Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - CLASH: Gronowski's POWER Running vs. Indiana's EXPLOSIVE Offense | Who Will PREVAIL?

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's the Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers. A crossover edition of Locked on. Jacob Goins, Trent Conn, with you. What's it going to take for I? I would pull off the upset, or does the Hoosier train continue on? You are Locked on Hawkeyes. Your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:27 Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon. Goens, and this is a crossover edition, Locked on Hawkeyes and Locked on Hoosiers. Thanks for making Locked on Hawkeyes or Hoosiers, your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube. I've been covering the Hawkeyes for over 20 years on the radio. Jacob, a longtime Hoosier fan and broadcaster, and glad to have you aboard with us here today.

Starting point is 00:00:52 Today's episode is brought to you by Mazda. Like our players, we sweat every detail, because when you make every move count, Pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned later for highlights in this week's moving the game forward. Mazda move and be moved. Jacob, good to see you once again. Here we go. It is a big week and an old Big Ten rivalry that we just haven't seen a whole lot.

Starting point is 00:01:17 Kind of crazy that this is the first instance, 2021 between these two teams, one of the few times that the Hoosiers came in ranked, and Iowa blew them off the field. But this Indiana team certainly feels much different than that one. Let's open up today, since this is a crossover and just an overview. I'm sure most everybody was able to see Saturday night and what the Hoosiers did against Illinois. I went back, watched those condensed versions of their first couple of games of the season.

Starting point is 00:01:46 A lot to be excited about. So for the Hawkeye side of things, how would you kind of rate or how would you just describe what we've seen here for you guys during the first four games of the year? Well, you mentioned it, and it's good to be back on with you and have you on for Locked on Hoosiers as well. You mentioned the fact that everybody in the country got to see what Indiana was truly about last Saturday against Illinois. Because it was one of the biggest games of the week. It's truly one of the biggest games of the year up to that point. And the fact that it was on national television, all the other night games weren't really that good. Florida, Miami was a snooze fest.

Starting point is 00:02:22 And some of the other games were just not that entertaining. so most people turned on Indiana versus Illinois and got to see that the Hoosiers are legit because everybody knows Indiana made the playoff last year and everybody knows that Kurt Signetti is a really good coach and there were a bunch of new guys coming in through the transfer portal. But the, I guess the consensus across the country was, Indiana can't do it again, right? The inevitable step back year, no way that they're able to be good again.

Starting point is 00:02:52 And playing three cup cakes to start the season, You didn't really know, right? Nobody really trusted Indiana or knew how good they could be until you dismantle a top 10 team like you did against Illinois, 63 to 10. So that's where a lot of the confidence this week, Trent is coming from, is the idea that Indiana proved it against a good opponent and the whole country got to see it. On Iowa side of things, it has been a tumultuous start, I would say, to the season. Although they're sitting here at this point with just one loss on the resume,

Starting point is 00:03:22 The Lost Iowa State still lingers. Definitely first time losing a name since 2011. And Iowa went out and they spent in the portal. And they brought in a quarterback that was hopeful that was going to cure the ills that we've seen over the last five or six years. The quarterback position had just been such a quagmire for Iowa. And Mark Grinowski game one against Albany. It's Albany, right? A bad FCS team.

Starting point is 00:03:46 Right. And he didn't look good. And then he goes to Ames. And then we looked a little bit better. He still didn't look very good. But the last couple of weeks, it feels like that maturation is happening. Now, I think Hoosier fans also need to realize Mark Grinowski, one of the most celebrated players in the portal. Remember, this is the guy Miami wanted before they eventually got Carson Beck.

Starting point is 00:04:04 So it shows you that Garnowski, but he missed all his spring football. He had surgery on his shoulder, missed all his spring football, was slow coming back. And the reports we continue to get during August camp was it wasn't going very well. That shaking off the rust was maybe taking a little bit longer. that has dissipated these last couple of weeks. Ray and the ball effectively now was against UMass in game number three. You don't want to read too much into that. And I think that's the caveat that we put into it.

