Category: College Football

It is still strange to type this:

Kyle Whittingham is the head coach at Michigan.

For more than two decades, Whittingham was Utah football. He built that program. He won there. He took the Utes from the old Mountain West world into the Power Four era and made them a team nobody wanted to play.

Now he is in Ann Arbor.

That still feels weird.

Michigan is only a few years removed from winning a national championship under Jim Harbaugh, but the program already looks completely different. Harbaugh is gone. Sherrone Moore is gone. The roster has turned. The Big Ten has changed. The expectations have not.

Michigan does not do patience. Not when the Wolverines are supposed to compete for Big Ten titles, beat Ohio State, and live in the playoff conversation.

Whittingham gives Michigan one of the most proven coaches in the sport.

But the season probably comes down to whether or not Bryce Underwood can develop and if Whittingham can instill his toughness in the roster.

HEAD COACH

• Kyle Whittingham, entering year one at Michigan
• Whittingham went 177-88 as Utah’s head coach.
• Michigan went 9-4 last season and 7-2 in the Big Ten.
• The Wolverines have not had a losing season in a full season since 2014.
• Michigan averaged 27.5 points per game and allowed 20.4 points per game last year.

This is a fascinating fit.

Whittingham was named Michigan’s head coach on Dec. 26, 2025, after 21 seasons as Utah’s head coach and 32 years overall with the Utes. He had winning seasons in 18 of 21 seasons and eight 10-win seasons.

That is exactly the kind of résumé Michigan fans should respect.

This is not some young coach getting his first big job. This is not a coordinator who has never run a program. This is one of the most stable coaches in college football walking into one of the biggest jobs in the sport.

But Michigan is not Utah.

That is not meant as a shot at Utah. Whittingham made Utah into a legitimate power program.

It is just different in Ann Arbor.

Every loss gets magnified. Every Ohio State result defines the offseason. Every quarterback decision becomes a national conversation. Every game feels like a referendum on where the program is headed.

The good news is Whittingham’s style should translate.

Michigan wants to be physical. Michigan wants to run the football. Michigan wants to win on defense. Whittingham has made a career out of getting his teams to do all three well.

The question is whether he can modernize enough offensively to get Michigan from good back to elite.

Because last year, the Wolverines were good.

They were not elite.

QUARTERBACK

Bryce Underwood enters year two, and now the excuses get thinner.

That may sound harsh, but it is true.

Last year, there were reasons to be patient. Underwood was a freshman. Michigan had a tough schedule. The Wolverines went to Oklahoma early. They went to Nebraska early. They asked a young quarterback to grow up fast.

He had flashes.

But the full picture was not good enough.

Underwood completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season. He also carried the ball 88 times and ran for six touchdowns.

Underwood can move. He can extend plays. He can be part of the run game. That gives Michigan something.

But the passing has to jump.

The last six games were the concern. Underwood threw four touchdowns and seven interceptions over that stretch, and the mistakes piled up as the competition got tougher.

That is what has to change.

From a clean pocket, he completed around 65% of his passes, but the turnover number was still too high. Under pressure, he was down in the low 40s in completion percentage. That is not shocking for a freshman, but it cannot stay there.

And the deep ball is one of the more interesting parts of his profile.

Underwood threw 55 passes of 20-plus air yards last season. That is more than it felt like while watching Michigan. He completed only about 34.5% of them, with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

So the willingness is there.

The efficiency is not.

That is the next step.

Michigan does not need Underwood to become the best quarterback in America overnight. But he has to protect the ball better, punish teams that load the box, and keep the offense from shrinking in big games.

If he does that, Michigan can be dangerous.

If he does not, the Wolverines may look a lot like last year again — tough, physical, good enough to beat most teams, but not explosive enough to beat the best ones.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

There is enough here for Michigan to be much better offensively.

The Wolverines averaged 27.5 points per game and 396.9 yards per game last season. They ran for 210.2 yards per game and threw for 186.8. The identity was obvious: run the ball, protect the quarterback, and let the defense do its job.

That can work.

But in the modern Big Ten, it probably cannot be all you are.

Michigan threw the ball on only about 42% of its plays last season. That is very low. It ranked near the bottom nationally in pass rate and pass attempts per game.

Some of that was by design.

Some of that was because the passing game was not ready to carry more.

The offensive line gives Michigan a chance to control games again.

Blake Frazier, Jake Guarnera, Evan Link and Andrew Sprague give the Wolverines a strong group to build around up front.

That matters for two reasons.

First, Michigan wants to run the ball. That is not changing with Whittingham.

