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Iowa football among Phil Steele's top 10 surprise teams entering 2024

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Iowa football among Phil Steele's top 10 surprise teams entering 2024


College football delivers surprises every year. Those surprises can be good or bad.

It can come in the form of an upset that no one saw coming, or in the form of a team that either positively surprises or outright disappoints.

As the 2024 season approaches, the general consensus surrounding the Iowa Hawkeyes seems to be fringe top-25 team. Most aren’t expecting Iowa to challenge Ohio State or Oregon for the Big Ten championship, but analysts expect the Hawkeyes to be one of the Big Ten’s better teams.

One national pundit that appears higher on Iowa than some others is Phil Steele. In his annual college football preview magazine, Phil Steele tabbed Iowa as one of his top surprise teams. Iowa came in at No. 7 on Phil Steele’s surprise teams list.

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Here’s what Phil Steele had to say about why Iowa was his No. 7 surprise team:

Kirk Ferentz always gets the most out of his teams. Last year with no passing threat after QB McNamara went down, he once again did it with special teams and a dominating defense. This year while the offense will not be overwhelming, QB McNamara is back and they have a capable backup in Brendan Sullivan who led Northwestern to an improbable season and bowl win over Utah.

The offensive line is the best in years. The special teams remains solid. Phil Parker almost always has a top 10 defense, but this year his top four players turned down the NFL and he has eight starters back with my No. 1 LBs and No. 5 Des in the country.

They do face Ohio State on the road but could be favored in their other 11 games. They say defense wins championships and that will make them dangerous if they make the playoffs, especially with a now capable offense. – Phil Steele.

Iowa does bring back plenty of talent defensively. Linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson combine to form what is Phil Steele’s top linebackers unit in America.

Behind those two, Iowa features a secondary that includes Sebastian Castro, Quinn Schulte, Xavier Nwankpa, Jermari Harris and Deshaun Lee. The Hawkeyes have Deontae Craig and Yahya Black returning along their defensive line, too.

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Offensively, new offensive coordinator Tim Lester can provide a breath of fresh air for the Hawkeyes. Plus, it’s important to remember what Phil Steele touched on.

Iowa was without starting quarterback Cade McNamara for the bulk of last season and McNamara probably wasn’t fully healthy when he did appear in five games either.

McNamara will have star tight end Luke Lachey, junior wide receivers Kaleb Brown and Seth Anderson and running backs Leshon Williams, Kaleb Johnson and Jaziun Patterson back in the fold as key offensive skill weapons.

If the Iowa offensive line turns a corner, then Phil Steele could be right on the money with a Big Ten and national sleeper. Phil Steele also included Iowa as his No. 7 surprise team entering the 2023 season.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

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Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF





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Where to watch Nebraska vs. Iowa volleyball today: Channel, time, schedule, live stream for NCAA college match | Sporting News

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Where to watch Nebraska vs. Iowa volleyball today: Channel, time, schedule, live stream for NCAA college match | Sporting News


Big Ten volleyball continues with a true Midwest matchup between Nebraska and Iowa. 

The Huskers host the Hawkeyes in the hopes of extending their 33 consecutive wins at home. That shouldn’t be a problem as they’ve never lost to Iowa through 38 matches played.

However, Nebraska will likely be without sophomore phenom Andi Jackson, who missed Nebraska’s road match against Illinois with an injury. Transfer Leyla Blackwell stepped in for her first start, though, recording six kills and three blocks from the middle.

As the underdogs, the Hawkeyes will put up their best fight against the No. 2 team in the nation. They won their first two Big Ten matchups in five sets each. Freshman outside Malu Garcia led the way with 17 and 11 kills, earning her the conference’s Freshman of the Week honors. She leads the Hawkeyes this season with 2.76 kills per set, though Iowa will need to find a more balanced attack to get past the best defense in the nation.

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Here’s how to watch the Big Ten matchup between Nebraska and Iowa volleyball.

MORE: How to watch every Nebraska volleyball match in 2024

Where to watch Nebraska vs. Iowa volleyball today

  • TV channel: Nebraska Public Media (local)
  • Live stream: Big Ten Plus

The Nebraska vs. Iowa volleyball match will not be broadcast nationally, but local viewers can find the game on Nebraska Public Media. However, cord-cutters can stream the match on Big Ten Plus.

