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2024 Iowa Preview: Are The Hawkeyes A College Football Playoff Contender In 2024? · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Thursday, August First, I'm
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: your host, Tom Moore. The Akron game in thirty days. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: the Buckeyes will play a game this month. Season's almost here.
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  Speaker 1: The game begets Michigan in one hundred and twenty one days.
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  Speaker 1: Practice starts today. Yes, fall camp for the Ohio State
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  Speaker 1: football team opens on Thursday morning. We will be there.
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  Speaker 1: We will have a full practice report coming up for
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  Speaker 1: you a little later on on Thursday at bucke Huddle
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  Speaker 1: dot com and YouTube dot com slash Buckeye Huddle. I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to get a chance to talk to Ryan Day
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  Speaker 1: as well at the start of camp. It should be
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  Speaker 1: a lot to learn there. Very excited obviously, I'm guessing
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  Speaker 1: you guys are too. You'd start with the season getting real,
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  Speaker 1: real close. Now, finally, the long off season just about over.
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  Speaker 1: While we are still officially in off season mode at
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  Speaker 1: least for the time being, me talking about one of
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  Speaker 1: the teams on Ohio State schedule coming up later this
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  Speaker 1: year and potentially one of the most challenging teams on
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  Speaker 1: Ohio State schedule. That is the Iowa Hawkeyes. They lead
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  Speaker 1: the Big Ten in returning starters this year, but a
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  Speaker 1: little unusual it is the departure of a staff member
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  Speaker 1: that could have the biggest impact on their twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: four season. Yes, Brian Farrens is gone, him Lester the
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  Speaker 1: new offensive coordinator. How much of an impact is that
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  Speaker 1: going to make this year? Well we will find out
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  Speaker 1: a little later on. And you know how much is
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  Speaker 1: the healthy return of players like quarterback Cad McNamara, tight
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  Speaker 1: end Luke Lache. Is that going to have any kind
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  Speaker 1: enough of an impact potentially get the Hawkeyes to the
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  Speaker 1: college football playoff? We're gonna be talking about that today
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  Speaker 1: with Chadleis Toko of the des Moines Register. Got a
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  Speaker 1: chance to sit down with Chad at Big ten media
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  Speaker 1: Days last week have a little in depth conversation about
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  Speaker 1: the Hawkeyes. I think you're going to enjoy this one.
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  Speaker 1: So here it is talking to Chad leics Toico of
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  Speaker 1: the des Moines Register about the twenty twenty four Iowa Hawkeyes.
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  Speaker 1: I'm joined by Chad Leis Toko of the des Moines
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  Speaker 1: Register when to talk a little Iowa Hawkeyes football and Chad,
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  Speaker 1: I guess this year it's going to be a very
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  Speaker 1: different year for the Iowa. The Press Corps in Iowa City.
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  Speaker 1: You are no longer going to be tracking average points
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  Speaker 1: scored per game.
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  Speaker 2: Twenty five points per.
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  Speaker 1: Game almost made it just about ten short last year,
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  Speaker 1: so it is there is no more Brian Farnce to
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  Speaker 1: kick around in the Iowa Hawkeys fan base and the
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  Speaker 1: college football fan base nationally. How different are things really
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  Speaker 1: going to be this year with Kim Lester running the
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  Speaker 1: show on offense?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: For those that don't know, Brian Ferrence is an analyst
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  Speaker 3: out of Maryland now, so I don't know Okays Ohio
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  Speaker 3: State play them.
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  Speaker 2: No, Maryland is gone.
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  Speaker 3: But anyway, Iowa does play Maryland later in the year,
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  Speaker 3: which will be interesting. And with analysts now on the sideline,
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  Speaker 3: it's be an interesting visual with Brian Farrence.
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  Speaker 2: Is and you know the herbs black and red. But anyway,
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  Speaker 2: Tim Lester, Uh, so far, so good.
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  Speaker 3: It feels like, uh, you know, he's bringing in the
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  Speaker 3: Shanahan style offense from the NFL, so it's going to
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  Speaker 3: be you know, you think about the San Francisco forty
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  Speaker 3: nine ers or he was with the Green Bay Packers
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  Speaker 3: last year.
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  Speaker 2: That's the type of offense he wants to you.
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  Speaker 3: You think about the Niners for example, they use a
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  Speaker 3: lot of tight ends, as you know, George Kittle, former
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  Speaker 3: Hawk guy uh Ackers had you know, two pretty good
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  Speaker 3: rookie tight ends last year.
