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Iowa football missed a big opportunity in 2022. It can’t let it happen again in 2023.

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Iowa football missed a big opportunity in 2022. It can’t let it happen again in 2023.


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INDIANAPOLIS — There’s symmetry in the fact that the location of Big Ten Media Days, attended by Iowa football’s representatives Wednesday, is the very place that its ambitions could lead them back to.

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Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, along with players Cooper DeJean, Jay Higgins and Luke Lachey, spoke at Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday. If things go according to plan this season, they will be back here in December for the 2023 Big Ten Championship Game.

Lucas Oil Stadium not only acts as the physical host of the game but also a symbol of Big Ten prominence. It’s where Iowa appeared in 2021, though it ended with a loss to Michigan. It’s where Iowa was absent in 2022, frustrating the fan base.

The Hawkeyes’ 2022 season was puzzling in many ways. Iowa turned around its 3-4 record by winning four straight games. That set up a scenario in which Iowa simply had to beat Nebraska in its final regular-season game to reach the Big Ten title game. Iowa lost 24-17 at Kinnick Stadium to miss out on an Indianapolis trip.

Some urgency to win West in 2023

Unfulfilled potential in 2022 has now given way to belief — and perhaps cautious optimism — in 2023. Not just because of the roster that Iowa has, but also because of a soon-to-be shifting Big Ten landscape, this season serves as a golden opportunity for Iowa to finish what it couldn’t last season.

“We play in a lot of close games and the challenge is to win those every year,” Ferentz said when asked about last season’s loss to Nebraska. “… You just go through it, you learn from it and you move on. See what you can do to get better.”

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A Big Ten title game appearance is top of mind for Iowa fans this season because a return trip looks to be substantially more difficult in future years.

The conference’s East and West divisions are going away following this season. Iowa has benefited from being a member of the West division, while powerhouses Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan reside in the East.

The divisional split means that Iowa frequently avoids matchups with the Buckeyes, Nittany Lions and Wolverines. Also, the current model means the East cannibalizes itself and only one of those three elite programs can make the championship game.

This advantage for those in the West, including Iowa, goes away following the 2023 season. Starting in 2024, the top two teams in the entire Big Ten will play for the championship, meaning that Iowa would have to finish the regular season ahead of at least two of those three powers, plus many more, including 2024 additions UCLA and USC.

This isn’t to say getting to another Big Ten title game will be impossible, but the road to making an appearance will get much more challenging.

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“We want to win every game,” Ferentz said. “It’s simple. Just like every other coach. And that’s what we’ll focus on. So whatever our schedule ends up being, we’ll try to figure out how to win this one and get to the next one.”

Hawkeye roster appears to be good enough to get to Indy

Expectations this season are also fueled by Iowa’s 2023 roster, which is talented enough to get to Indianapolis.

Far and away, the most pressing question entering 2023 is the state of Iowa’s offense. This is a unit that, in Iowa’s 2022 season-opening 7-3 win over South Dakota State, failed to score a touchdown. It followed that up with a 7-point performance in a home loss to rival Iowa State. If the Hawkeyes’ offense was simply average, or even a little below average, Iowa probably beats Iowa State and later against Illinois, a road loss in which the Hawkeyes put up six points.

There is hope for improvement in 2023. Iowa brought in Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara (who beat Iowa in the 2021 Big Ten Championship Game), Ohio State wide receiver transfer Kaleb Brown, and help on the offensive line, a struggling position group last season. Those newcomers combined with returners, such as running back Kaleb Johnson and tight end Luke Lachey, should give Iowa a sufficient amount of firepower.

“As excited as I was back in December, I’m more excited now just because he’s been with us,” Ferentz said of McNamara. “I’ve seen the impact he’s already had. He’s a strong leader, a positive leader, a vocal leader. He’s got a lot of courage.”

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Iowa’s defense has far fewer questions to answer. That unit, which was nothing short of dominant, essentially willed Iowa to eight wins last season. The Hawkeyes are returning star defensive back DeJean, along with lots of experience on the defensive line. There are some notable departures, including linebackers Jack Campbell and Seth Benson, though Iowa has viable options such as Jay Higgins to fill some of that lost production.

Iowa’s schedule has some challenges, including road matchups with Penn State and Wisconsin, but overall the slate isn’t daunting. The point is: An opportunity to get to a Big Ten Championship Game is there. This is a program with enough history and resources to remain relevant. But because of changes coming in the Big Ten landscape, time is working against teams like Iowa. 

The Hawkeyes want to take advantage of this opportune window and do what they couldn’t last season − put themselves in position to do something special.

Follow Tyler Tachman on Twitter @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com



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Iowa

Rosemount H.S. Marching Band wins at Iowa competition

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Rosemount H.S. Marching Band wins at Iowa competition


The Rosemount High School Marching Band is celebrating a big victory from a competition earlier this fall. In late September they took home the Class AAA Championship trophy at the Bands of America regional competition in Waukee, Iowa. Members of the band joined the FOX 9 Morning News to talk about the win and share how they are getting ready for another big competition this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.



