Hawkeyes ought to get back to Indianapolis this year while the gettin’s good

This is it, the last dance/last chance football season at Iowa.

Too melodramatic, not to mention inaccurate? Of course. But still …

This is the final year the Big Ten is a cozy conclave of just 14 teams, a group of close-knit neighbors stretching only from Lincoln, Neb., to the Lincoln Tunnel. It’s the last season the conference has a setup that has allowed an Iowa, a Northwestern, a Purdue to win a division and play in the league championship.

Enter Oregon and Washington and USC and UCLA next year. No matter how the Big Ten sets its schedule, there’s nowhere for any of the Midwestern teams to hide.

But in the future, there won’t be a B-List, er, West Division. Either all 18 teams will be lumped into one set of standings, or a divisional/pod format will have the Hawkeyes joined by an elite program or two or more.

Either way, finishing among the top two teams out of 18 will be tough duty. Proceeding to Indianapolis in December will be a dreamer’s dream if you’re at Iowa or Wisconsin or the rest of the current West.

Well, in the words of the Grass Roots:

Shah-la, la-la-la-la, live for today

And don't worry 'bout tomorrow, ay-ay-ay

So let’s live for today. After a season of enduring ridicule for its ridiculously ineffective offense that made you long for the thrills of tailgate cornhole games, the slate is clean.

With offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz facing contract amendments requiring Iowa’s offense to average 25 points and its team to win seven games in 2023 for him to keep his job, the Hawkeyes did what anyone would do in their situation.

They got on the offensive. Which they actually did before the bizarre 25/7 provision.

Quarterback Cade McNamara and tight end Erick All had already said they were transferring in from Michigan. Wide receiver Seth Anderson, the Big South’s Offensive Freshman of the Year after a seven-touchdown season at Charleston Southern, was added.

Later, wide receiver Kaleb Brown was brought in from Ohio State. Two offensive line transfers came aboard.

The program no longer could afford to act holier-than-thou when it came to the transfer game. Instead, it wisely chose to get knee-deep in it. The changes were welcomed with arms open wide by Hawkeyes fans.

What a time to be alive in the Iowa football complex. A top-shelf quarterback. A possible all-conference tight end to go with its other possible all-conference tight end, Luke Lachey. And the Hawkeyes won’t face the death glares of two of the top three teams in the preseason Top 25, Michigan and Ohio State.

Sure, the Hawkeyes go to Penn State. Iowa can’t dodge every giant, but it won’t be able to avoid a slew of them next year and forevermore.

For 2023, though, new coaches are at the West’s Wisconsin, Purdue, Nebraska and Northwestern. The latter three will be in start-over mode. It surely has to take Wisconsin a little time to incorporate an Air Raid offense into what has been ground-and-pound since the invention of the 245-pound running back.

Realizing teams can improve as the season passes, did you see anything in Thursday’s Nebraska-Minnesota game to make you think those teams will score much on Iowa?

So this is it. Last chance, last dance. Iowa has a quarterback and guys who can catch his throws. Running back Kaleb Johnson looks like The Next Big Thing. Most importantly, the offensive line is older, deeper, and will be better.

The defense again appears to be without cracks. The punter, Tory Taylor, gives Iowa a weapon few opponents can match.

The ball is pointed and takes funny bounces, and players of consequence get hurt, so nothing is assured. But this year is a golden opportunity Iowa can ill afford to squander.

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This is a season to be both successful and entertaining. This is a season to get to Indy without backing in like 2021, without feeling sheepish about being there.

If this season somehow turns out to be disappointing, however, there is a backup plan to put the buzz back in Kinnick Stadium. Just slap a roof on the joint and move all the Iowa women’s basketball games there instead of just one October scrimmage.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com