What time is Nebraska vs. Iowa volleyball today?

  • Date: Sunday, Oct. 6
  • Time: 3 p.m. ET

Nebraska hosts Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 6. First serve is set for 3 p.m. ET from Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb.

Nebraska volleyball schedule 2024

Below is a look at the Huskers’ next five matchups on their schedule.

Date Game Time (ET)
Sun., Oct. 6 vs. Iowa 3 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 11 vs. Purdue 8:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 12 vs. Rutgers 8 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 18 at Michigan State 6 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19 at Ohio State 3:30 p.m.

Iowa volleyball schedule 2024

Below is a look at the Hawkeyes’ next five matchups on their schedule.

Date Game Time (ET)
Sun., Oct. 6 at Nebraska 3 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 11 vs. Rutgers 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 12 vs. Purdue 7 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 16 at Northwestern 9 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 20 vs. Oregon 1 p.m.
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Iowa football vs Ohio State: Kirk Ferentz calls timeout, negating successful fake punt

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Iowa football vs Ohio State: Kirk Ferentz calls timeout, negating successful fake punt


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Iowa football can’t seem to get out of its own way at Ohio State.

Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter and having already missed a field goal, the Hawkeyes’ offense got to a 4th-and-inches near midfield. Iowa had just turned the Buckeyes over on downs, and getting points on the subsequent drive would’ve been a big momentum swing.

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Head coach Kirk Ferentz seemingly thought so as well and sent out the punt team to run a fake, where the ball was directly snapped to one of the players lined up in front of punter Rhys Dakin. Iowa successfully converted the fourth down, only for the referees to signal that Ferentz had called a timeout right before, negating the play.

More: Iowa vs. Ohio State score today: Live updates, highlights from Week 6 game

Having already played his hand, Ferentz then had his team do a real punt after the timeout, but Dakin did not hit it well and the ball only went 22 yards.

Ohio State then appeared rejuvenated and converted consecutive plays of 21 and 23 yards. But luckily for the Hawkeyes, star linebacker Jay Higgins forced a fumble and recovered the ball to keep Iowa’s deficit at one score.



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Ohio State Receives Huge Prediction vs. Iowa from Notable Analyst

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Ohio State Receives Huge Prediction vs. Iowa from Notable Analyst


The Ohio State Buckeyes are set to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes today in what will be the biggest test of the season so far. While Iowa may be their biggest test, Ohio State is still expected to dominate.

To this point in the year, the Buckeyes have lived up to all of the hype. They are a team that many expect to win a national championship this season. While they have a lot of work to do in order to accomplish that goal, they have shown why they’re receiving that hype throughout the first four games.

Looking ahead to today’s game, they have another opportunity to show just how dominant they’re capable of being.

One notable analyst is expecting another dominant win for Ohio State today.

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Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt took a look at today’s Big Ten matchup. He made a massive prediction for the Buckeyes.

“My question is, Iowa is so one-dimensional, will they be able to move the ball on this Ohio State defense? When you give a defense like this a team that is one dimension, it’s like, OK, they can load up on Kaleb Johnson … Ohio State should be able to at least slow down or stop Kaleb Johnson. There’s just not enough of a threat on offense for Iowa outside of that.”

With that breakdown, Klatt offered his prediction for the game. He sees Ohio State beating the Hawkeyes by a final score of 42-10. That would be just another sign that this team has what it takes to win a championship.

Obviously, the biggest key for the Buckeyes to shut down Iowa will be limiting star running back Kaleb Johnson. He has been one of the best running backs in the nation. If Ohio State can keep him in check, the Hawkeyes’ offense will struggle to move the football.

Offensively, the Buckeyes need to take care of the football. As long as they don’t make costly mistakes, Ohio State will move the football and put up points.

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While Iowa is going to play hard and bring everything they have, the Buckeyes are simply more talented. On paper, Klatt’s prediction should end up being 100 percent correct.

All of that being said, Ohio State simply needs to play their game and match the Hawkeyes’ energy and intensity. If they do that, they will be in a great place to move to 5-0 on the season.



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