Starting point is 00:04:31 But then last week against Rutgers, at least a Big Ten team, team that's kind of at minimum going to be flirting with bowl eligibility and definitely has some dudes. He looked like the guy that Iowa thought they were going to get. There's still some warts throwing the football. This is not an elite guy. This is not a guy that processes. But the biggest difference maker that he is, is what he does with his legs. And as we get to the game on Saturday, that's something I think we're going to talk about more

Starting point is 00:04:54 because the importance of him being able to run the football. And not just not you think about an Antoine Randwell, right? That's not the kind of running quarterback that he is. This is a guy that does it with power. He was called the Tim Tebow of the FCS. And you can definitely see it. Six four, two hundred and thirty pounds. He is big.

Starting point is 00:05:13 He is physical. He'll lay a guy out. And he makes place. Third and one used to be a disaster for Iowa. not the case anymore fourth and one when you have the capability of a physical running quarterback that has really helped out this Iowa offense so that's where we are at this point but with one loss already on the resume this is a huge game for Iowa now a season ago they came in with a lot of aspirations a lot of people had them top 20 team coming into the year had two early

Starting point is 00:05:39 losses and after that it was not going to be a college football playoff team kind of what we are if they another loss here in September I think a lot of those conversations are going to continue So that's a look at where we are here, the first couple of weeks of the season. Should be a fun one. I want to take it to this direction. Jacob, my listeners know and my everyday listeners know, I'm a general gambler. I gamble every single day. That is something that is very big in my world that when we're taking at games also.

Starting point is 00:06:07 It brings up an interesting point because what we saw Saturday, the domination from Indiana, how they're playing some of their strengths and weaknesses. And we're going to talk about those a little bit later on. But the point spread gives me hope, gives me hope that this is going to be a game, both just as a gambler, taking the Iowa angle away from it, but seeing the opening line that came out from Fian Duel. They had this thing in their look ahead line Friday night before Iowa Ruckers. They had it, Indiana by three. And to Saturday night, and after the games conclude, I saw they rehung it, and it was six and a half and quickly went to seven and a half. Yet the sharpest book out there, Circus Sports, they still opened it Sunday after.

Starting point is 00:06:47 draft king's band dual some of the big books out there they still had it indiana minus four which shows you the vegas numbers the power numbers do not have the hoosures quite at that level that everything went well saturday night and maybe there's some overreaction in the market and that's one thing betting public is all over indiana nobody wants to take the hawkeyes this weekend i personally as a gambler love this spot yeah and you see this so often right because i i dabble into to the gambling scene as well. And you see the public, because the public is the public. They just watch games when they want to.

Starting point is 00:07:23 A lot of them are box score viewers. And whoa, 63 to 10, Indiana is a world beat or Indiana. I mean, they're going to smoke Iowa, right? That's what most of the public wants to think and talk about. I think Indiana wins. And I think Indiana can cover a three, four, or a seven point spread. But you see the public just jump on a team that played really well last week because they feel they can do it again this week.

Starting point is 00:07:46 So the betting line moving all over the place has worried me a little bit because Trent, I always say the buildings in Vegas are nice for a reason. They don't just, they didn't just show up there and have a loan. They paid for those pretty quickly out there because those guys know what they're doing in terms of putting these spreads out. Our friends at Fandall have it at seven and a half as we speak going into Friday, possibly Saturday as well. We'll see where some of those big money spenders come in right before kickoff,

Starting point is 00:08:14 which is something that's really big. But look, I think Indiana can cover just about any spread that it ends up being, but you have to avoid the letdown. And we're going to talk about that in just a moment. But that's the concern for me. Can Indiana avoid the letdown, not listen to people who are backing them and just play Hoosier football? Because if they do, they should beat Iowa on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:08:36 Let's get into that. Let's talk about the strengths, the weaknesses. How does Iowa slow this Indiana train down? And the Kinnick Stadium Factor, I see some of you who. Hoosiers starting to overlook that a little bit. We're going to get into that as we continue. It's a crossover edition, Locked on Hawkeyes and Locked on Hoosiers. It's almost the weekend.

