Ok, time for season predictions….sorry, just doing scores today…not enough time to get too in depth. But we will take care of that from week to week including tomorrow as we break down Iowa and EIU. For now….

Iowa 42 — EIU 6

Iowa 38 — ISU 17

Arizona 17 — Iowa 13

Iowa 45 — Ball State 10

Penn State 20 — Iowa 17

Michigan 12 — Iowa 10

Iowa 35 — Wisconsin 21

Iowa 28 — Michigan State 17

Iowa 27 — Indiana 17

Iowa 31 — Northwestern 27

Iowa 24 — Ohio State 21

Iowa 38 — Minnesota 10

Capital One Bowl– Iowa 27 – Auburn 14

Hawks find it tough to get the offense going against better defenses early in the year but get stronger and stronger as the year goes on. By the end of the year, Iowa is again one of the toughest teams in the country. They go 10-3 and finish at #12 in the polls although most of us will feel that by then that they could beat anyone in the country.

BCS Championship Game TCU vs. Boise State. Yes, it will be the third straight year for them to meet in a Bowl Game. Yes, both teams are going to be very good. Yes, it will be a bit of a joke of a title game since neither could go through the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 or Pac 10 undefeated but they will go undefeated in their inferior leagues. National Champ….TCU.

Feel free to post your picks on our forum. Go Hawks!

With the release of the Big Ten’s new football divisions for 2011 and beyond, Iowa fans are  ponderinig just what it all means for the Hawks. But in my opinion, things couldn’t have worked out much better for Iowa.

Iowa gets Nebraska (ok, a tough game but one we want to see every year…and it ends the year the Saturday after Thanksgiving), Michigan (traditionally one of the higher rated TV games in the Big Ten each year and one that Iowa actually has won from time to time) and then Michigan State, Minnesota, and Northwestern (while each has been good and beaten Iowa hre and there, none seems like a good bet to become a true football power). Iowa’s protected rival from the other Division will be Purdue (who has been down and looks to remain down for the foreseeable future).

So, while Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan will play the same Divisional schedule each year, the Hawks get Purdue every year while Nebraska gets Penn State and Michigan gets Ohio State. In other words, there seems to be a slight built-in advantage.

Had this Division set-up been in effect over the last eight years, Iowa would have won two outright Divisional Titles and would have tied for two more. All things considered, I’d accept a shot at the Big Ten Championship game once every four years….possibly every two years.

Iowa does lose its game with Wisconsin every year, but they will still play the Badgers at least 4 out of every 10 years, so the battle for the Heartland Trophy isn’t over.

All in all, the Hawks come out in pretty good shape in this scenario.

My earlier post about the Make-A-Wish Tailgate Tournament in Ankeny incorrectly listed the date as August 9th. The tournament is of course on the 9th of September, two days before Iowa’s Big Game. Still plenty of spots available and time for you to sign up and play with former Hawks and the fellas from the Hawkeye Huddle. Call 515-334-2636 to sign up.