Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - The Future of the CyHawk Football Rivalry – Is the End Near? And Scott Dochterman joins the show

Starting point is 00:00:00 Are we looking at the beginning of the end for the Cyhawk football game? We're going to talk about that on Locked on Hawkeyes. Some scheduling changes for Iowa in the upcoming seasons and a contract that is coming due in the next couple of years. What does it mean for Iowa's big non-conference game? What does it mean for the future of the Big Ten and their scheduling alliance, possibly with the SEC? Plus, Scott Dockterman joins us all today.

Starting point is 00:00:24 Locked on Hawkeyes. You are locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button.

Starting point is 00:00:58 Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. We start today with a look at the future of Iowa football and some big picture ramifications that very well could be around the corner. There's a lot going on in the Big Ten. There's some small things happening here for Iowa football. So we start with the little press release that came out on Monday morning. And very simply, some changes, updates to future Iowa football schedules.

Starting point is 00:01:37 In the grand scheme of things, these are big nothing burgers. If you're with us yesterday, if you're an everydayer, you know. Okay, whatever, right? They're taking on Albany next year as opposed to Florida Atlantic. Florida Atlantic is a better program than Albany. Florida Atlantic at least plays at the FBS level. They're fully scholarshiped. Lane Kiffin was there. I'm running out of superlatives.

Starting point is 00:02:04 But, all right. They're a fine program from Conference USA. Albany is brutal. I mean, come on. This is bad. Now, it doesn't matter. I mean, what is the difference for your everyday Joe out there? Everyday fan.

Starting point is 00:02:23 What is the difference between playing Florida Atlantic, a team with a pulse, and playing Albany, a team with a faint pulse? Probably not much. Are you going to get an extra few hundred fans in there? No. Maybe. I mean, are we talking about a couple hundred?

Starting point is 00:02:41 Is it going to sell out anyway? Likely. Because when you go hand in hand with that, you also look at what Iowa has in the schedule next season. All right, so you substitute Albany out and you put Albany in for the matchup against Florida Atlantic. Okay, big deal. Because Iowa next season still has home games

Starting point is 00:03:02 against Penn State, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan State, and Indiana. Yeah, that probably will sell out anyway. Even in a rebuilding year, that's probably going to be a pretty good ticket for next season. Now, 2026, that's a different one, but for 2025. So again, substituting Albany for Florida, Atlanta, it means nothing. The game will still be played. I was not buying out of it. They're going to have to pay a little bit more come 2030 when that comes around from the details that were released here. But that's a non-conference schedule. Albany, UMass, that game got moved up from November, and at Iowa

Starting point is 00:03:37 State. Then 2026, Northern Illinois, Iowa State, UNI. Not a whole lot of diversity there. 2027, Ball State at Iowa State. The only one scheduled. But looky here. Come 2028, Iowa has one game scheduled in the non-conference. It's not against Iowa State. It's against Western Michigan. That's right.

Starting point is 00:04:03 It's not against Iowa State. It's against Western Michigan. That's right. The Cy Hawk contract comes to an end after the 2027 season. What does that mean? It means there's no contract. Now, there's many people that believe that it's a foregone conclusion, and whenever that deal needs to be made, it will be made. But you also have to look around college athletics, and you have to look around college football and seeing the growing divide that is already being created between the Big Ten, the SEC, and everybody else. You can make jokes and say, well, there's a big gap between

Starting point is 00:04:34 the SEC and the Big Ten. They don't have a real great comeback for you. However, that aside, and certainly this season, it seems to be as well as they played, but that doesn't matter for this conversation. The SEC and Big Ten continue their talks. So they flex their muscle, and they're going to continue to do that. The financial resources that the Big Ten and the SEC have in comparison to the other conferences out there, the ACC, the Big 12, then the jump down to the American Mountain West, the newfangled Pac-12, all those conferences, it's significant. The gap is huge and it very well