Second, Underwood needs clean pockets. He was much better last year when he could set his feet and throw on schedule.

The running back room should be a strength.

Jordan Marshall is back after rushing for more than 900 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Then comes Savion Hiter, a five-star freshman who should have a role right away.

That is a strong one-two punch.

Marshall gives Michigan a proven back. Hiter gives the offense more juice. And with that offensive line, the Wolverines should be able to run the ball.

The bigger question is receiver.

Andrew Marsh is the name to know after 651 yards last season.

Junior Channing Goodwin is back too.

Then there are the additions.

JJ Buchanan comes over from Utah, and Jaime Ffrench comes over from Texas.

Marsh has already shown he can produce. Ffrench was a big-time recruit. Buchanan knows the Utah/Whittingham world. Goodwin gives Michigan another returning option.

But somebody has to become the guy.

Michigan cannot keep playing games where the passing attack feels like a bonus. The Wolverines need a receiver who can win outside, a receiver Underwood trusts on third down, and a passing game that actually scares elite teams.

DEFENSE

The defense should still be good.

It usually is at Michigan.

The Wolverines allowed 20.4 points per game and 323.3 yards per game last season. They held opponents to 4.9 yards per play and only 111.9 rushing yards per game.

That is a strong defensive foundation.

The concern is the returning production.

Michigan does not bring back as many clear defensive starters as you would like. There is talent, but there is also change.

The good news is Whittingham brought help.

John Henry Daley followed from Utah, and that is a big deal. Daley had 11.5 sacks last season and comes in as the kind of pass rusher Michigan badly needed.

That is the headline transfer on defense.

However, secondary might be the strength.

Jyaire Hill is back at corner. Zeke Berry is back. Rod Moore is back at safety. Michigan also added Smith Snowden from Utah and Chris Bracy from Memphis.

That is a lot of experience and talent on the back end.

Snowden is especially interesting because he knows what Whittingham wants defensively. Bracy gives Michigan another veteran safety. Moore gives the Wolverines leadership. Hill and Berry give them corner experience.

The question is linebacker.

That is the spot that feels less settled.

Sophomore Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng is one of the young players to watch there.

Still, I am not overly worried about the defense.

Whittingham knows defense. Michigan has talent. The secondary should be good. Daley gives the front a difference-maker.

If the offense improves, the defense does not have to be perfect.

SCHEDULE

Michigan opens with four straight home games: Western Michigan, Oklahoma, UTEP and Iowa. Then the Wolverines go to Minnesota before a bye. After that, they host Penn State and Indiana, go to Rutgers, host Michigan State, go to Oregon, host UCLA, and finish at Ohio State.

The front half is very friendly.

All four September games are at the Big House.

That is a huge change from last year, when Michigan had difficult early road games and Underwood had to learn on the fly in hostile environments.

This time, he gets to start at home.

That matters.

The Oklahoma game is massive, but it is in Ann Arbor. The Iowa game will be ugly and physical, but it is in Ann Arbor too.

Then Michigan goes to Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug game. After that, the Wolverines get an open date.

Through mid-October, that is about as manageable as you could ask for.

Then comes the real test.

Penn State and Indiana come to Michigan Stadium in back-to-back weeks.

That is a huge stretch.

Penn State is always a measuring-stick game. Indiana is the defending national champion. If Michigan wins both, the season starts to look very different.

Then the Wolverines go to Rutgers on Halloween and host Michigan State the next week.

By mid-November, Michigan will have played only two true road games: Minnesota and Rutgers.

That is incredible.

But the schedule pays it back at the end.

The final three games are at Oregon, UCLA, and at Ohio State.

That is brutal.

Going to Autzen Stadium in mid-November is hard enough. Finishing in Columbus against Ohio State is as hard as it gets. UCLA coming to Ann Arbor between them is not the same kind of challenge, but it is still a Big Ten game in the middle of a draining closing stretch.

So the schedule has two clear parts.

The first part gives Michigan a chance to build confidence.

The last part will tell us if Michigan is actually a playoff team.

OUTLOOK

Michigan is one of the most interesting teams in the country.

The Wolverines have a proven head coach. They have a talented second-year quarterback. They have a good offensive line. They should be able to run the football. They have a secondary with real pieces. They added a proven pass rusher. The schedule gives them a chance to start fast.

That is the optimistic case.

And it is a strong one.

The concern is just as clear.

Bryce Underwood was not good enough last year. The passing game was not good enough. The receiver room still has to prove it can produce against elite teams. The defense has new pieces. The linebacker group has questions. And the final stretch of the schedule is nasty.

