Next up on the Triple Option Attack is #10 Iowa
Music to listen to: Shipoopi from the musical The Music Man written and composed by Iowan Meredith Wilson
And you thought I was only about alternative rock and hip hop. I just dropped a Broadway musical on you!
The Story: Up until last year, people were questioning whether Iowa would compete for a Big Ten title in the near future or even whether head coach Kirk Ferentz was still the elite coach that was shown during his early parts of his tenure with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa has rebounded nicely with a 9-4 record in 2008 and than an even better season last year.
The Hawkeyes have a really good defense but a questionable offense to compete for the Big Ten title.
Last Season: Finished 11-2 last year including an impressive victory over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. The two losses came at home to Northwestern and an overtime contest at Ohio State. Both of those games were winnable and prevented the Hawkeyes from winning any championships.
Offense: The offense will be led by retuning starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi, maybe the most valuable player on the entire team. The Hawkeyes two losses came when he got injured during the Northwestern game and missed the entire Ohio State contest. He’s not an elite QB but gets the job done. Stanzi can cut down on his interceptions from last season, when he had 15 of them.
The rushing attack will be led by Adam Robinson, who had over 800 yards of rushing last season.
The questions are on the offensive line, which must replace three starters. The Hawkeyes run the ball the majority of the time so the receiving position isn’t a major priority for them.
Defense: The defensive unit will be stout, especially on the line.
The Hawkeyes will be led by potential All-America defensive linemen Adrian Clayborn and Broderick Binns. The defensive tackles, Christian Ballard and Karl Klug are also excellent players.
The linebackers group must be rebuilt but will have plenty of options between Jeremiha Hunter, Tyler Nielson and Jeff Tarpinian.
The Schedule
Sept. 4 Eastern Illinois
Sept. 11 Iowa State
Sept. 18 @ Arizona
Sept. 25 Ball State
Oct. 2 Penn State
Oct. 16 @ Michigan
Oct. 23 Wisconsin
Oct. 30 Michigan State
Nov. 6 @ Indiana
Nov. 13 @ Northwestern
Nov. 20 Ohio State
Nov. 27 @ Minnesota
Iowa gets Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, its three main competitors for the Big Ten Championship. That’s why some people have penciled them in for the championship. The non-conference schedule is ok, but beware of the game at Arizona.
Most Famous Sports Alum: I’m going to cheat a bit here but the most famous alum is Dan Gable, the legendary wrestling coach at Iowa. Technically, he is an alum of Iowa State but when you lead your team to 15 national title, 21 conference championships,, an Olympic gold medalist, and are known as the face of collegiate and amateur wrestling, you get this honor.
He has a frickin wrestling hold named after him?
Celebrity Alum “Crush:” I’m going with T-Boz, the lead singer for the music group TLC.
Prediction: 10-2
I’m calling an upset in the Arizona game. They will contend for the Big Ten title but a slip up will come in one contest, probably against Ohio State. The defense will be excellent but the offense needs major work.
Sports Inquirer Top-25 Preseason College Football Poll:
The Sports Inquirer 
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