Starting point is 00:05:15 could only grow when you look at the future and what this possibly could play out. So does it make sense for Iowa to year in and year out a non-conference game of consequence in Iowa State if they're not considered the big two? And if that's what this turns out to be, and if there's a scheduling alliance that is created, and there's continued talk about that, we'll get to that in a moment, between the Big Ten and between the SEC,

Starting point is 00:05:45 the CyHawk game is no more. Now, I was a longtime proponent when the Big Ten went to nine games for this game to go away, for at least there to be a hiatus. I never wanted to be canceled forever, anything like that, but I just wanted to see some diversity in the non-conference schedule for Iowa. Well, you're getting diversity a lot more now with Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA. There's a lot more diversity to your schedule just because of those additions that are going to be there. And that's great. I mean, looking forward to the matchup against Washington when they come to town. I imagine next year, Oregon will be coming into Kinnick Stadium.

Starting point is 00:06:24 I mean, those are great matchups. Those are fun. That's something different, something to get excited about. But then you think about the SEC. And what would you rather have? Again, just for, say, a two-year period. A couple of games against Florida, Tennessee, even to a lesser degree, South Carolina, even Vanderbilt. That's Nashville.

Starting point is 00:06:46 What would you rather have? A weekend in Nashville or a weekend in Ames? I know my answer. I think I know most of yours. What would you rather have? A college weekend in Gainesville or Ames? I know my answer. Now, not everybody travels. I know it's a small contingent that makes their way to the games, but you know where I'm going here, the diversity and the ability. And I was not going to hold up this part of the deal if it comes to that. I don't think we'll get to the point where it is an every-year occurrence that I was taking on an SEC program. I don't believe we're getting there.

Starting point is 00:07:24 But reading reporting from Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com. That is a continued conversation piece between these two. And if we get to that point. A scheduling agreement. This thing's going to look a whole lot different. This from CBSSports.com. As for a scheduling agreement. Any moves towards an alliance.

Starting point is 00:07:41 Depend on whether or not the SEC adopts a nine game conference schedule. Per ESPN. Since Big Ten schools already play nine conference opponents each year, some athletic directors could push back on a scheduling agreement if the SEC doesn't file suit. Now, this is one of the more cockamamie things in college athletics that is full of them. The Big Ten, the Big 12 play non-conference games. The ACC, the SEC, they just play eight. It's dumb.

Starting point is 00:08:09 Mickey, imagine, you know what, the NFC South, they only play two division games every year. And come on, it's just, it's so ridiculous. Just play nine. You've got a huge league. The limited amount of teams and the crossovers and the tiebreaker scenarios are going to be created. And I think they are going to get there.

Starting point is 00:08:27 I mean, they're going to see it. There's going to be a year in the not too distant future. And these now expanded leagues that got scared of divisional play once again, and went away from that, that they're going to have a year where you're going to see like a four-way tie for second place at seven and two. What do you do with that? Well, we had this team is 1-1 against the other teams there. This team has a win against a team that finished first.

Starting point is 00:08:55 How are you going to sort this out? I know they have the tiebreaker scenarios. Good luck. I think there's hand-wringing now. And if that's the potential between hosting the first-round playoff game or, more importantly, getting a bye into the quarterfinals of the college football playoff, look out. Speaking of the college football playoff,

Starting point is 00:09:13 how is this going to look? Another part of those meetings in the SEC and Big Ten flexing their muscle, moving this thing up to 14, an automatic bid for the Big Ten and SEC champion, maybe four automatic bids for each of them. How do you sort that out? We got ideas. We got more coming up your way here on Locked On Hawkeyes,

Starting point is 00:09:32 talking with Scott Dockerman from The Athletic. Always love to talk everything Iowa football and Big Ten football as a whole with Scott Dockerman. We'll do that as we continue. This is Locked On Hawkeyes. Scott Dockerman. We'll do that as we continue. This is Locked on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:09:51 Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by Roy. It's time to highlight my Roy Player of the Week. Roy is a new platform that lets fans make contributions directly to their favorite athletes. Download Roy for iOS or Android and enter referral code LOCKEDON. You'll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes for $5,000 cash. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. This week, we've selected Ashton Gentry of Boise State. Look, had to go somewhere else because we don't got a Hawkeye this week, obviously on the bye, but watching him against Washington State over the weekend.