The best-case scenario is that Underwood makes a real sophomore jump, Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter give Michigan a strong run game, Andrew Marsh becomes a true No. 1 receiver, Jaime Ffrench adds juice, and the defense stays top-25 nationally under Whittingham.

If that happens, Michigan can absolutely get back to the playoff.

The worst-case scenario is that Underwood stays too inconsistent, the passing game still cannot punish good defenses, the linebacker questions show up, and the Oregon-Ohio State finish exposes the Wolverines.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.

Take the name off the jersey for a second.

Forget that it is Maryland. Forget the recent history. Forget the part where the Terps started hot last year and then completely fell apart.

Just look at the profile.

A team with a returning sophomore quarterback who set freshman school records for completions and passing yards. A team that returns a huge chunk of its roster. A team that brings back multiple offensive linemen from a group that barely allowed its quarterback to get touched. A team with eight defensive starters back. A team sitting near the very top of the country in returning snap production.

If you laid that out without saying the school name, people would at least pay attention.

Then you say it is Maryland, and everybody gets cautious.

I get it.

The Terps went 4-8 last season and 1-8 in the Big Ten. They lost their final eight games. They have not exactly earned the benefit of the doubt.

But I do think Maryland is more interesting than people realize.

And it starts with Malik Washington.

HEAD COACH:

• Mike Locksley, entering year nine at Maryland
• Locksley is 37-49 with the Terps.
• Maryland went 4-8 last season.
• The Terps finished 1-8 in the Big Ten.
• Maryland has gone 8-16 over the last two seasons.

This is a big year for Mike Locksley.

Maryland has had moments under him. The program has recruited well. The Terps have developed some real NFL talent. There have been years where Maryland looked like it was about to become a stable bowl program.

But the Big Ten is unforgiving.

Last year was a perfect example. Maryland started 4-0, beat Wisconsin, had a big lead on Washington, and then the whole thing unraveled. The Terps lost that Washington game, then lost every game after it.

That cannot happen again.

The frustrating part is that this roster has enough pieces to believe Maryland should be better. The Terps are not starting over. They are not breaking in a new quarterback. They are not replacing the whole defense. They are not some mystery team with no experience.

That is why this season matters so much.

If Maryland is ever going to take a step under Locksley, this feels like the kind of roster that should do it.

QUARTERBACK:

This is the reason to care.

Malik Washington is back, and he is probably the best argument for Maryland being a real sleeper.

As a true freshman, Washington started all 12 games, completed 273 passes for 2,963 yards and 17 touchdowns. His completions and passing yards were both Maryland freshman records, and he also ran for more than 300 yards.

That is a strong freshman year.

Washington completed 57.7% of his passes with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran 56 times for 303 yards and four touchdowns, including a huge rushing day against Rutgers.

The thing that jumps out is that he was doing all of that behind an offensive line that was excellent in pass protection.

Maryland threw the ball more than anybody in the country, and still Washington barely got sacked. That is not normal.

Now, some of that is Washington. He can move. He can escape. He can make things happen.

But a lot of it is the line too.

That gives Maryland a foundation most teams with young quarterbacks do not have.

The next step is obvious.

Washington has to become more efficient. The completion percentage needs to come up. The interceptions need to come down. Maryland cannot ask him to throw it on almost two-thirds of its plays and carry the whole offense every week.

But if he takes the normal freshman-to-sophomore jump, Maryland has something.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

The offense was not good enough last season.

Maryland averaged only 21.6 points per game, which ranked outside the top 100 nationally. The Terps averaged 355 yards per game, but the run-pass balance was almost nonexistent.

Maryland ran the ball on only about 36% of its plays, dead last nationally.

That is wild.

And it was not just that Maryland chose not to run it. The Terps could not run it well enough to make defenses respect it. They averaged only 23.8 rushing attempts per game, also near the bottom of the country.

So, yes, Washington is the headline.

But the season probably depends on whether Maryland can run the football.

DeJuan Williams is back, and he should get every chance to become the lead back. The sophomore’s role has to grow if the Terps are going to become more balanced.

The line gives them hope.

Michael Hershey, Isaiah Wright and Rahtrel Perry are all back  and give Maryland real size and experience up front.

The weird part is that Maryland was good in pass protection but terrible in the run game – dead last in PFF’s run block rankings.

That has to change.

You cannot ask a sophomore quarterback to throw on 64% of the snaps and expect that to be a winning formula in the Big Ten. At some point, you have to be able to hand the ball off and get four yards.

