Predicting the win total ceiling, floor for Iowa in 2024

College football season is right around the corner. To get you ready for the upcoming season, Andy Staples and Cody Bellaire of On3 recently broke down every team in the Big Ten, including Iowa, and shared what to expect in 2024.

Even with new teams coming into the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes have a manageable schedule next year. Beating Ohio State in Columbus is obviously unlikely, but Iowa shouldn’t be heavy underdogs in any of its other games.

“Look, 10-2 is entirely realistic with this schedule, 11-1 might be realistic with this schedule. You’ve got Cade McNamara back. Now, the question is, do you have a healthy Cade McNamara for an entire season?” Andy Staples said. “Because losing him, that was sort of the beginning of the end last year, even though they won a bunch of games. Now they just brought in Brendan Sullivan from Northwestern as an insurance policy. So maybe they have a little more of a pulse on offense.”

Here’s more of what Staples and Bellaire had to say ahead of the 2024 Iowa season:

Ceiling for Iowa: Making the College Football Playoff

Iowa had a defense that was good enough to make the College Football Playoff last season, even in a four-team field. With the CFP expanding to 12 teams in 2024, the Hawkeyes are a real threat to make the playoff, both Bellaire and Staples agree.

“If this team’s got a pulse on offense, they have every right to compete for a playoff spot,” Bellaire said. “This offense just has to function. What we’ve seen over the last couple of years with this offense is pure dysfunction. Not able to get things going, you can’t get the ball across the 50.

“With this defense, they clearly have shown that’s all you have to do. Put it in the paint twice a game and you have a shot with this defensive unit.”

Iowa ranked in the top 10 and scoring defense and total defense last season. However, the Hawkeyes were No. 132 out of 133 FBS teams in scoring offense and dead last in total offense.

Floor: Competitive in most games but not in CFP

Staples and Bellaire did not share an exact record as far as what the floor is for Iowa, but they expect the Hawkeyes to be competitive in just about every game, no matter what, with that defense.

With that said, if Iowa isn’t better on offense under new OC Tim Lester, it could lead to a disappointing season, despite an elite defense.

“Brian Ferentz no longer the OC. Here’s the thing, it’s Kirk’s offense. You’re not going to see a dramatic change in what the offense is,” Staples said. “But you may see it run more competently with Cade McNamara healthy.”

It will be interesting to see if Iowa does indeed have an improved offense that can make the College Football Playoff this upcoming season.

“If they can get somebody to step up in that receiver room, this is a team that I think they’re 10-2 and they’re getting in the College Football Playoff,” Bellaire said.