Will Iowa rebound in '07 after disappointing 2-6 Big Ten season in '06?
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by Cidsports
Well, we are less than 20 days out from the kickoff of the 2007 NCAA Football Season.
USC appears to be the clear cut #1 team entering 2007! Is there a team worthy of #2. Well, thats for another dayl.
What's Iowa going to do in the Big Ten in '07?
Head Coach Kirk Ferentz returns for his ninth season at Iowa, with all but one staff member back from the '06 season. Ferentz has done a good job retaining his staff, but DL coach Ron Aiken has moved on to the NFL and a new coach was elevated from the offensive grad assistant position to head coach.
Iowa must replace QB Drew Tate this season. But, I think it is fair to suggest that Iowa may benefit from a new player at QB. Tate never relived the magic of his 7-1, 10-2 sophomore season in his final two seasons at Iowa.
Next up: sophomore QB Jake Christensen, who started one game last season in relieve of an injured Tate. Ironically, Christensen will open the '07 season against the team he got his one start against, Northern Illinois at Soldier's Field on Sept. 1st. Last season, Iowa picked up its sixth and final win vs. NIU at Kinnick.
Iowa's offense will have a 1-2 punch at RB. Seniors Albert Young and Damian Sims will lead the Hawkeye rushing attack, with senior Tom Busch at fullback providing an extra lineman's mentality at FB. The WR and TEs should be capable of providing Christensen with some good targets and don't be surprised, if the offensive line gels, for Iowa's offense to be very capable of putting up some very solid numbers under OC Ken O'Keefe's game plan. O'Keefe should benefit from a new QB, since it seemed at times Tate was out of sync in his final 2 seasons.
Iowa returns 8 starters on defense, with a solid newcomer at LB in AJ Edds... a name one should remember, as the true sophomore enters the starting lineup, after gaining one start as a true frosh against his homestate team, Purdue, in Iowa's best win last season. The question in Iowa's defense is the secondary, especially with 2 newcomers at safety. Like Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes will have to field two new players at safety. A position that has developed some tradition during the Ferentz era at Iowa of sending players to the NFL. Indy Colts S Bob Sanders stands out the most, but other names, since Ferentz has arrived have fielded playing time in the NFL after playing safety at Iowa: Matt Bowen, Derek Pagel, and Sean Considine to name some former players.
The area where Iowa needs to elevate in '07 appears to be special teams. They will have a new kicker and punter, but it has been in return, coverage and blocks that Iowa has done some special damage in the past, especially in 2002-2004, when Iowa finished #8 in the polls for three straight seasons.
A lot will be said about Iowa's Big Ten schedule without Michigan and Ohio State. Michigan certainly gets a break from having to play at Kinnick Stadium. The Iowa-Michigan series has been a good one most seasons, dating back to J. Hayden Fry's squad in 1981 that upset Michigan 9-7 in Ann Arbor on route to a Big Ten Championship and the ending of the Big 2 hold on the Big Ten Conference back before the Big Ten saw a slew of teams come forward to win the conference in the 80s and 90s.
Ferentz rebounding the Hawkeyes to 5-3 or better in '07 is certainly possible. Iowa will face some tough Big Ten road games: at Wisconsin, at Penn State, at Purdue and at Northwestern. Iowa is going for its third straight in Madison and sixth straight in Happy Valley. Wins there could make Iowa a team to watch in the Big Ten again.
peace