The receiver room is also a little more uncertain.

Kaleb Webb is the top returning receiver after catching 22 passes last season.

That is not a ton.

Dorian Fleming helps a lot at tight end.

The Terps also added Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding from Old Dominion and Chris Durr Jr. from Wyoming.

The offense does not need to become Ohio State.

But it has to become more balanced.

If Washington is throwing 40 times every week again, Maryland is probably not where it wants to be.

If the run game gives him help, this offense becomes a lot more dangerous.

DEFENSE

This is where Maryland should be better.

The Terps return a lot on defense, and that is why the sleeper case exists.

The names start up front with Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart. Maryland lists Mathis as a sophomore defensive lineman and Stewart as a sophomore defensive lineman as well. Both were young impact pieces, and both are part of the reason there is some real optimism about the front.

Then there is Zion Elee, the five-star freshman edge rusher.

Elee is listed on Maryland’s roster as a freshman defensive lineman from St. Frances Academy, and he gives the Terps another explosive young piece off the edge.

That is the kind of talent Maryland needs.

The linebacker group has experience too.

Zahir Mathis, Trey Reddick, Sidney Stewart and Daniel Wingate give Maryland a lot of playable front-seven pieces. Wingate and Reddick are both listed on the official roster at linebacker.

The secondary has names back as well.

Jamare Glasker, Dontay Joyner and Lavain Scruggs are all listed on Maryland’s roster, and all three should have meaningful roles.

The question is whether returning production turns into better results.

That is always the catch.

It is nice to bring players back. It is better when those players become part of a defense that actually improves.

Maryland needs more disruption. It needs more negative plays. It needs more stops in the second half. It needs to avoid the kind of defensive slides that turned winnable games into losses last season.

The talent is there.

The experience is there.

Now the defense has to play like it.

SCHEDULE

The schedule gives Maryland a chance to start fast again.

The Terps open with Hampton at home, go to UConn, then host Virginia Tech and UCLA. Maryland’s official schedule has three of the first four games at SECU Stadium, with the only road trip coming at UConn.

That first month is everything.

Hampton is a game Maryland has to win.

UConn is a road game, but it is still a game Maryland should feel like it can win.

Then it gets interesting.

Virginia Tech comes to College Park on Sept. 19, and that game will tell us a lot. The Hokies are entering year one under James Franklin, and they have a lot coming back. Maryland is in year nine under Locksley and should be more settled.

That is a game Maryland needs if it wants people to take the sleeper talk seriously.

Then comes UCLA.

If Maryland is 3-1 after September, that feels fine.

If the Terps are 4-0, suddenly people are paying attention.

But the next stretch is brutal.

Maryland goes to Nebraska on Oct. 3 and Ohio State on Oct. 10. Then the Terps host Rutgers, get a bye, and host Illinois on Oct. 31.

That is where the season can swing.

Rutgers beat Maryland 35-20 last year, and Washington had a huge rushing day in that loss.

Illinois is a tough, physical team.

Ohio State is Ohio State.

The back half is not easy either. Maryland goes to Purdue, hosts Wisconsin, travels to USC, and closes at home against Penn State.

That USC trip is tough.

Penn State to end the year is tough.

There are enough winnable games here for Maryland to get to a bowl.

But there are also enough landmines that another slide is possible if the Terps do not handle the early part of the schedule.

OUTLOOK

I understand why people are skeptical.

Maryland went 4-8 last year. The Terps lost eight straight games. They had positive momentum and watched it disappear. Until Maryland proves it can finish, people are not going to buy in.

That is fair.

But I also think this team is more interesting than its record.

Malik Washington is back after a record-setting freshman year. The offensive line should be good enough in pass protection to keep him upright. The defense returns a ton. There are young edge pieces to like. The schedule starts in a way that gives Maryland a chance to build confidence.

That is the optimistic case.

The concern is obvious too.

The run game was terrible. The offense was too one-dimensional. The receivers are unproven. The second half of last season was a disaster. And the Big Ten does not give you many soft spots once conference play gets rolling.

The best-case scenario is that Washington takes a big sophomore jump, DeJuan Williams gives the Terps a real run game, Dorian Fleming becomes a safety blanket, one of the new receivers pops, and the defense turns all that returning experience into actual production.

If that happens, Maryland can be a bowl team and maybe more than that.

The worst-case scenario is that the run game still cannot function, Washington has to carry too much, the defense is experienced but not good enough, and the schedule wears Maryland down again after a decent start.