Starting point is 00:10:26 My buddy Biz, who will join us hopefully later in the week here on the program. He was there in person. His son goes to Boise State. And he said the guy was absolutely ridiculous. He was nuts on TV. I'm sure in person, another direction. Ashton Gentee of Boise State. I've given Ashton Gentee $100 on Roy.

Starting point is 00:10:44 If you're impressed as we were with the performance on Saturday, you can show him love too. You can show some Hawkeyes some love. Hop on Roy, throw in a few bucks, and if everyone pitch in just $10, it adds up fast. Last week we talked about Caleb Johnson and his big performance. We have a chance to show your appreciation for your player and the standout performance this week as well as what they bring to the program.

Starting point is 00:11:07 Get off the sidelines and into the NIL game with Roy. Once again, that's Roy to jump into the NIL game. Of course, he writes for The Athletic and he joins us hello doc trenton ken how are you i'm well i do not have okay you're on me today i do have some i thought about it but good stuff doc uh i i know that uh that you're aware of the sec big 10 meetings that are about to transpire at some point down the road here with you know scheduling that they want to get out there now they're uh seemingly uh bringing up that they'd like apparently if the uh if the stories are are legit and uh some big names that are reporting this so i have no reason to believe

Starting point is 00:11:54 that they're not uh the sec and the big 10 would like to each be you know guaranteed for births in the college football playoff whether that stays at 12 or once ultimately expansion comes here. I think most years they're probably going to get there anyway. I think the SEC is going to have a tough time this year keeping it to just four. But how big are these meetings, I guess, Doc, once they convene? How close should we pay attention to the two ultimate decision makers when it comes to college football? attention to the two ultimate decision makers when it comes to college football? Anytime you get those two faces, first of all,

Starting point is 00:12:36 get Tony Petiti and Greg Shanky in the same room, it's a big deal. Because if you have a long table, they sit at the opposite end. They're the power brokers. Yeah, absolutely. And when you're starting to add in athletics directors to talk to all of them about certain aspects, then that adds to that even more so. So I think it's a big deal. Now,

Starting point is 00:12:56 are they going to come to some sort of agreement on a bunch of things? There's a lot of speculation that that's semi premature, but I do think that they realize that they are the two most powerful entities in college athletics today. And with that, that they can create appealing matchups, especially in football, that really command the attention and eyeballs of the public. I mean, you look at a Michigan-Texas game and how massive that was. And take your pick from all the other great teams and mid-level teams or whatever, that there's going to be a lot of heavy interest. So I would say that it's in both of their best interests,

Starting point is 00:13:40 and certainly that of the television companies that own them, I mean that work with them, and decide what to put on TV. So, I mean, it makes a lot of sense because the higher ratings they get, the more money their companies get, and then ultimately the more value that they get collectively. So, taking it a step further and localizing this a little bit i saw iowa had a couple of updates to their schedule and noticed in their future schedules the iowa state contract is up in 2027 if this alliance comes together and iowa has to play an sec team every couple years or every year does it mean cy hawawk is going away maybe it might i mean it's

Starting point is 00:14:29 you know it's not it's not written in blood i mean it's written in neek and through 2027 and what happens is that uh both of those teams have clauses that have been expansion to the leagues would allow them to get out of it without paying a penalty, and it's a million dollars, so it's not like, I mean, it's expensive, but it's not the end of the world. That said, both schools like keeping it. I mean, for obvious reasons. It's a big deal.

