Would Iowa drop Iowa State, and who will provide depth at cornerback?

Back in the days of the “On Iowa Podcast,” my former tag-team partner, Marc Morehouse, and I would issue moratoriums on topics like Kirk Ferentz’s succession plan and whether Iowa should drop Iowa State from the annual schedule.

We would open those conversations during a two-month period that Marc christened “the Horse Latitudes.” No, we wouldn’t throw any animals out of the window of our podcast studio, but it was a time when we could address the issues without another premium topic in the way. As such, we have entered the Horse Latitudes of the college football calendar. So let’s address a few topics that squeeze into Part 1 of this Iowa mailbag.

Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

When will the talks get serious about it being time for Iowa to drop Iowa State? The new schedule doesn’t leave the same room for error, correct? — Jake L.

This is a topic that gets traction from a vocal minority on the Iowa side. The programs have a contract through 2027, and there are a few outs that both sides could explore if they wanted to end it early.

In Clause 11, should either the Big Ten or Big 12 change its schedule, the series can be canceled without penalty. Recently, that could have included the Big Ten’s altering the home-away allocation of its nine-game schedule when divisional play ends. But with teams lining up nonconference opponents several years in advance, the league kept the East-West sequence intact to not disrupt future schedules. If the Big Ten (or Big 12) increases to 10 games, that changes everything dramatically.

If Iowa or Iowa State really wanted to conclude the series for its own reason, there’s a $1 million penalty. Only once was there enough friction between the athletic departments to where it almost ended. Back in 2007, the host gave the visitor 20 percent of the gate, which always favored Iowa State financially. It started in the late 1970s when Cyclone Stadium (now Jack Trice) wasn’t big enough to host the series and the first four games were held at Kinnick Stadium, which is bigger and the tickets were more expensive.

By 2007, Iowa gave Iowa State 20 percent of the Cy-Hawk gate, and ISU switched to paying Iowa 20 percent of an average home gate, which infuriated Iowa administrators. The schools’ previous athletic directors agreed to an extension through 2020, but it wasn’t a binding contract. Iowa considered it “correspondence.” A year later, they agreed to end the 20 percent provision beginning in 2013. Iowa athletic director Gary Barta and Iowa State counterpart Jamie Pollard haven’t wavered in their support for the series. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz also supports it. But with Barta’s retiring in August, it does allow for a new viewpoint about the rivalry.

The Cy-Hawk remains popular among fans throughout the state and especially in central Iowa, where every aspect of social life splits on Iowa-Iowa State. The series limits scheduling variety, but the Big Ten schedule provides enough challenges to shrug off those limitations. The Cy-Hawk is a guaranteed sellout at either location. As long as the leagues keep the current lineup, the interactions are civil and positive among the fans and the games stay competitive, it will remain in place for generations to come.

Could you see any football teams fall into an abyss because of little NIL commitment and collectives putting the highest focus on basketball and kind of ignoring football because it’s much more expensive to win a championship? — Jesse L.

It really comes down to fans and donors. What is most important to them? I’d say nobody outright would ignore football; it’s too important. But if for Indiana, the choice is a four-star receiver or a four-star shooting guard, it depends on who is footing the bill. But I get your point and a handful of Big Ten schools (Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, UCLA) place such a premium on basketball to where reaching the Sweet 16 is more important than beating a football rival or attaining bowl eligibility.

Are the men’s and women’s basketball nonconference schedules completed? — Tri K.

Not quite. Iowa’s men have 10 games of the 11 nonconference games set, and the women have six completed, per contracts obtained by The Athletic. The women will pay $72,000 (so far) in guarantees and receive $275,000 in guarantees plus $50,000 in Charlotte expenses. The men will pay $485,000 in guarantees and receive $240,000. Both the men’s and women’s teams receive $125,000 for moving a doubleheader to Des Moines.

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The women’s contracts with Drake and Iowa State should be finished soon. Without the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in place, it appears the men’s program needs just a home Power 5 opponent.

Women’s schedule: Nov. 6 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson; Nov. 9 vs. Virginia Tech in Charlotte, N.C. (receiving $150,000 plus $50,000 for travel); Nov. 12 at UNI; Nov. 16 vs. Kansas State; Dec. 2 vs. Bowling Green; Dec. 16 vs. Cleveland State in Des Moines (receiving $125,000).

Men’s schedule: Nov. 7 vs. North Dakota; Nov. 10 vs. Alabama State; Nov. 14 at Creighton (Gavitt Games); Nov. 17 vs. Arkansas State; Nov. 23-24 San Diego Invitational vs. USC/Oklahoma/Seton Hall (two) receive $115,000; Nov. 29 vs. North Florida; Dec. 7 at Iowa State; Dec. 16 vs. Florida A&M in Des Moines, receive $125,000; Dec. 29 vs. Northern Illinois.