The Terps have enough pieces to win six or seven games, and if Washington really breaks out, they could become one of those teams nobody wants to play.

The name on the jersey may make people hesitate.

The roster should make them think twice.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.

In college football, there are not many things you can count on anymore.

The transfer portal changes everything. Coaches move. Quarterbacks leave. Conferences barely look like conferences anymore.

But Iowa winning eight or nine games?

That still feels about as safe as death and taxes.

The Hawkeyes went 9-4 last season and 6-3 in the Big Ten, and they did it in the most Iowa way possible. They played defense. They ran the football. They made games ugly. They forced opponents to play in the mud.

And honestly, that is still what makes Iowa dangerous.

Nobody wants to see the Hawkeyes sitting in the middle of the schedule. You may have more talent. You may have a better quarterback. You may have more explosive receivers. But if you get dragged into an Iowa game, suddenly it is 16-13 in the fourth quarter and one mistake can beat you.

That is the beauty and frustration of Kirk Ferentz football.

Now the question is whether Iowa can do more than just be tough.

Can the Hawkeyes find enough offense to actually threaten the top tier of the Big Ten?

HEAD COACH:

• Kirk Ferentz, entering year 28 at Iowa
• Ferentz is 213-128 as Iowa’s head coach.
• Iowa went 9-4 last season and 6-3 in the Big Ten.
• The Hawkeyes are 35-19 over the last four seasons.
• Iowa has won at least eight games every full season since 2015.

At this point, Kirk Ferentz is Iowa football.

He is entering his 28th season as head coach, which is almost impossible to wrap your mind around in modern college football. The sport has changed a dozen times around him, and Ferentz is still there, still winning, still making Iowa look like Iowa.

The formula is not complicated.

Play great defense. Be physical. Run the ball. Win field position. Avoid disasters. Make the opponent uncomfortable.

It is not always pretty.

But it works.

Iowa averaged 28.9 points per game last season, which was actually a big step up from some of the ugly offensive years people remember. The yardage still looked very Iowa — just 316.9 yards per game, ranked 118th nationally — but the Hawkeyes found enough points to win nine games. Defensively, they allowed only 16.8 points per game and 289.3 yards per game, both top-10 marks nationally.

That is the Iowa experience.

The offense might not scare you.

The defense absolutely does.

QUARTERBACK:

This is the biggest unknown.

Mark Gronowski is gone, and that matters more than people may realize.

Gronowski was not a high-volume passer last season. He threw 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, so it is not like Iowa is replacing a 4,000-yard quarterback.

But he gave Iowa something huge: a quarterback run game.

Gronowski ran 130 times for 545 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. That changed the math for the Hawkeyes, especially near the goal line. When Iowa got into scoring range, it had a quarterback who could finish drives with his legs.

That may not be easy to replace.

The quarterback battle appears to be between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown. Hecklinski is a sophomore who came from Wake Forest and has barely played. Brown is a junior from Auburn who has more experience, but still not a ton. Iowa’s roster lists both quarterbacks, with Brown coming from Auburn and Hecklinski coming from Wake Forest.

Brown threw only 21 passes last season. He had 107 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Before that, he threw 52 passes across his time at Auburn.

Hecklinski threw only two passes last year at Iowa.

So this is not a quarterback room full of proven Big Ten production.

That does not mean Iowa is doomed. Iowa has won a lot of games without elite quarterback play. But the Hawkeyes do need one of these guys to be functional.

That is the word.

Functional.

Complete the easy throws. Protect the ball. Do not make the defense defend short fields. Hit a few play-action shots. Hand it to the running backs and stay out of the way when the game calls for it.

If Brown or Hecklinski can do that, Iowa can win plenty of games.

But if the quarterback run game disappears and the passing game does not improve, the offense could slide right back toward the version of Iowa everyone jokes about.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

The quarterback is a question.

The running back room is not.

Kamari Moulton is back after rushing for 878 yards and five touchdowns last season. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry, and he gives Iowa a real lead back to build around.

That is huge.

Moulton is not alone, either.

Lendon “L.J.” Phillips Jr. comes in from South Dakota, and his numbers are ridiculous. Phillips rushed for 1,920 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, and Iowa lists him as a junior running back from South Dakota.

That gives Iowa a pretty fun one-two punch.

Moulton has proven he can produce in the Big Ten. Phillips was a monster at the FCS level. Together, they should allow Iowa to keep doing what Iowa wants to do: shorten games, lean on the run, protect the quarterback and let the defense control the flow.

The offensive line has some work to do.