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Iowa high school football scores for Week 7

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Iowa high school football scores for Week 7


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(This story was updated to add new information)

It’s Week 7 of the Iowa high school football season. Check out our list of IHSAA scores from Friday night’s action.

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Stream Iowa HS football on the NFHS Network

Scores are listed in alphabetical order by winning team

IHSAA scores from Week 7 of Iowa high school football season

Friday’s games:

  • Ankeny Centennial 45, Des Moines Roosevelt 3
  • Bedford 77, Lamoni 0
  • Benton 38, Grinnell 7
  • Bettendorf 48, Davenport Central 0
  • Cedar Falls 38, Dubuque Senior 0
  • Cedar Rapids Kennedy 45, Dubuque Hempstead 14
  • Cedar Rapids Prairie 56, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 7
  • Cedar Rapids Xavier 35, Oskaloosa 0
  • Central City 64, Lone Tree 8
  • Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 23, Western Christian 7
  • Clarinda 47, Chariton 7
  • Columbus 48, Van Buren County 7
  • Creston 70, Knoxville 0
  • Crestwood 28, New Hampton 27
  • Davenport Assumption 34, Washington 6
  • Decorah 57, Marion 14
  • Dike-New Hartford 42, Aplington-Parkersburg 0
  • Don Bosco 62, Turkey Valley 0
  • Dowling Catholic 49, Urbandale 28
  • Dyersville Beckman 28, Iowa City Regina 15
  • East Mills 50, Exira-EHK 44
  • East Union 64, Murray 36
  • Easton Valley 61, Midland 21
  • Edgewood-Colesburg 84, Calamus-Wheatland 31
  • Emmetsburg 64, Eagle Grove 0
  • Fremont-Mills 40, CAM 28
  • Fort Dodge 55, Storm Lake 26
  • Fort Dodge St. Edmond 43, Colo-Nesco 6
  • Glenwood 20, Dallas Center-Grimes 17
  • Glidden-Ralston 48, Coon Rapids-Bayard 6
  • GMG 52, Meskwaki Settlement 0
  • Greene County 10, Southeast Valley 7
  • Harlan 24, Nevada 21
  • Highland 41, Louisa-Muscatine 6
  • Hinton 19, OABCIG 13
  • Humboldt 21, Algona 20
  • IKM-Manning 13, Southwest Valley 6
  • Iowa City Liberty 28, Ankeny 20
  • Jesup 35, Iowa Falls-Alden 6
  • Johnston 56, Council Bluffs Lincoln 7
  • Lenox 55, Southeast Warren 8
  • Lewis Central 28, Winterset 24
  • Linn-Mar 55, Davenport West 6
  • Logan-Magnolia 14, Council Bluffs St. Albert 10
  • Maquoketa Valley 35, North Linn 16
  • Marshalltown 26, Ames 21
  • Mediapolis 49, Davis County 20
  • MMCRU 41, Westwood 18
  • MOC-Floyd Valley 35, Sioux Center 14
  • Mount Vernon 56, Fort Madison 7
  • North Butler 22, Nashua-Plainfield 0
  • North Fayette Valley won by forfeit over Oelwein
  • North Iowa 46, Harris-Lake Park 40
  • North Polk 22, Indianola 21
  • Okoboji 49, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 21
  • Osage 42, Waukon 6
  • Pekin 57, Wapello 0
  • Pleasant Valley 42, Muscatine 7
  • Remsen St. Mary’s 46, Woodbine 30
  • Riceville 57, Waterloo Christian 0
  • Ridge View 22, West Sioux 7
  • Riverside 41, Earlham 6
  • Roland-Story 28, Des Moines Christian 21
  • Saint Ansgar 53, West Fork 0
  • Sergeant Bluff-Luton 21, Carroll 0
  • Sibley-Ocheyedan 48, HMS 14
  • Sidney 62, Stanton-Essex 20
  • Sigourney-Keota 62, Colfax-Mingo 26
  • South Central Calhoun 41, Panorama 12
  • South Hardin 34, Hudson 21
  • Southeast Polk 31, Waukee 28
  • Spencer 41, Sioux City West 0
  • Spirit Lake 49, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 6
  • Sumner-Fredericksburg 54, Central Springs 12
  • Treynor 36, Shenandoah 6
  • Tri-Center 34, Woodbury Central 8
  • Underwood 41, Missouri Valley 6
  • Van Meter 54, Centerville 0
  • Wapsie Valley 46, BCLUW 0
  • Wayne 30, Central Decatur 6
  • Webster City 42, Charles City 21
  • West Hancock 60, Lake Mills 6
  • West Lyon 50, Sheldon 0
  • Wilton 39, West Branch 20
  • Winfield-Mt. Union 68, Mormon Trail 8

Thursday’s games:

  • Le Mars 44, Fort Dodge 37
  • Pella 42, D.M. Hoover 10
  • S.C North 37, D.M. East 0



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Kirk Ferentz’s Reputation On The Line In Iowa vs Washington

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Kirk Ferentz’s Reputation On The Line In Iowa vs Washington


The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.

Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.

Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.

That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.

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Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.

The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.

However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.

Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.

But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.

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The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.

Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.

Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.

And Iowa fans are sick of it.

The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.

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Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.

Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.



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