Iowa's defensive front will be tough challenge for Kentucky

Kentucky won a thrilling Citrus Bowl last year on New Year’s Day despite a bad performance from the Big Blue Wall. The Wildcats allowed six sacks and three non-sack tackles for loss as the performance was a sign of things to come in 2022.

The Big Blue Wall is fresh off a very bad season and is working to rebuild in the offseason. We’ve already see the Cats add two transfers who will both be on campus during spring practice to compete for starting spots at left tackle and right guard. However, one more game must be played before closing the book on the 2022 year.

Now Kentucky will have to try and block the defensive front that gave them so many issues last season.

Iowa enters the Music City Bowl with a defensive line that possesses good size and playmaking production. The Hawkeyes have six players who have played 250-plus snaps on the defensive line this season and they have combined to accumulate 46.5 tackles for loss and 25 sacks. Most of these players had big games in last year’s Citrus Bowl.

Kentucky’s offensive line will be tested in a big way at Nissan Stadium.

Lukas Van Ness (6-5, 275) is the best of the group in Iowa City. The redshirt sophomore leads the team in pressures (43) and tackles for loss (9.5). The 4-3 defensive end recorded a sack against Kentucky last season in Orlando and is a powerful rusher that has a future in the National Football League.

That @HawkeyeFootball defense 😳 pic.twitter.com/bjYKKHvwFH

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 5, 2022

As a situational pass rusher, redshirt sophomore Deontae Craig (6-3, 266, RSo.) has produced 6.5 sacks in under 300 total snaps. On the interior, veterans Logan Lee (6-5, 275) and Noah Shannon (6-0, 289) have combined to produce 16 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Iowa is very good against the run, but the Hawkeyes play a ton of zone coverage in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Phil Parker prefers to drop seven players into coverage to make the throwing windows small for opposing quarterbacks. That only works if the front four can get home.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz has a defensive front that is very good at its job. Things could be difficult for Kentucky’s offensive line if the offense finds itself in obvious passing downs. With an inexperienced quarterback taking the snaps on New Year’s Eve, early down success rate will be critical.

Iowa has a defensive front that can cause real problems for any offense.