89
Midway through
last season, Iowa
shifted to a 4-2-5
base defense. That
meant one of the
DBs had to play as a
hybrid LB, a position
they dubbed “cash.”
Safety Amani
Hooker played the
role so well he was
named the Big Ten’s
defense back of the
year as Iowa had
the seventh-best
defense in the FBS.
With Hooker in the
NFL, freshman
D.J. Johnson is
expected to take
over at cash in
Kirk Ferentz’s uni t.
Johnson, a former
three-star recruit,
has practiced
behind—and
learned from—
Hooker. There’s
one big difference:
Hooker is a
210-pound safety,
while Johnson is a
5' 1 1", 1 8 3 -pound
cornerback. He
has the quickness
to disrupt, but
he’ll have to play
physically against
the run too.X-FACTOR
THE BIG STORY You know what
you’re going to get out of
the Hawkeyes: bruising defense,
an efficient offense and a solid
showing in the Big Ten. Is Iowa
capable of more this season?
With five returning starters on a
defense that ranked seventh in
the nation last year, the Hawkeyes
won’t be a pushover, but Iowa
won’t be contend for a conference
title unless senior QB Nate
Stanley plays better in big games:
He’s 1–6 over his career against
ranked teams.CAN’T MISS A.J. Epenesa has a
chance to be the best
pass rusher in the Big Ten—and
one of the best in all of college
football. The 6' 6", 280-pound
junior defensive end didn’t start
last year, when he racked up
101 ⁄ 2 sacks, leading the Big Ten.
Again, and it bears repeating: He
did so as a second-string player,
lining up for just 48% of Iowa’s
defensive snaps.KEY QUESTION Who’s going to
catch all of Stanley’s passes?
Iowa has grown comfortable behind
its third-year QB, but Stanley is
missing his two most prolific
targets from 2018: tight ends Noah
Fant and T.J. Hockenson, both ofplayer at the position who’s caught a
college pass.KEY MATCHUP
BIGGEST GAME
SI RANKING
AUG. 31
MIAMI (OHIO)
SEPT. 7
RUTGERS
SEPT. 14
@ IOWA
STATE (23)
SEPT. 28
MIDDLE
TENNESSEE
OCT. 5
@ MICHIGAN (11)
OCT. 12
PENN STATE (16)
OCT. 19
PURDUE
OCT. 26
@ NORTHWESTERN
NOV. 9
@ WISCONSIN (19)
NOV. 16
MINNESOTA
NOV. 23
ILLINOIS
NOV. 29
@ NEBRASKA
THE RUNDOWN
3
6
9
12
15
12–2 8 –5 8 –5 9 – 4 8 – 4
WINS
Kirk Ferentz’s teams are
boring to a fault. They run,
they punt, they play solid
defense, they win eight
games, everyone goes
home happy. No team
embodies consistently solid
YEAR 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019* football quite like Iowa.
*SI PROJECTION5 -YEAR TREND
8.5
Not facing Ohio State
helps, but the Hawkeyes
have to travel to Michigan,
Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa
State. More bad news: quarterback
Nate Stanley is 5–5 on the road.OVER OR UNDER
2019
SCHEDULE
Iowa