Starting point is 00:14:58 The fans like it. It's a big game. So it's hard to say. I mean, what happens in the future? We've seen a lot of great rivalries go by the wayside, go more cyclical rather than annual. It's possible. I mean, but they have a contract right now,

Starting point is 00:15:15 and anything in this environment shouldn't surprise anyone. Doc, Ohio State-Iowa coming up 2.30 Saturday afternoon. Going to be a fascinating matchup within the matchup. Can Iowa run the football? Can Iowa slow down the passing game? Whether who's under center or not, if it's Howard or if it's Browns to back up. But watching this Jeremiah Smith, another freshman running back. We saw one at Alabama on Saturday, and that was just a wow factor.

Starting point is 00:15:45 But this Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State's had some dudes too at that position. They have elevated this kid very early in his career. I mean, you're hearing some comparisons to some of the best. So is that kind of the matchup inside the matchup? Can Iowa run on Ohio State's defense? And can Iowa shut down Ohio State's passing game? And it's more than that. I mean, they run the football, obviously, as well with Judkins and Henderson. Boy, oh boy, there's some athletes on the Buckeye squad. Yeah, there always

Starting point is 00:16:18 is. I mean, this is the seventh straight time they've played them when they're ranked in the top 10. So it's not like it's a team that you say, oh yeah, they're going to just go over there and compete and win. I mean, this is a team that you almost never expect to beat and they haven't won there since 1991. So you just, you start from that disadvantaged position and think, how can you compete, let alone how you can win. And frankly, the one area where Iowa has to be at its best I mean we could throw in all the other you know no penalties no turnovers blah blah blah no big explosive plays but it's line of scrimmage can Iowa either become a net neutral or win the line of scrimmage game if it can't it could be somewhat successful and it can compete you know if it can't it's going to be a a loss it's just

Starting point is 00:17:07 a matter of how how deep the score is the margin and i would say that iowa has a decent chance of being competitive along the line of scrimmage i think it's defensive line and ohio state's offensive line are in a comparable position and there's some good players on both sides and iowa has shown an ability to really stop the run i mean they're only averaging 62 yards a game against the hawkeyes but then often offensively iowa's offensive line is decent obviously it's ran really well um but ohio state's got a really deep defense and one that came back a lot like Iowa's players. So overall, I think it's it behooves Iowa to be able to run the ball with effectiveness

Starting point is 00:17:51 and displace the line of scrimmage in order for it to have a chance to have any kind of success against the Buckeyes. We saw Iowa go out to Columbus back in the 13-14 season and they came out with all these tight ends. We had Jake Dusey running free a couple of times, and a really good game plan. Iowa was coming off a bye in that one. New offensive staff, new offensive coordinator in Tim Lester.

Starting point is 00:18:15 What do you think he's got up his sleeve? I mean, are we going to see, not a complete retooling of what they're trying to do, but how many more wrinkles do you anticipate out of the Iowa offense this week? It's a good question I don't know how many more they can get away with because they still aren't really secure in what they do in the passing game and you've got to be better at those areas before you can really expand and be equally mediocre in the new ones and against this team you're not gonna you're mediocre in any area. They're going to take advantage of it. You know, whether it's get to the quarterback quicker, intercept your passes, or just merely

Starting point is 00:18:51 knock them down. So, uh, you know, new wrinkles, I'm sure that they're going to have a player too, that maybe is different than what we've seen. Uh, but their best punch is the two tight end set. That's what they go with about 80% of their staff. It's worked for them well, obviously, in the running game. But Caleb Johnson ranks second in the country. That is your best punch.

Starting point is 00:19:12 That's what you've got to excel at. And if you can't, then you better find a counter off of it really quick or it's not going to be a good day for you. So, you know, that day back in 2013, they were the more physical team. That was obvious. They really attacked the line of scrimmage. They did a nice job of beating some very good defenders, Joey Bosa and Ryan Cazier and a lot of those.

