Buckeyes and Wolverines get the pre-season picks for the number 1 and 2 spot in the Big 10. I'll go out on a limb and say that Iowa has a great chance to surprise everyone this year. I'm a Drew Tate convert and I think the losses on the Linebacker side (Chad Greenway) will not stop an improving Iowa D.

MUD, that's not a big limb.

Iowa has a favorable schedule with 2 of it's 3 toughest opponents coming to Kinnick this year (OSU, Wisky at Iowa, @Michigan)

If Iowa can get out of the blocks this year and beat OSU on 9/30, they are in line to win out since they tend to get better along the year. At the same time, they are a Drew Tate injury away from a 7-5 season.

Or a Drew Tate injury away from a 5-7 season.

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EG - you have a good point there, but with the Army All American Jake Christensen backing up tate, he'd be good enough to beat a Minnehaha or Indiana or Illini. I hope jake gets some time early in the year. When Tate was a FR, he got a couple of times to play, but having more would have been helpful in his second year.