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Starting point is 00:10:44 fan duel.com to get started. That's fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet, fanduel.com. Trent Condon, Jacob Goans, back with you in a crossover edition. Locked on Hawkeyes, locked on Hoosiers. Make sure you hit subscribe if you're watching us on YouTube. If you're on the podcast side, five-star reviews, helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans and get in front of some Hoosier fans as well. All right, Jacob, let's get back into this matchup. And going through, I mentioned, watched the non-conference games. One thing that I guess I was a little surprised, because I didn't want to start to finish,

Starting point is 00:11:23 but watched a lot of it. Got the multi-TV set up down here in the man cave. You didn't watch Indiana's full game against Indiana State. Trent, what do you come on, on a Friday night? You didn't have anything better to do? No, no. I was broadcast in high school football that night, but I did watch those condensed versions. And they're, you know, they're 20 minutes, you know, something like that on YouTube. But certainly the first two games, Especially, even the blowout of Kennesaw State, you know, that was a relatively close game in there, middle of the third quarter before things opened up. Because of what I saw Saturday night, I thought I was going to be more impressed by Indiana. And I walked away from those games, not including the Indiana State game, but the first two, maybe a little bit more.

Starting point is 00:12:00 This is Indiana, and they're playing incredibly well. But to replicate what they did Saturday night is difficult to do. We know college football, right? to do that week after week is incredibly difficult. And going through, looking at those games, looking at the numbers, it's hard to come up with something realistic that, oh boy, this is an easy weakness to point to for this Indiana team. But you watch closer than I do.

Starting point is 00:12:25 So if you had to come up with something, give the Hawkeye fans out there something that they can cling on to, maybe this could be the weakness that I could try to exploit. Look, it's hard to find it. And I believe Kirk Ference even had a quote this week saying, it's hard to find a weakness about this Indiana team because you see when they're playing at their best in all facets of the game, they can do what they did last week against Illinois. And I do want to clear up this idea that Indiana is going to do that every week.

Starting point is 00:12:54 It's just not going to happen, especially this week on the road against an Iowa team. First road game of the year. We'll talk about Kinnick Stadium and how crazy that plays can get here momentarily. But there's just not a whole lot of weaknesses here for this Indiana team. If there is maybe defensive depth, right? You're looking at some injuries in the secondary, a couple of guys in the linebacker room who you're still trying to work into a rotation. The starters are good and the two deep is really solid,

Starting point is 00:13:21 but maybe some defensive depth or maybe even running the football consistently with your running backs and just trying to create some of those holes. And look, I understand that Indiana is going up against an offensive and defensive line for Iowa that grade out extremely well thanks to PFF. I mean, both of those, that's what I was built on, right, Trent. I'm not telling you or your listeners anything they don't know. That's what Iowa does is have the big boys up front and keep you in ball games. But Indiana is solid at every, every spot.

Starting point is 00:13:51 And speaking of the depth in the secondary to be particular, Indiana just won a huge illegal battle this week with Lewis Moore, starting safety, who was still fighting eligibility. Trent, he played the first four games of the year, was still fighting eligibility with the NCAA. he found a judge in Texas that claimed his two years and Juko doesn't count. The Diego Pavia rule come into effect. And so Indiana starting safety will play the rest of the season.

Starting point is 00:14:16 So that's a huge get. That's a huge bonus really for Indiana. And so I think depth on defense may be running the football against Iowa in particular could be tough. But man, Indiana is playing really, really well. And I'll flip it back to you and talking about Iowa. I look at the Hawkeyes and just being honest, I'm struggling to find an area.

