JD PicKell predicts under 7.5 wins for Iowa in 2023
During the time that Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa, the Hawkeyes have been one of the Big Ten’s most consistent teams. However, because of the struggling offense run by his son Brian Ferentz, there is a lot of attention around the team. That’s because Iowa amended Brian’s deal so that he needs to average 25 points per game and win seven or his contract will expire.
DraftKings recently set Iowa’s win total at 7.5 games while FanDuel is giving the Hawkeyes fifth best odds to win the Big Ten at +1400. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer even thinks that the Hawkeyes will win the Big Ten West. However, On3’s JD PicKell isn’t convinced and thinks you should take Iowa under 7.5 wins.
“Iowa Hawkeyes, another one that y’all had a lot of thoughts and opinions on when I posted this for a discussion on my Instagram page,” PicKell said. “@jdpickell. Iowa is, again, over-under 7.5 wins.”
“And here’s where I fall on Iowa, man, I just need to see it. I just need to see it. There’s been so much talk about Cade McNamara, Erick All, all the pieces they got through the portal and their defense and how good they were last year. Listen, man, they scored 18 points a game last year. 18 points a game.”
Despite its offense, Iowa went 8-5 in 2022 behind an elite defense. However, the offense did tangibly hold the Hawkeyes back. Had they scored 25 points in each game last season, the Hawkeyes would have won the Big Ten West with a 7-2 conference record. Instead, they finished fourth in their division.
The Hawkeyes tried to fix the offense in the transfer portal. However, with Brian Ferentz still running the offense, PicKell will need to see it to believe it.
“It’s popular to hate on Iowa’s offense. There’s a reason why it’s popular and you don’t just fix that overnight. I love Cade McNamara. I do. He’s got a Big Ten title ring, something nobody can ever take from him, is he really the answer for you at quarterback? Is he the savior of this 18 points a game offense, with the same offensive coordinator there? Listen, I need to see it. Seeing is believing and I’m not believing what I’m seeing from Iowa just yet,” PicKell said.
“So, go ahead and lock in the under for Iowa at 7.5 wins. I’m sorry. I’m sorry to the good people who watch us in Iowa, but that’s how I feel about the Hawkeyes.”
Joel Klatt says Iowa could be a fiasco in 2023
There are going to be a lot of eyes on Iowa this season, just to see if the offense can score 25 points per game, which is far from a difficult mark. That’s after averaging just 17.7 points per game last season. Because of that, college football analyst Joel Klatt thinks the 2023 season could be a fiasco for the Hawkeyes.
“Iowa could be a total fiasco this next year with the whole Brian Ferentz has to score 25 points [thing]. I mean, it’s not fair to Cade McNamara. And yet, here they are, a defense that’s always good. Best defense over the last couple of years in college football outside of Georgia, which was on a totally different level. Here’s Iowa. They’re absolutely going to be fantastic on defense. We know that, and they should be better on offense. This is a team that should threaten in the Big Ten. They should. But they’ve got this arbitrary mark have 25 points,” Klatt said.
“You’re telling me that they’re not going to take like, ‘Hey, you’re winning every every game by like 21 to 10.’ ‘Well, we’re not averaging 25 points.’ Who cares? Who cares? I think that this is gonna put an undue pressure on the play-caller, Brian Ferentz. It’s going to put undue pressure on Cade McNamara and the rest of the offense. This could be a total fiasco at Iowa. … They scored 17.7 points per game. Now, you put some arbitrary number out there, it’s not going to help anybody. But great defense. Kirk is still there. I think it’s gonna be an interesting one.”
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