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2018 Season Rewind: Iowa

2018 PREDICTIONS

WHERE I WENT RIGHT

Feeling good about picking Iowa to win about 9 games and being just over .500 in the league.  I even picked Iowa to be on the wrong side of the trip to Purdue.  Talking a lot about Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson paid off as they both went in the first round of the NFL draft and Hockenson won the Mackey award.  Defensive players I highlighted like Amani Hooker, Parker Hesse, and A.J. Epenesa also had strong seasons.  Feels good knowing my favorite team this well.

WHERE I WENT WRONG

Iowa’s linebacking group was not as dire a situation as I thought it would be, especially as Jack Hockaday emerged and finished third on the team in tackles.  For individual game predictions the only one that I came up short on was OF COURSE Northwestern.  I had the other 11 games correct but those pesky Wildcats upset Iowa……yet again.

SEASON-DEFINING MOMENT

After a three game skid with losses at Penn State, at Purdue, and to Northwestern the Hawks had slumped to 6-4 (3-4) and hopes of winning the west were over.  With not a lot to play for, unless you care about bowls and pride, Iowa could have really packed it in against Illinois and Nebraska.  Instead Iowa came out beyond angry and smoked Illinois, 63-0.  Then in a rainy, windy, and cold finale in Iowa City, senior kicker Miguel Recinos drilled a game winner as the clock and regular season expired.  Yes knocking off Mississippi State in the bowl a few weeks later was a really fun one but scoring 35 first half points against hapless Illinois and the Recinos kick were critical to Iowa even getting to that bowl against the Bulldogs.

MVP

Amani Hooker, S/LB – The offense wasn’t consistent enough to take the MVP award from the unit that finished seventh in the nation in yards allowed per game so then the decision came down to who deserves the award the most.  A tough call but Hooker’s season was especially special.  Tasked with playing multiple roles on this defense,  Hooker shined.  He was second on the team in tackles, defended seven passes, had four interceptions, but the versatility he showed really isn’t something we’ve seen in past Hawkeyes.

  • Honorable Mention: Parker Hesse and A.J. Epenesa – the defensive line stars dominated.  Hesse only had 4 sacks but he was a key cog with 52 tackles overall.  Epenesa was the reverse, just 35 total tackles but a whopping 9.5 sacks, forced 3 fumbles, recovered one, and took that to the house.  Those two dudes were a joy to watch working together.

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