Starting point is 00:14:37 where they could have the advantage over Indiana in this football game because the defensive and offensive lines for the Hoosiers are much better than they were a year ago. So let's flip it to you. Tell me a spot for Iowa that I might be overlooking where they could have the advantage on Saturday. I think the biggest one and it's something that we talk about seemingly every week for Iowa in matchups like this is they have to dominate special teams, not just win special teams, but dominate. Caden Weijin, 95-yard punt return a couple of weeks ago. Last week opened up the game with a 104-yard kick return.

Starting point is 00:15:08 He is outstanding. He is one of the best returners year after year. He was a returner of the year in the country last season, the Jet Award winner. So Caden Weechin, as a returner, he's a difference maker. And he added the worst game of his career against Iowa State. And because of that, since he's bounced back,

Starting point is 00:15:23 he's been incredible since then. So you have that advantage. In terms of kicking, Drew Stevens, is outstanding, an incredibly strong leg. He kicked a couple of 54-yard or so far. This season has a 55-yarder in his career. And every one of those long kids, kicks he is made with distance.

Starting point is 00:15:39 I mean, there is a realistic possibility. We could be talking about a 60, 61-yarder without fail for Drew Stevens. He is one of the best kickers in the country. Though, there has been some operational things. They do have a long snapper that came in for Boston College. A couple of concerns there to keep your eye on punting. In his second year, Reese Dakin, another Australian punter coming in for Tori Taylor.

Starting point is 00:15:59 He's been okay this year, but I think there's a lot more. We certainly saw that a season ago out of Dakin. Coverage units every single year. are really good. That's rarely a problem. Lavar Woods, former Hawkeye linebacker. He is the special teams coordinator, one of the best in the country. Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to hire him last year. He is one of the best out there. So that would be the point, the one that I point to. You know, I was got to make a couple things happen, right? They got to get a turnover. Something goofy's got to happen. And dominate special teams. That's how Iowa closes the gap. And, you know,

Starting point is 00:16:29 for years and years when we've gone through Iowa and the struggles offensively and all those different things. That was one thing that people so rarely looked at on the national and even the regional scene is how Iowa would win games by dominating special teams. So that would be one place that I would look to. Iowa have an advantage there. I know last week, punt block or Indiana. So they're going to be buttoned up there. But saw a miss kick. What was the kick? Maybe it was the old dominion game that hit the crossbar on the long one at the end of the half, like a 48 yard or something like that. So that's an area that I think Iowa can close the gap between the two. Yeah. And I'm glad you bring up special teams because I'm not concerned about Indiana special teams

Starting point is 00:17:08 in terms of the kicking game yet. It's just something that this is going to sound cocky when I say it, and I don't mean it to sound this way. Indiana just hasn't kicked a whole lot this year. They haven't kicked a bunch of field goals. They haven't punted the ball a bunch of times. They didn't do that last year either. And Ratichich, our place kicker, he's 30 for 30 on extra points.

Starting point is 00:17:27 It tells you he just hasn't kicked a whole lot of field goals, three or four, maybe this year that he's attempted. like it just hasn't happened all that often. So if Iowa can get some stops on defense and force Indiana to do things that they're not comfortable with, that's absolutely an area that Iowa could take advantage. And I'm glad you brought up the pump block return for a touchdown. That really helped Indiana get back in that football game and allow them to kind of kickstart that and get things going.

Starting point is 00:17:53 And after that, it kind of was over. And so special teams could be a spot that Iowa dominates. And for Indiana, again, on the road for the first time, this season. If the offense isn't clicking, you're going to have to rely on your kicking unit. And Indiana just hasn't had to do it all that much. So one other factor that I think both teams need to have something in the back pocket is Indiana is going on the road for the first time. And as we saw a year ago, this team was much different out of the road. Now, opponents were also different for them a season ago, but going to Notre Dame, going to Ohio