What is the greatest individual performance in a game you have covered? Football or basketball? Iowa player or opposing player? — Tom C.

This encompasses nearly 30 years of journalism. I’ll avoid the NFL, although Dante Hall’s punt return against Denver in 2003 was the greatest single play I’ve ever covered. In college football, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley’s 358 all-purpose yards at Kinnick Stadium in 2017 edges Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey’s Rose Bowl domination two years earlier. Penn State needed every inch from Barkley, and he delivered play after play against an elite defense in a raucous environment.

In basketball, I’m trying to decide which of Clark’s games was most impressive. I’ll go with her 34-9-9 game against Indiana with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. That was an all-timer, but that moment could serve as only a placeholder compared with what we’ll witness this winter.

After missing on a few transfer portal options and losing Terry Roberts, who do you think fills the No. 3 and No. 4 spots on Iowa’s cornerback depth chart? — Derek H.

Iowa was in a tough spot when it came to picking up cornerbacks in the portal. Cooper DeJean is considered a first-round pick next year and elite in multiple ways. Jermari Harris is in line to start and had four interceptions in 2021 but missed last season with an injury. If both juniors are healthy and available, it’s a high-level tandem. Few players would want to transfer to Iowa to become a backup, and what Iowa has in reserve might be better anyway.

I’d look first to sophomore T.J. Hall, who was shredded against Nebraska last year in the season finale. It was a rough learning experience against the fastest receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft, but Hall showed enough potential to warrant playing in every game last year. He could make major strides. In fact, I’d expect it.

Next, I’d look at redshirt freshman Deshaun Lee and junior Brenden Deasfernandes. Lee worked with the second team quite a bit in the spring, and Deasfernandes was a second-teamer last spring before losing the season to injury. Jamison Heinz, a junior walk-on, got some action late last year and could work into the lineup. Finally, I think true freshmen Kahlil Tate and John Nestor could enter the depth chart. Cornerback is one of the few positions where Iowa’s staff has no problem playing true freshmen when required.

If you had to pick one breakout candidate on offense and defense for football, who would it be? — Andrew H.

There are several candidates on offense, but I’m going with junior guard Connor Colby. He has 24 starts, including the most for a true freshman in program history with 11. At times he has struggled, especially when he was at right tackle last year. But late last season, it started to click for him at guard. Maybe I’m going out on a limb, but I think he can be one of the top eight-to-10 linemen in the Big Ten by November. A close second would be center Logan Jones.

On defense, I believe Deontae Craig can pick up double-digit sacks. He tied for the team lead last year with 6.5 and was second in tackles for loss (10) despite playing about 150 fewer snaps than Lukas Van Ness, Joe Evans and John Waggoner. After Craig, I’m all in on safety Xavier Nwankpa. He’s a difference-maker.

Iowa went from Luka Garza to Keegan Murray to Kris Murray. Who is the men’s basketball player most likely to be the standout leader? Is there a player who can average 20 points a game? — Ross C.

Iowa might take a step back for a year in the All-Big Ten department. Those players were All-Americans with legitimate NBA potential. I’m not sure I see anyone close to that right now. Key returnees Tony Perkins, Patrick McCaffery and Payton Sandfort all have had moments, but not consistently. Each one seems capable of averaging somewhere between 10 and 15 points per game, but the Hawkeyes won’t have a player like either Murray brother to attract top defenders.

Perhaps the one I could see approaching that threshold is newcomer Ben Krikke from Valparaiso. As a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference forward last year, Krikke led the league in scoring at 19.4 points per game plus averaged 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 55 percent. At worst, Krikke will be a solid starter at Iowa. But I can’t predict 20 points a game going from the Valley to the Big Ten.

With the cutbacks at The Athletic, approximately how much of your time will continue to be devoted to the Hawkeyes? Your beat coverage of the Hawks is a big reason why I subscribed. — Stephen W.

I’ve noticed you are writing about other teams with increasing frequency. Is this part of the Times’ reconfiguring The Athletic staff? I hope they recognize your talent — and output — as much as we all do. — Fred L.

How is your role going to change at The Athletic given the recent changes? Is it going to change? — Michael R.

Thank you all so much for the kind words. Five years ago I came aboard here, and you all are the reason I’m still here. I’m humbled and flattered that you trust me to bring you these stories and you think enough to subscribe. If I don’t say it enough, I should. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

It has been unfortunate to lose some colleagues I consider friends and outstanding journalists. It has caused us to reshuffle some priorities. At this point, Iowa football will remain my primary beat. But on occasion, I will branch out for other college football stories — and sports — beyond the Hawkeyes. I will cover a little more college basketball, sporting trends, NFL Draft and other relevant topics. Yes, I may slide over to Ames, but it also means more on Clark. But I still will write plenty about Iowa football. You have proved there’s a strong audience for it.

(Top photo: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)