Iowa has to replace Logan Jones, the Remington Trophy-winning center. That is not easy. Centers matter everywhere, but they really matter at Iowa, where the run game and protection calls are such a big part of the identity.

The good news is Trevor Lauck is back at offensive tackle, and Kade Pieper is back on the line as well.

Lauck especially matters because if Iowa is breaking in a quarterback, having stability at tackle is a big deal.

The receiver room still feels like the usual Iowa question.

Who scares anybody?

That has been the issue for years. Iowa does not need to become Ohio State at receiver, but it does need somebody who can punish defenses for loading up against the run.

If the passing game is just occasional third-and-7 hope, this offense has a ceiling.

If the run game is strong enough to force safeties down and the quarterback can hit some shots, Iowa becomes much harder to deal with.

DEFENSE

This is where Iowa should be Iowa again.

The Hawkeyes were outstanding defensively last season.

They allowed 16.8 points per game, eighth-best nationally, and only 289.3 yards per game, ninth-best nationally. Opponents converted only 20% of their fourth-down attempts, the best mark in the country.

That is not just good.

That is suffocating.

Iowa makes everything difficult. It tackles. It stays in position. It does not give away cheap explosives. It makes you earn every yard. And when an offense is used to getting easy throws or easy run lanes, the Hawkeyes can make the whole thing feel frustrating in a hurry.

There are only a few returning starters, but the names are important.

Jayden Montgomery is back at linebacker. Deshaun Lee is back in the secondary. Zach Lutmer is also back at defensive back.

The transfer additions are interesting too.

Defensive back Tyler Brown comes in from James Madison, and Kahmari Brown, a defensive lineman, transfers in from Elon.

The bigger portal story is that Iowa has brought in more transfers than usual.

That is worth watching.

For years, Ferentz built this program by developing players over time. Redshirt them. Teach them. Let them grow. Turn three-star prospects into NFL players.

That is still part of Iowa’s DNA.

But college football is different now.

You cannot always wait three years for development. Players transfer. Depth changes quickly. Rosters turn over faster. So Iowa has to adapt without losing what makes Iowa Iowa.

That is one of the more interesting parts of this season.

Can Ferentz blend the old Iowa development model with the new transfer-portal world?

If he can, the defense should be fine.

It usually is.

SCHEDULE

The first six games are going to tell us a lot.

Iowa opens with Northern Illinois, then gets Iowa State and Northern Iowa at home. After that, things get real fast: at Michigan, home against Ohio State, then at Washington. Iowa’s official schedule has that exact opening stretch before the back half begins with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska.

That is a tough start.

The Iowa State game is always weird. It is almost always low-scoring. It almost always feels like both teams are fighting over every inch. Last year, Iowa lost that game 16-13, which is about as Iowa-Iowa State as it gets.

Then comes the Big Ten gauntlet.

At Michigan.

Ohio State at home.

At Washington.

That is brutal.

Michigan and Ohio State back-to-back is hard enough. Add a road trip to Husky Stadium right after that, and you have a stretch that could define the entire season.

If Iowa gets through the first six games at 4-2, Hawkeye fans should probably feel pretty good.

If it is 3-3, that would not be shocking.

The good news is the back half of the schedule is much more manageable.

Iowa finishes with at Minnesota, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, Purdue, at Illinois and Nebraska.

That does not mean easy.

But compared to Michigan, Ohio State and Washington in a three-game stretch, it is a lot more reasonable.

The schedule sets up like this:

Survive the first half.

Make a run in the second half.

OUTLOOK

Iowa is going to be Iowa.

The defense will be tough. The games will be physical. The Hawkeyes will make opponents uncomfortable. There will be at least one game where a more explosive team gets dragged into an ugly fourth quarter and wonders how it happened.

That is what Iowa does.

The harder question is whether the offense can be good enough.

Losing Mark Gronowski’s rushing production matters. That quarterback run game helped Iowa finish drives last season. If the new quarterback does not bring that same element, the passing game has to give the offense something else.

The running backs should help.

Kamari Moulton and L.J. Phillips give Iowa a real backfield. If the offensive line comes together, the Hawkeyes should be able to lean on the run game and protect whichever quarterback wins the job.

The best-case scenario is that Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski settles in, the run game becomes one of the better ones in the Big Ten, the offensive line grows up quickly, and the defense stays top-15 nationally.

If that happens, Iowa can absolutely win nine or 10 games again.

The worst-case scenario is that the quarterback situation never really settles, the offense misses Gronowski’s legs, the passing game stays limited, and the early schedule puts Iowa in a hole before October even gets rolling.