Starting point is 00:18:25 State. Kinnick Stadium, there is a reason that Kinnick Stadium is known as one of the most difficult place to play in the country and it's because it's a great venue it is incredibly loud even though just 70,000 seats. It's not a behemoth like the big house, but I've been to both places and it's not even close. Iowa is much louder than it is at Michigan Stadium. And the same thing, you know, the proximity to the sideline, you are right up against there. There is not much room and you're going to have those fans in their ear all game long talking to them. It's a different kind of venue. It's going to be charged up on top of four consecutive home games for Indiana. Still, are some new faces there, you know, that offensive line going through that the first time and going

Starting point is 00:19:03 through in the cadences now with Mendoza going through it. I think it's a factor that sometimes does get overlooked and certainly doing it for the first time in the season. Yeah, and Indiana can't really look back on last year's experience and help themselves here. And I know that doesn't directly correlate. But Indiana's first road trip last year, Trent was to UCLA, to the Rose Bowl, to a bad team, a bad atmosphere. And Indiana probably. had more fans there than UCLA did. So you can't really look back on that and say, oh, we did it last year. We're fine. This is the, probably the third toughest road game you're going to play all year. The atmosphere could be the second, but the team obviously just not up to

Starting point is 00:19:45 the level of Oregon and Penn State yet that Indiana has to also travel to. So you got to find a way to get some, some rhythm here. Hopefully you do perform well and can build on that because you do go to Ottson, you do go to Happy Valley as well. Indiana has to come out and play smooth. You mentioned turnovers earlier. Indiana hasn't done that yet. Mendoza hasn't turned it over. Running backs are holding on to the football. Hopefully my broadcasters jinks doesn't come out and spoil this team. But it's going to be difficult. And Indiana is going to have to find ways to communicate, operate, and just move the football down the field in a really, really hostile environment. So we have that component to it. And I was done this before.

Starting point is 00:20:25 for. And we call it the Kirk Special, being able to find a way. I go back to some of the big upsets that Iowa was pulled in the past. And it go back to 2016. That's one of the biggest one. Second-ranked Michigan comes to town. They're beating teams by, I think, an average of like 38 points a game at that point. They're not in O. They're second in the country. I was coming on the heels of looking awful the week before against Penn State. They allowed the Nittney Lions that week on the road to rack up 600 yards of total offense. Iowa comes back. They ugly it up. They win it on a walkoff 14-13. Now, when you look back at a lot of these upsets and really outside of the win against Ohio State 55-24, they're normally the low-scoring, ugly kind of slug-fest game.

Starting point is 00:21:07 That's my concern here. I don't think there is a path for Iowa to win this game, 17, 13, 2017. I think the Hawkeyes, if they're going to pull the upset, it's going to have to look different. They're going to have to score and win this game. Because Indiana's going to score. I mean, I'm just, I'm going to be honest. Iowa has a solid defense, but Indiana just has too many weapons on the offensive side of the football with Mendoza leading the way the offensive line was rebuilt this year in the transfer portal. It has performed well so far. The receivers on the outside, I mean, between Elijah Surrott and Omar Cooper, they're two of the best receivers in the Big Ten on top of guys like E.J. Williams and Bonds, and even the tight ends are getting involved as well with Noakowski and Holden stays. And so on top of your running back room, that's kind of by rotation right now, Indiana is too good offensively.

Starting point is 00:21:54 honestly here to be stopped for four quarters. Iowa, when they get those stops, they're going to have to take advantage because, again, I believe in Indiana to move the football and score when they have to to win this football game. Well, from there, we continue. It's time to get into our predictions what we think we're going to see in this football game coming up to 30 kickoff central time, 3.30 Eastern on Peacock. Now, that's its own set of issues. We'll talk about it. Our predictions plus a little basketball talk is we got more connections happening here. Jacob's excited about his team. I'm excited about our team.

Starting point is 00:22:29 We'll talk about that as we continue hoops and prediction time when we come back. It's a crossover edition of Locked on Hawkeyes and Lockdown Hoosiers. This episode is brought to you by Mazda's moving the game forward. For those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it. There are moments that do more, then put points on the board. They move crowds, move culture, and keep moving the game forward. This week's moment that moved the game forward is Caden Weechin. How about a highlight to kick off the game?

