings and a look back at 2015 big plays
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Here is a look ahead to the 2016 college football season and a look back at Iowa’s historical 2015 season all rolled into one column.
My top three Heisman Trophy candidates:
1. Deshaun Watson, QB, Jr., Clemson – He was my pick a year ago to win the Heisman Trophy after becoming the first player in college football history to top 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season.
2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Sr., Stanford – He might have won the Heisman Trophy last season if voters were allowed to wait until after the Rose Bowl game against Iowa in which he finished with 368 all-purpose yards – including 100-plus rushing and 100-plus receiving – in the Cardinal’s 45-16 victory over Iowa.
3. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jr. Louisiana State – He led the nation last season with an average of 162.8 rushing yards per game.
16 predictions for the 2016 Big Ten season
1. Wisconsin will have a very misleading 2-4 record when it faces Iowa on Oct. 22 at Kinnick Stadium. Its losses will have come against Louisiana State on a neutral site, at Michigan State, at Michigan and at home against Ohio State.
2. George Kittle will be the first tight end to lead Iowa in receiving yards since Alan Cross had 640 receiving yards in 1991.
3. Iowa will not have a 1,000-yard rusher, but it will have two running backs – LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley – who rush for over 800 yards apiece.
4. Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck will be a Big Ten head coach by the middle of December.
5. Iowa will defeat Iowa State by fewer than six points and will win seven games by fewer than 10 points.
6. Urban Meyer’s record as the Ohio State coach will fall to 52-5 with a close loss at Oklahoma in the third game of the season.
7. West Des Moines Dowling graduate Amara Darboh will lead Michigan in catches and receiving yards this season.
8. Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard won’t go through a second consecutive season without having at least one 300-yard passing performance.
9. The weather will be a major storyline for all the wrong reasons during Iowa’s night game against Michigan on Nov. 12 at Kinnick Stadium.
10. Running back Toks Akrinibade and tight ends Noah Fant and Shaun Beyer all will play as true freshmen this season.
11. The environment created by facing Iowa State in a night game will convince UI officials to play the annual showdown in the afternoon from that point on.
12. Nebraska will fail to win at least nine games for the second consecutive season under second-year head coach Mike Riley after winning at least nine games in each of Bo Pelini’s seven seasons as head coach.
13. Iowa junior linebacker Josey Jewell will lead the Big Ten in tackles with at least 130.
14. Iowa senior cornerback Desmond King will not match his eight interceptions from last season, largely because opposing quarterback will be reluctant to throw his way.
15. The NCAA will ban sleepovers after Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is seen on tape playing Pokemon Go at 3 a.m. in the backyard of a key recruit’s house.
16. Iowa will add at least one more recruit from the state of Texas to its 2017 recruiting class, which currently has five Texas natives.
Iowa’s 2016 breakout performers
Offense: Jay Scheel, WR, 6-1, 190, soph. – An Internet sensation since arriving at Iowa, he’ll finally get his chance to make a significant contribution in year three. A breakout performer in this case will mean catching at least 20 passes during the season.
Defense: Brandon Snyder, FS, 6-1, 210, soph. – He is poised to become the next lightly recruited player from in state who goes on to be a star safety for the Hawkeyes.
A look back at Iowa’s 2015 season
With the Sept. 3rd season opener against Miami (Ohio) less than four weeks away, it’s full steam ahead for the Iowa players and coaches.
They always will have last season’s historical run to cherish, but the present is all that matters to Kirk Ferentz and his cohorts.
For fans and for the media, on the other hand, nothing stops us from looking back at last season.
So that’s what I do here in this section by listing in chronological order the 10 most important plays from last season.
That isn’t the same as most spectacular plays in case you wonder why certain plays didn’t make the cut.
These are 10 plays in which either the outcome of a game or the momentum hung in the balance.
I thought about ranking the plays in order of importance, but it was too hard because all 10 plays sort of feed off each other and show how razor thin the line is between winning 12 games or seven or eight games.
Defensive end Parker Hesse had one of the most spectacular plays of the 2015 season when he deflected a pass deep in Nebraska territory before returning it four yards for a touchdown. From an individual standpoint, it was clearly a top-10 play.
But it also happened in the second quarter of a game in which Iowa outscored the Cornhuskers 14-13 from that point on.
Desmond King also thrilled the Kinnick Stadium crowd by returning an interception 88 yards for a touchdown against Maryland in the eighth game. But it hardly was a game-changer, considering Iowa was leading 24-7 at the time.
One play that made the list barely was a play as it consisted of a kickoff simply rolling out of bounds. Its impact was huge, though.
The 10-most pivotal plays of 2015
Sept. 12 – With his team backed up at to its own 7-yard line and trailing Iowa State 10-3 in Ames, Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard showed the first signs that he was special on a play in which, ironically, he was sacked by Iowa State’s Dale Pierson. As Beathard was going down, he arched his back and with his left hand on the ground and right holding the football, reached the ball across the goal line to avoid a safety.
Sept. 12 – On the next play from Iowa’s 1, Beathard rolled out to his right and turned what appeared to be a passing play into a 44-yard run that shifted field position and the momentum. That drive ended with his 14-yard touchdown pass to Tevaun Smith to tie the score at 10. Had Beathard not avoided the safety, Iowa State would’ve led 12-3 and had possession.
Sept. 19 – Marshall Koehn drilled a 57-yard field goal as time expired to secure a 27-24 over Pittsburgh in the third game of the season at Kinnick Stadium. The 57-yard field goal was the second longest in school history and tied a Kinnick Stadium record.
Oct. 3 – Reserve defensive lineman Faith Ekakitie recovered a fumble against Wisconsin at Iowa’s 1-yard line with the Hawkeyes clinging to a 10-6 lead in the third quarter. The fumble occurred when somebody stepped on the foot of Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave as he pulled away from center. Stave lost his balance and the football at the same time. Neither team would score again.
Oct. 10 – Illinois had trimmed the lead to 16-13 and had momentum on its side when senior running back Jordan Canzeri blasted through a huge opening and raced 75 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter, making the score 23-13. Iowa would go on to prevail 29-20, improving to 6-0 in the season.
Nov. 7 – With his team leading Indiana 35-27 late in the fourth quarter, Iowa tight end Henry Krieger Coble recovered an onside kick with 2 minutes, 24 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
Nov. 14 – Iowa was leading Minnesota 40-35 when the Gophers tried an onside kicked that sailed out of bounds with 1:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. Iowa took a knee to end a game in which the Gophers scored 21 points in the second half.
Nov. 27 – Nebraska had just scored a touchdown to close the gap to 21-17 in the third quarter when Jordan Canzeri brook loose for a 68-yard touchdown run.
Nov. 27 – Nebraska kicked a 42-yard field goal to cut the lead to 28-20 with 1:17 remaining, but then Henry Krieger Coble rose to the occasion again by recovering an onside kick to secure an undefeated regular season.
Dec. 5 – Trailing Michigan State 9-6 in the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Championship game, Iowa receiver Tevaun Smith slipped past his coverage and then caught a perfectly thrown ball by C.J. Beathard for an 85-yard touchdown.