Urban Meyer picks Iowa to break away in tight Big Ten West race
The Big Ten East is as top-heavy and brutal as it gets in college football. With that said, someone will also get their shot at the league’s title out of the west. With several changes on that side of the conference, though, it’s hard to pinpoint who will come out of the pack. However, it wasn’t a hard choice for Urban Meyer.
Meyer named Iowa as his favorite in the Big Ten West during an episode of ‘Urban’s Take’ this week. He said somebody is going to have to end up with that top spot and, to him, the Hawkeyes make the most sense in that conversation.
“Someone is gonna have to separate. And I just think Iowa (will). I’m a fan of Iowa, I’m a fan of the way they play,” Meyer said. “I just think Iowa’s the team to beat in the west. I do.”
Even so, Meyer understands how unpopular his pick is considering their offense. While they finished in second in the Big Ten in defense, they finished just 12th out of 14 programs in offense with an average of 17.7 points per game. That number was good for 123rd nationally.
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Still, if they can just clean things up on the offensive line and with turnovers after giving the ball away 17 times last season, Meyer says Iowa’s defense is more than good enough to get them to Indianapolis.
“I think last year was a blemish on that offense. It was really, really hard to watch,” said Meyer. “The hardest part was the turnovers. That’s one thing. If you’re not moving the ball? Take care of the ball and punt it. Because you’ve got one of the best defensive coordinators in America. (And) I just think that, uncharacteristically, the line wasn’t very good.”
The Hawkeyes won’t be able to achieve this without facing stiff competition. Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Purdue all have new looks while Illinois, Minnesota, and Northwestern also won’t just be giving it to them. It’s just that, to Meyer, he thinks Kirk Ferentz is going to have enough to get the job done and have Iowa playing for the conference title for the second time in three years.