Starting point is 00:23:04 Caden Weechin, bringing it back for the Hawkeyes Friday night against Rutgers, 104 yards for the score. Now, we just got 100 yards total in that one the way that they score it. But what an incredible moment. What a way to kick it off and get things going for the Hawkeyes as they get a road win in game. number one for the season. When you follow what moves you, the unexpected is only the beginning. And just like there's more to every highlight, there's more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda, move and be

Starting point is 00:23:32 moved. Trent Kahn and Jacob Goans back with you one final time. Crossover edition of Locked on Hawkeyes and Locked on Hoosiers. All right, Jacob, here we go. Before we get to our predictions and how we think this game is going to play out just a little bit of hoops. Obviously, DeVries going there. There are plenty of Hawkeye fans and plenty of Hawkeye money and decision makers that thought that he was going to be the next coach for the Hawkeyes after they dismissed Fran McCaffrey. Obviously, the connections to the state growing up in the state. And a lot of people believe that that was the apple of his eye. But here comes Indiana, not just with the prestige,

Starting point is 00:24:13 the national championships, Indiana basketball in general, but also what they can spend and what they can do. And I think that was a big difference maker there. Yet the Iowa side of things, they're happy, I think, with the way that this played out. And you're going to find a very, very small percentage of the population that would have preferred now after getting to know Ben McCollum DeVries over him. So let's take it your way first, though, the excitement of DeFries in year number one and kind of what the expectation level is over at IU. Oh, I'll say this first. I think Ben McCollum's a really good coach. And he was in the mix. get the Indiana job. He was one of these several names that Indiana was considering

Starting point is 00:24:52 tossing around. One of the more fun coaching searches I've covered, not just for Indiana, but just in general, just some of the names that were floating around. Some were legit. Others were not, as you know. But look, I think Ben McClellan's a really, really good coach. And I think he's going to make Iowa a competitor again and a contender again in the Big Ten and on the national stage. But for Indiana, Darren DeVries was a mixed review hire. I'll be completely honest with you because some people knew who he was. Others really didn't. And I don't say that disrespectfully. It's just it wasn't the lead name that a lot of people had in mind. But I think now that he's been hired and you go back and look at his resume, you go back and

Starting point is 00:25:32 look at what his reputation is the way he coaches and the way his teams perform. It's a complete 180 trend from what Indiana has been doing the last several years, which is just dump it down in the paint, score 60 points a game, can't make a three, don't run. Defense is terrible, and that's just not good basketball, which is why the Hoosers have missed the tournament again this past year, and you let go of your head coach, an Indiana legend in Mike Woodson, one who was beloved by Coach Knight. So you go and get Darren DeVries, who's going to run up and down the floor. They're going to play defense, and this team's going to shoot a bunch of threes, but you

Starting point is 00:26:08 had to rebuild the team from scratch. You know how many players are returning to Indiana's roster this year? who played a single minute last year, zero. Not a single player is coming back from last year. And you expect that with a coaching change, but that's really tough to do. And so DeVries had to rebuild in the transfer portal. I think he did.

Starting point is 00:26:29 I won't go super in detail of all the players because that could take forever. But I think the excitement level is there. He's going to have to start winning some recruiting battles, but just be honest with you, he's missed out on a couple already early. And you expect that. He's got to get some, some film on the floor, I guess, for some of these recruits at Indiana to convince them to come to

Starting point is 00:26:49 Bloomington. But I'm excited for him and I think most of the fans are as well. On the Iowa side, you mentioned Ben McCullum and he hit the ground running. Talk about winning the press conference. And there was some murmurs. You know, the slowdown style, Iowa tried that with Todd Licklider, who was an unmitigated disaster. I mean, as unkempt of a Power 5 conference basketball coaches, you're going to 5, he was awful in so many ways. And Iowa fans were, scared because Fran McCaffery delivered them back to respectability, got them back to being a tournament team, being what Iowa basketball, at least was in the 90s, where they get to the tournament most years, win a game, but that was the ceiling. And that's where the frustration started