Starting point is 00:19:35 But Brandon Sheriff was the best player on the field that day, and it wasn't even close. He had the best game by a lineman I've ever seen. He was dominant. I'm not sure they have that kind of a dominant offensive lineman, but I do think that they're capable of being very competitive in the run game. Where's the shoe rank, Doc, amongst the Big Ten stadiums for you?

Starting point is 00:19:59 As far as steel goes, it's like walking in the Death Star. You just don't feel like you're going to win if you're the other team. It reminds me, it's a lot like Nebraska, a little bit bigger. Is it okay? But it just has a, it has a feel like, to me, Penn State has that feel where you walk in and it's like steel cage match. You feel like you're going to go in and you're the visitor or you're the loser type of thing. With Ohio State, it's the same, but I would probably put it behind Beaver Stadium

Starting point is 00:20:31 for road venues in the Big Ten. I just think it's very intimidating. Caleb Brown going up against a school he originally signed with. Is that a storyline or could it become a storyline, do you think? No, I don't think so.

Starting point is 00:20:47 Everybody wants him to elevate, but he ruined the one route that he had the other day against Minnesota. He had a touchdown. He ran it wrong. That's why he gets one play. That's the player everybody wants to have some sort of success.

Starting point is 00:21:03 When you go in there, you've got to do what you're supposed to do. And, I mean, they're going to be kind about it and not say it as much. But come on, you know, you're in there. Yeah, you're from Ohio State. Yeah, you're a four-star, but you've got to prove it. And he hasn't really done that. And he's got to do that or his career is going to be disappointing. And he's got the talent, no question.

Starting point is 00:21:23 But when you go in the game you got to run the right route because the ball would have been there and it would have been a big play and that would get you on the field not running the wrong route because they got to trust you and jacob gill by far is the best receiver on this team yep yep you throw the blocking compoted into there it takes him to an absolutely a different stratosphere oh one question about that speaking of the receiving game how do you get the tight ends more involved down the field we just we've seen those tight ends be so close to the line of scrimmage what can you do up the seam down the field because you got athleticism there i will show you a bigger tight end but

Starting point is 00:21:59 we just haven't seen a whole lot down the field out of those tight ends it a lot of it is what can you do and do well. And right now they're running the ball well, so they're not going to take unnecessary risks with the tight ends when they can block like they are. Now, this is not the type of team that you want to say, yeah, we can, we want to try to attack the secondary. I mean, they, you know,

Starting point is 00:22:20 Caleb Downs is as good as any space he in football and you know, a one-on-one matchup with him and Luke Lachey, you better put it in the perfect spot or it's going to get picked off. So, you know, getting them down the field, maybe that's a goal at some point. But I think getting them open is probably the better solution right now. Safe trip, Scott Dockman, over to Columbus. We'll talk to you Monday. What can we look forward to at the athletic from you this week?

Starting point is 00:22:47 Yeah, I've got my, I spent the Saturday going over with all the TV games, all of them seem like a long day and wrote that for tomorrow. I'll be a big 10 media days for men's and women's basketball in Chicago, Wednesday and Thursday, and then fly to Columbus Friday. So pretty packed week got a lot of stuff going on good stuff and we'll read it at the athletic thank you Scott Dockerman we will speak with you in a week thanks doc all right have a good one good to talk to you Scott

Starting point is 00:23:14 Dockerman but boys tears never even thought of that yeah good stuff out of Doc and the athletic he'll be on the road here this week A lot of work for him with media days for men's and women's basketball coming up in the middle of the week and then off to Columbus for the matchup in the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes. Well, speaking of that, we got a little bit more here and look at the point spread. I'm coming up here with our friends from FanDuel. Stay right there. We continue. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by FanDuel. Hey, NFL fans, you can start the season off with a big return on FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:23:57 It's America's number one sportsbook. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats, view live play-by-play, and so much more on the same page where you place your bets. You can do it all with FanDuel, America's number one sports book. You'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. That's right. $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Not just the NFL. They got you covered with college football, college basketball right around the corner. NBA is going to be starting up.

