Iowa football look ahead: Wisconsin wins the Big Ten scheduling computer lottery

Beyond being Ohio State, Michigan and, for now, Penn State, the biggest thing that factors into every Big Ten team's season is, of course, the schedule.

If you have the best players, the schedule doesn't matter as much. If you're the other 13, for now, teams in the league, your schedule is a big deal.

The Big Ten scheduling computer worries not about you and your school. Check 2016 Wisconsin. The B1G computer had the Badgers beginning the Big Ten schedule at Michigan State and then at Michigan and then the really big 'then' with a home game against Ohio State.

Bing, bang, really big, big loud bang.

Wisconsin athletics director and former coach Barry Alvarez hated this.

'I remember when that schedule came out (in 2013) and I thought, 'How the hell did you kick out something looking like that?' Alvarez told CBSSports.com. 'I think you could take a look at the general strength of some programs and split them up. Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State have been good for a long time. Penn State normally is in that group. Just make sure someone doesn't get all three in a year. That's hard to do. That's something the ADs are going to have to talk about some day.'

Where the Big Ten scheduling computer is unfeeling, it also is totally random (as far as you know). The Barry Alvarez schedule complaints are non-existent this year.

The Badgers' Big Ten East crossover games this year are Maryland, Indiana and a home game against Michigan.

This fact alone probably makes Wisconsin the favorite in the B1G West. The fact that Wisconsin returns 15 starters (eight on offense; seven on defense) and three specialists (the Badgers even get their kickoff specialist back) makes it the nearly unanimous favorite in the West.

The Badgers have the league's most favorable schedule. They avoid heavyweights Ohio State and Penn State. They get their B1G toughies (Michigan, Northwestern and Iowa) at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Big Ten scheduling computer has no idea the favor it handed Wisconsin for 2017. And it had no idea the charred road it put in front of UW in 2016. The Big Ten scheduling computer feels nothing.

Preseason injuries could nullify a favorable schedule: Early in August, linebacker Jack Cichy was declared out for the season with a torn ACL. Cichy also missed half of 2016 with a torn upper-body muscle.

Pile this unexpected absence on top of the fact linebackers T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel are now in the NFL and the Badgers have some sorting out to do.

While we're on defense: This isn't meant to be a negative comparison, so please don't read too much into it. I only want to illustrate how some places work vs. how others work.

OK, you know Brian Ferentz, 34, is the new offensive coordinator at Iowa this year. He was promoted after five years as Iowa's O-line coach.

Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst was forced to find a new defensive coordinator this offseason after Justin Wilcox was hired as Cal's head coach. Chryst promoted Jim Leonhard, 34, a former Badgers safety. Chryst did this after Leonhard spent one season as UW's secondary coach. Leonhard hadn't coached before the secondary gig.

'To me, for a coordinator, there has to be certainly a football knowledge level,' Chryst said. 'Jimmy has far more than just a one-year level of coaching knowledge; X's and O's, scheme knowledge. In fact, I think he has got great football schematic knowledge.'

UW intercepted 22 passes last season, the No. 2 mark among FBS teams and was the team's highest total since 2002. Leonhard had 11 of UW's 22 interceptions that season.

I wonder if Brian Ferentz ever blocked or tried to block Leonhard?

Hawkeyes Look Ahead

Nov. 11 at Wisconsin (Camp Randall Stadium)

Time and TV: TBA

Week before: vs. Ohio State

Week after: vs. Purdue (Kinnick Stadium) Time and TV are TBA

On the horizon: at Nebraska, Nov. 24

Wisconsin Badgers

Coach: Paul Chryst (21-6, third season at Wisconsin)

2016 record: 11-3, 7-2 in the Big Ten West Division (1st)

Scoring offense: 28.4 points per game (5th in B1G, 67th nationally)

Total offense: 382.1 yards per game (8th B1G, 89th nationally)

Scoring defense: 15.6 points allowed per game (3rd B1G, 4th nationally)

Total defense: 301.4 yards allowed per game (3rd B1G, 7th nationally)

Series: Wisconsin leads, 43-45-2

Last meeting: The Wisconsin defense pinned the Hawkeyes offense in the second period. The game kept going anyway. Iowa's 236 yards total offense was the second-lowest output of the season, at least at the time. The Badgers held the ball for nearly 15 more minutes than Iowa and eventually broke the Hawkeyes.

Down 14-6, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz passed on a fourth-and-5 from the Badgers' 20 for a field goal. This raised some eyebrows.

'You've got to score twice, it gets down to that,' Ferentz said. 'If it were fourth-and-2 or something like that, we would've gone for the touchdown, but fourth-and-5 ...'

It was 14-6. Iowa trailed by a TD and a 2-point conversion. Score twice? Well, Iowa did have to score twice to win.

'For the situation we were in, we felt that was the best play, we're going to have to score twice,' Ferentz said. 'Fourth-and-5 against these guys is not easy, especially down there in the red zone. We didn't see that as a high-probability play and we're going to have to get back there again, that was the thinking there.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com