Bio Blast: Iowa Hawkeyes

For the sixth time, Kentucky will be making the trip south to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. Waiting on them will be a Big Ten team. Yes, it is the same Big Ten team from last year.

Kentucky will play Iowa in the postseason for the second season in a row. This feels disappointing.

The SEC, Big Ten, and Music City Bowl were unable to avoid the dreaded rematch game this postseason as the Cats and Hawkeyes will lock horns at Nissan Stadium on New Year’s Eve. There will be a lot of punts while Kentucky and Louisville battle on the hardwood in Rupp Arena at the same time.

It might take more motivation than usual to get gassed up for this matchup, but that’s what we’re here for. To start the bowl prep, we’re going to dive into Kirk Ferentz’s 24th team in Iowa City. For the second year in a row, the Hawkeyes are elite on defense and putrid on offense.

Phil Parker is so good

Defensive coordinator Phil Parker joined the Iowa staff in 1999 as a member of Kirk Ferentz’s first Iowa staff. The Michigan State alum has been with Ferentz through every step during his tenure in Iowa City.

The defensive backs coach was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012 and is now in year 11 calling the plays for Iowa. For the fourth season in a row, the Hawkeyes have fielded a top-five defense. In 2022, Parker might have the best defense in college football.

Iowa enters the postseason ranking No. 6 in scoring defense, No. 1 in yards per play, No. 14 in success rate, and No. 6 in red zone touchdown percentage. Parker’s unit does not have a weakness as only Ohio State has scored more than 27 points on the Hawkeyes this season. Iowa has held nine opponents to 14 points or less.

Iowa was a home win over Nebraska on Black Friday away from winning consecutive Big Ten West titles. How was that possible? Parker is one of the best in the business and scoring points on this unit in Nashville will be very difficult.

Brian Ferentz could be moving on

In a strange offseason twist, Iowa landed a commitment from Michigan quarterback transfer Cade McNamara earlier this week. That was surprising for multiple reasons.

It was a change after Iowa refused to use the transfer portal last season to address obvious holes in the offensive roster. It also indicates that a change could be coming at offensive coordinator.

After a woeful season in 2021 where the offense finished No. 94 in ESPN’s SP+ rankings and No. 120 in yards per play, Ferentz decided to bring his son, Brian, back for year five as the offensive coordinator. Only this time, the younger Ferentz would be asked to coach quarterbacks for the first time in his career.

Not surprisingly, the offense got worse in 2022.

Iowa enters bowl prep ranking No. 117 in SP+ and No. 129 in yards per play. The Hawkeyes are averaging just 17.4 points per game and have scored 14 points or less in six games this season. Ferentz’s offense has started multiple quarterbacks this year combining to produce a woeful completion rate (54.8%) on a paltry 5.8 yards per attempt.

Iowa has major issues on offense and has already seen multiple players enter the transfer portal. Facing a top-20 Kentucky defense will be a difficult challenge. Will we see a coaching change before the bowl game? Probably not, but all signs point to some significant offensive changes coming in Iowa City before Kirk Ferentz starts year 25.

Superstar linebacker

Since Phil Parker started running the defense at Iowa, this unit has seen four players receive first-team All-American honors. That number will reach five shortly.

Jack Campbell is a true senior with outstanding size (6-5, 246) at inside linebacker. The three-year starter has been one of the top defensive players in college football this season.

The Pick-6️⃣ was taken off the board (stepped out of bounds), but it's still an INT.

Jack Campbell and the @HawkeyeFootball defense keep making plays. pic.twitter.com/tmgMXLBJ4S

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 20, 2022

SAFETY! 🙌@HawkeyeFootball now leads 5-3 thanks to Jack Campbell 👏 pic.twitter.com/ETzNLhx9fO

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 3, 2022

The Cedar Falls (Iowa) High product won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award as he recorded 118 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. The tall and powerful linebacker has an elite grade (91.7) from PFF, and a low missed tackle rate (8.1%). Campbell is an eraser for the Hawkeyes at the second level who plays the run at a high level and provides great length as a zone defender in coverage.

No. 31 can wreck opposing offenses. Last season in the Citrus Bowl, Campbell recorded 14 tackles against Kentucky. He will likely post another big number on New Year’s Eve.

Strong kicking game

How does Iowa keep on winning so many games with one of the worst offenses in college football? The defense plays a big role but the kicking game is consistently outstanding for the Hawkeyes. That is no different this season.

At placekicker, first-year starter Drew Stevens is 16 of 18 on field goals with six makes from 40-plus yards. Tory Taylor is back at punter and is averaging over 45 yards per attempt with 32 punts landing inside the 20. The Hawkeyes are great in coverage and rank inside the top 25 in net field position.

The third phase is strong and puts Iowa in a position to win football games consistently.