Starting point is 00:24:30 And of course, the Major League Baseball playoffs are all here and you can bet on them all at FanDuel. With that, Iowa currently a 19-point favorite. We'll talk a little more about the point spread in this one coming up and looking forward to that. Get started once again with FanDuel. $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com.

Starting point is 00:24:52 That's FanDuel.com. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. All right, wrapping up here, and I was playing around on the FanDuel app. Found this interesting. We talked about this yesterday, just touched on it. So this throughout most of the summer was Iowa

Starting point is 00:25:15 was more than a three touchdown underdog. 22, 23, 23 and a half, up to 24 in some spots. Iowa was a substantial underdog, and they still are. Now, Iowa currently at FanDuel is a 19 and a half up to 24 in some spots. Iowa was a substantial underdog and they still are. Now, Iowa currently at FanDuel is a 19 and a half point underdog. So in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. You're the blown out or you're blown out, right? I mean, you lose by 20 or you lose by 24. Who cares?

Starting point is 00:25:38 We shouldn't one way or the other, but an interesting angle. And for somebody like me that likes to sports wager, that does a lot of conversations and talks to a lot of people in the industry, I did find this kind of move pretty interesting. Why we're seeing at least some early steam come in on the Hawkeyes and how different this is. Now, some people will speculate it's about Will Howard, the quarterback formerly of Kansas State, now at Ohio State. Maybe that's the reason that we're seeing this point spread move. We thought that was interesting, but here's another one for you. We think this Iowa team is better offensively, not great, better. The ground game

Starting point is 00:26:15 certainly is better. The passing game is better than what we saw a year ago. And I know Ohio state's really talented and they very well could shut this team out. But, I'll over-under total Hawkeye points. Just give yourself a minute and think what you believe it is. I was total points over-under for this game against Ohio State in Columbus,

Starting point is 00:26:40 230, CBS. What's the number? If you answered 12.5, you are right. That seems, I don't want to see criminally low. Oh boy, that seems low. I mean, 13 points? 13, we hit the over, come on.

Starting point is 00:26:59 We hit 13, oh boy. Now again, goes the other way, would I be shocked? Iowa gets blanked, 38-3. Oh oh no we've seen that too many times recently but it's another angle I want to go to later this week and it's just this thought us as Hawkeye fans we have been over the last couple of years the hope that we once had when these big matchups came around when you went up against the big boys, and even when you thought you're pretty well cooked. Go back to what the 2016

Starting point is 00:27:33 Michigan game, it looked awful the week before against Penn State, yet they found a way to get it done. You know, you're going into these monster matchups and it doesn't happen every time, going into these monster matchups. And it doesn't happen every time, but it happens from time to time that you have those special, special days, those special Saturdays. And what brings us back, hoping for more, right? But the last couple of years, those have dissipated.

Starting point is 00:28:00 And it's turned into, I hope they don't get embarrassed. Again. That hope, that glimmer of hope that you have. When it happens, it's special. But that hasn't been there. And I'm not hearing even that glimmer of hope from Hawkeye fans this week. Ohio State is better than a lot of those teams, too.

Starting point is 00:28:24 This team is a complete football team offensively, defensively. They're also not unbeatable. That's something I want to dive into a little bit more. And we got you covered. Your team every day. That's what we do here

Starting point is 00:28:36 on the Lockdown Network. We got you covered on the Hawkeye front. NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, whatever your team is, we got you covered each and every day on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. And thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:28:51 Hey, don't forget for your second listen by Lockdown College Football, Spencer McLaughlin has you covered all the games. He'll be talking about Ohio State and Iowa this week. He'll be talking about the big matchups as he does and everything else going on in this crazy world that is college football. Get you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron with Locked On College Football. You can find Locked On College Football on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts.

Starting point is 00:29:17 We'll be back with you tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - The Future of the CyHawk Football Rivalry – Is the End Near? And Scott Dochterman joins the show

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.