The 2021 college football season is, uh, rapidly approaching. Week 0 action gets underway this week, including a Nebraska-Illinois game that is practically the textbook definition of "hatewatching." And Iowa's 2021 season gets underway the week after that, with a home game against Indiana on September 4.
So... how are you feeling about Iowa football this year? 2020 was -- in just about every way imaginable -- a Very Weird Season, but Iowa did manage to go 6-2 in the games they played and ended the season on a six-game winning streak after a scuffling start against Purdue and Northwestern. Iowa returns a lot of talent from that 2020 squad, especially on the offensive side of the ball and in the defensive secondary (as well as in the ever-important PUNTING GAME). But they also have big questions in the trenches on offense and defense, will be without their top two receivers from last season, and are still trying to answer the question of whether or not Spencer Petras is a good quarterback.
The preseason expectations for Iowa are reasonably high -- they're ranked in the Top 20 by both the AP and the Coaches Poll and they're considered a strong contender in the Big Ten West division. On the flip side, preseason polls aren't even worth the paper they're (no longer) printed on (especially this year, when basing preseason expectations on what happened during last year's strange campaign seems particularly perilous) and it seems like Iowa has been a "strong contender" to win the Big Ten West every season for the last half-decade.
We asked this same question on Twitter last night and with over 1000 votes cast so far, there's a strong lean toward "a little optimistic."
How are you feeling about Iowa football this fall?
— Go Iowa Awesome (@IowaAwesome) August 23, 2021
Feel free to cast your vote there or in the poll on our website, but tell us what you're thinking about Iowa football this season. Is this going to be an exciting year? A so-so year? Are you worried about the bottom dropping out? Or are you making plans to go to Indianapolis the first weekend in December? Hit up the comments and let us know.
