Greg McElroy endorses Iowa to win over 7.5 games

Greg McElroy is pushing in all his chips on the Hawkeyes. On Thursday, the ESPN analyst explained why he expects Iowa to win eight or more games in the upcoming season.

“I like the over on [7.5 wins for] Iowa,” McElroy said. “I look at their schedule and I think there’s gonna be a bit of a transition period for some of the teams out West playing against the physicality that is Iowa.

“They’re gonna slow the game, they’re gonna put you to sleep and they’re gonna make you greedy because you might only get 55 snaps offensively. Whereas in ’23, when you’re playing against Pac-12 foes, guess what? You’re getting 80, 85 snaps a game offensively.”

Iowa knows how to slow down the game. In the 2023 campaign, the Hawkeyes held opponents to 282.5 total yards per game, the seventh-least in the country. Moreover, Iowa’s foes only averaged 14.8 points per contest.

Iowa not only knows how to force wars of attrition, it knows how to win them. The Hawkeyes have appeared in two of the last three Big Ten Championships, and are primed to add another appearance to their résumé.

Iowa returns loads of talent for upcoming season

The Hawkeyes return 69% of their production from last season and a whopping 80% of its offensive production, per ESPN. Iowa’s offensive returners are highlighted by quarterback Cade McNamara and tight end Luke Lachey.

On defense, the Hawkeyes will return standout linebackers Nick Jackson and Jay Higgins. To pile on, Iowa retained most of its starters in the secondary over the offseason.

The Hawkeyes only lost 11 players in the transfer portal this offseason, a relatively small loss in the modern age of college football. To nurse its wounds, the program added four players via the portal. McElroy believes Iowa has the tools to have an excellent 2024 season.

“I like what their schedule is,” McElroy said. “How many times, Joe — I know you’ve looked at it — how many times on the schedule right now do you consider Iowa to be a dog? I got them in one game.”

Ohio State is the only opponent Iowa will face in the 2024 regular season that is ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. For reference, Penn State was Iowa’s only ranked opponent during the regular season last year and the Hawkeyes posted a 10-2 record.

Iowa will commence the upcoming season with a showdown against Illinois State at noon ET on Aug. 31. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.