Winning nine games is great.

But if Iowa wants to be a real Big Ten contender, the offense has to give the defense more help.

The defense will keep Iowa in games.

The running backs will give the Hawkeyes a chance.

Now the quarterback has to make sure the offense does not hold everything back.

The last two seasons under Bret Bielema are not just good by recent Illinois standards.

They are historic.

Illinois has won 19 games over the last two seasons, which is the most wins in a two-year stretch in program history. The Illini also posted the first back-to-back nine-win seasons in school history. That is a big deal at Illinois.

And yet, it still feels like there is another step sitting out there.

The Illini went 9-4 last year and 5-4 in the Big Ten. They were good. They were solid. They won a bowl game. But they were not really a major factor in the Big Ten title race.

That is the question now.

Can Illinois go from good story to real Big Ten problem?

HEAD COACH:

• Bret Bielema, entering year six at Illinois
• Bielema is 37-26 with the Illini.
• Illinois went 9-4 last season.

I think we can stop wondering whether Bret Bielema has stabilized Illinois.

He has.

That does not mean Illinois is Ohio State. It does not mean Illinois is Oregon. It does not mean the Illini are suddenly a yearly College Football Playoff lock.

But this program is no longer a doormat.

And that matters.

Illinois has become a team that expects to win eight or nine games. That is a very different conversation than where this program has been for most of its modern history.

The issue now is ceiling.

Illinois has beaten good teams. It has been tough. It has won bowl games. It has become respectable.

But when the Illini have played the top of the Big Ten, it has not always looked close enough. Last year, Indiana absolutely blasted Illinois 63-10 on its way to a national title. The Illini also lost to Ohio State. The year before, they lost to Oregon when the Ducks were No. 1.

Now, to be fair, a lot of people lose to those teams.

That is not the problem.

The problem is whether Illinois can become more competitive in those games while still beating the teams it should beat.

That is how you go from nice season to special season.

QUARTERBACK:

This is the biggest change.

Luke Altmyer is gone, and that is not small.

Altmyer was not perfect, but he gave Illinois exactly what Bielema wanted at quarterback. He protected the football, made enough plays and kept the Illini out of disasters.

Over his final two seasons, Altmyer threw 44 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions.

That is a huge reason Illinois won 19 games.

Now the job goes to Katin Houser, the transfer from East Carolina. Houser is a senior quarterback has who one year of eligibility remaining after throwing for 6,438 career yards, 43 touchdowns and adding 15 rushing touchdowns across his first four college seasons.

I like this move.

Houser has played real football. He is not some total unknown stepping into the Big Ten and trying to figure everything out from scratch.

Last season at East Carolina, he completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,300 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for nine touchdowns.

That is a good starting point.

He also played well against Power 4 competition last yaer. Against NC State, he threw for 366 yards and a touchdown. Against BYU, he threw for 285 yards, though he also had two interceptions.

But can he be productive without giving the ball away?

Because Illinois has won under Bielema by avoiding mistakes. If Houser gives Illinois the same kind of efficiency Altmyer gave them, the Illini can be good again.

If the interceptions creep up, that changes everything.

The running ability helps too. Houser is not just a statue. If he can give Illinois a little more quarterback run-game value than Altmyer did, that adds another layer.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

The offense has some pieces, but there is a lot to sort out.

Ca’Lil Valentine is back at running back, and he is probably the first name to know. He ran 131 times for 614 yards and four touchdowns last season. He also caught 10 passes.

The interesting part is that Valentine was not really treated like a workhorse.

He only had 10-plus carries in four games.

That is not what you typically picture when you think of a Bret Bielema offense. You think of the old Wisconsin style. Big backs. Big offensive linemen. A run game that just keeps coming at you.

Illinois has not really had that kind of true bell-cow back lately.

Maybe Valentine becomes more of that this year.

He may need to.

Because when you are breaking in a new quarterback, the easiest way to help him is to run the football.

At receiver, Hudson Clement and Collin Dixon are back. Those are important pieces because Houser needs targets who already understand the offense. Illinois also added Alex Perry from FIU, and that is one of the more interesting transfer additions. Perry is listed by Illinois as a 6-foot-5 wide receiver coming in from FIU.

Perry gives Illinois size and production. He had 56 catches, more than 800 yards and nine touchdowns last season.

That is the kind of player who can change the passing game quickly if it translates.

Up front, Brandon Henderson is back, and Illinois added Jake Renfro from Wisconsin and Christian Martin from Colorado State.