Starting point is 00:27:26 to build during the 90s and led to Steve Alford, who sucked and was a terrible person on top of it. Then Todd Licklider, who took it to another level, and Fran got them back to respectability. But you hit that ceiling. And when he hit that ceiling and he can't make stops defensively, and he can't do anything more than maybe win a game in the tournament, frustration happens. And we saw what happened there. Ben McCollum is an Iowa guy. He hit all the right notes at the opening press conference.

Starting point is 00:27:50 He brings in an All-American and maybe the second best point guard, not just in the Big Ten in the country. And Bennett starts with him from Drake. This is a guy that, you know, is projected as a lottery pick, as a 23-year-old, unheard of in next year's NBA draft. And there's a couple of marks that have him at that level. Brings kind of four guys with him from Drake, team that pushed Texas Tech

Starting point is 00:28:10 and had Texas Tech on the ropes in the second round game a season ago, plus what they did in the portal, brought in a couple of nice pieces there. The expectations for Iowa in year number one, I think, are relatively high. Get to the tournament or win a game. I think that's where they are in year number one because you have

Starting point is 00:28:26 Bennett Sturts. And that's the great kind of differentiator. When you have a point guard like that, Iowa hasn't had a point guard of this ilk, if it turns out to be this, it's probably Ander Woolrich. I mean, that's how far back you have to go. Jeff Horner was a nice player. Dean Oliver was a nice player. If Bennett Sturtz, even on the fringes of an All-American, that's something that Iowa hasn't had in a point guard spot in a really long time. So expectations are pretty high here,

Starting point is 00:28:48 and we'll get to basketball season before we know it, and we'll do another crossover edition. But before that, we do have football. And let's wrap things up with our prediction. Prediction time for this one. Jacob Goins, how does this thing play out? Look, I think Iowa is going to keep this competitive. They're not going to roll over and let Indiana drop 63 on him and not be able to move the football. But I just think for a four-quarter game, I think Indiana's just more talented. I think Indiana's deeper and I think Indiana's better coached. And I think the dam will break in the second half of this game. And Indiana's offense will continue to move the ball. They're going to punch it in several times. And I think

Starting point is 00:29:24 people still sleep somehow on this Indiana defense that just got after Luke Altmeyer last week. Seven sacks as a team. I think they're going to be able to do that again this week against a really talented offensive line for Iowa, but a secondary that's just not going to give that Iowa offense much to work with. So I like somewhere in the 31 to 17, 31 14 range for Indiana. I think the Hoosiers win and I think they cover. I have Indiana winning this game. And in the preseason, I was not a believer, much like I wasn't a believer in Illinois. So it wasn't just to you guys. It was those teams splash in the pan. We've seen it so often. I was dead wrong on the Hoosiers. Could not being more impressed than I was, obviously, Saturday night.

Starting point is 00:30:08 Now, I do think that the crowd's going to be a factor. And I do think that Iowa does hang around in this game. Eventually, Indiana gets it done. But we're going to give Iowa the cover at minimum. I got the Hoosiers winning at 3024. Iowa, a little bit more offensively maybe than you guys think. But, boy, I love where we are right now, this underdog role and the confidence of Indiana football. We'll see late, early evening on Saturday how this one plays up.

Starting point is 00:30:34 Jacob enjoyed it, as always, good talking to you, and we'll talk to you again down the road. Yes, sir. Thank you, my friend. Always fun to talk to you. Thanks for making lockdown Hawkeyes and Lockdown Hoosiers. Your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks, and who, who, who's yours?

Starting point is 00:30:50 What is that?

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - CLASH: Gronowski's POWER Running vs. Indiana's EXPLOSIVE Offense | Who Will PREVAIL?

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