Renfro is especially interesting because he has real experience and was previously an all-conference type player at Cincinnati before injuries complicated things.

So the offense has answers.

But it is not automatic.

New quarterback. New offensive line pieces. New receiver help. A running back who has to prove he can handle more.

There is enough here to be good.

The question is whether there is enough here to scare the top of the Big Ten.

DEFENSE

The defense is where things get really interesting to me.

Illinois brings back some experience in the secondary with Matthew Bailey, Juice Clarke and Tanner Heckel.

Clark was honorable mention All-Big Ten last year and had seven pass breakups despite missing the first four games.

That secondary experience matters because Illinois lost a lot of production elsewhere.

The Illini return only around 35% of their snaps, and the defense returns even less than the offense. That is a lot of turnover.

But the biggest defensive storyline is not a player.

It is Bobby Hauck.

Hauck is the new defensive coordinator, and I love this hire.

This is a guy who has won everywhere at the FCS level. Hauck had 151 victories, 13 playoff appearances, four national championship game appearances and eight conference titles during his head-coaching career. His defenses at Montana were built around an aggressive 3-3-5 scheme.

That is not some random assistant moving up the ladder.

That is a real head coach choosing to become a defensive coordinator because the current job of being a college football head coach is exhausting.

I think that matters.

Illinois needed some new energy on defense, and Hauck should bring that.

The Illini were not awful defensively last year. They allowed about 23.6 points per game on the full season, according to Illinois’ official stats.

But they also did not always feel like a defense that could control games against the best teams.

That is the next step.

If Hauck’s defense is aggressive, creates takeaways and lets the secondary play fast, Illinois could be better than people expect on that side of the ball.

But there is risk.

New coordinator. New system. Limited returning production.

This could take time.

SCHEDULE

I actually like this schedule for Illinois.

Not because it is easy. It is not easy.

But it is manageable in the right ways.

Illinois opens with three straight home games: UAB, Duke and Southern Illinois. The Illini then go to Ohio State on Sept. 26 for the first road game of the season.

That might be the toughest road game in the country, depending on how the Buckeyes look. Illinois is going to learn a lot about itself there.

After that, Illinois gets Purdue at home, goes to Michigan State, gets a bye, then hosts Oregon.

That Oregon game is fascinating.

If you are going to play Oregon, you would love to get the Ducks at home and after a bye. That is about as good of a setup as Illinois could ask for.

Then the Illini go to Maryland, host Nebraska on a Friday night, go to UCLA on another Friday night, host Iowa, and finish at Northwestern.

The best thing about the schedule?

No back-to-back road games.

Illinois does have to go to Ohio State. It does have to make the long trip to UCLA. It does have to play Oregon.

But the road games outside Ohio State are Michigan State, Maryland, UCLA and Northwestern.

Illinois fans are going to expect to win a lot of those.

The Illini also avoid Indiana, which matters after what happened last year.

So yes, the schedule has two monster games with Ohio State and Oregon.

But it also gives Illinois a path to another strong season if it handles the games it should handle.

OUTLOOK

I understand why Illinois fans are excited.

They should be.

This program is in a better place than it has been in a long time. Bielema has made Illinois steady. The Illini have won 19 games in two years. They have a quarterback in Katin Houser who has real production. They have a running back in Ca’Lil Valentine who could take on a bigger role. They have some receiver options. They have a fascinating defensive coordinator in Bobby Hauck.

And the schedule is not bad.

But I also think there are fair questions.

Can Houser protect the ball like Altmyer did?

Can the run game become more physical and consistent?

Can the offensive line come together with new pieces?

Can Hauck’s defense work quickly enough in the Big Ten?

Can Illinois avoid the weird losses to teams like Minnesota, Washington or Wisconsin that have kept the Illini from being more than just solid?

That is the difference.

Illinois has already proven it can be good.

Now it has to prove it can be more than good.

The best-case scenario is that Houser gives Illinois efficient quarterback play, Valentine becomes a real lead back, Perry adds size and explosiveness at receiver, and Hauck’s defense creates more disruption right away.

If that happens, Illinois can win nine or 10 games again.

The worst-case scenario is that Houser throws too many interceptions, the offense misses Altmyer’s steadiness, the defense takes time under Hauck, and the Ohio State-Oregon portion of the schedule exposes the gap between Illinois and the top of the Big Ten.

Bielema has built a program that no longer feels like a one-year fluke. Illinois is not just hoping to be relevant anymore.

Now the Illini are trying to prove they can stay relevant.

And maybe, if Houser hits and Hauck’s defense clicks, they can become something more than that.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.