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  Speaker 2: You know. But when they're going, Aaron Jones is going.
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  Speaker 3: It's built around the run game, and so that's kind
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  Speaker 3: of been the strength of the team so far. Under
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  Speaker 3: Tim Lester, they're popping longer runs. They use a ton
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  Speaker 3: of presnat motion. That's probably the biggest difference you'll see,
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  Speaker 3: you know in Columbus here on you know, on early
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  Speaker 3: early October, a lot of motion. Who knows how quickly
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  Speaker 3: it's going to kind of take hold. But uh, the
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  Speaker 3: key catalyst there is Kate mac for Michigan quarterback says
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  Speaker 3: he's as healthy as he has been since he's been
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  Speaker 3: at Iowa. Obviously, you know, took Michigan to the College
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  Speaker 3: Football Playoff in two thousand and one, so they like
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  Speaker 3: him a lot. Iowa fans are excited about it, but
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  Speaker 3: cautiously because Kate just wasn't on the field much last year,
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  Speaker 3: hasn't really been healthy since twenty twenty one.
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  Speaker 1: And he's still kind of working his way back from that,
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  Speaker 1: isn't he Because I know, and then they brought in
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  Speaker 1: Brandon Sullivan from Northwestern as well as maybe some insurance.
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  Speaker 1: So it feels like there is quarterback talent there in
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  Speaker 1: a way that there hasn't necessarily been in some previous seasons.
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  Speaker 1: But you know, is Cap McNamara gonna be ready to
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  Speaker 1: go week one or is that still a little bit
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  Speaker 1: from the air.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, he should be, unless unless he has a setback.
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  Speaker 3: He's doing all the conditioning drills summer. You know, so
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  Speaker 3: what do we he tours ACL September thirtieth, So what
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  Speaker 3: is We're we're getting close here to ten months, you
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  Speaker 3: know as we talk, and.
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  Speaker 2: So he's he's ready.
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  Speaker 3: Uh, but they realized last year the backup quarterback is
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  Speaker 3: so important and when you don't have one, your offense
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  Speaker 3: is really stuck in the mud. So that's where this
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  Speaker 3: I feel like the strength of this team has improved
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  Speaker 3: on offenses. Now they goes down Week two against Iowa State,
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  Speaker 3: big game for Iowa. Iowa State pretty good. They've at
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  Speaker 3: least got somebody that can throw in there and feel
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  Speaker 3: comfortable with in Brendan Suliman, who started eight games. You
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  Speaker 3: know that Northwestern close to seventy percent passer career, so
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  Speaker 3: it gives them something better than they had last year.
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  Speaker 3: Backups a little more comfort, because that's really the only
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  Speaker 3: issue for i was often decent. Then they're going to be,
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  Speaker 3: you know, in the mix for something pretty special.
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  Speaker 1: And David Brown from Northwestern was here on Tuesday and
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  Speaker 1: was asked about ren and Sullivan. It had just glowing
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  Speaker 1: things to say about him just as a player and
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  Speaker 1: a person just really, you know, I think someone they
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  Speaker 1: think very highly of.
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  Speaker 2: There's a lot to.
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  Speaker 1: Be optimistic about on the offense for Iowa in terms
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  Speaker 1: of you get there's a bunch of lineman backs. Yeah, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: but I mean there's a bunch of we're sort of
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  Speaker 1: grading out of curve here to a certain degree, but
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  Speaker 1: there are.
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  Speaker 2: A bunch of linemen back ye depth at running back.
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  Speaker 1: Get former osted wide receiver Caleb Brown, who you know,
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  Speaker 1: I think the folks in Columbus are very high on
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  Speaker 1: before he transferred. Luke Lache another guy who Ohio State
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  Speaker 1: fans are very well well familiar with. I mean, it
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  Speaker 1: feels like there are pieces there in a way there
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  Speaker 1: haven't necessarily been And last year, let's also be honest,
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  Speaker 1: injuries were a huge part of of their struggles last year.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, j only played two games last year, and Iowa
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  Speaker 3: was offense was much better than those first two games
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  Speaker 3: when he was catching. I think he had ten eleven
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  Speaker 3: catches for about two hundred yards in those first two games.
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  Speaker 2: Didn't play the rest of it.
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  Speaker 3: In fact, he was like I was leading receiver deep
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  Speaker 3: into the season, even though he played two games which
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: touched how bad they were after he got hurt. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: their strength definitely is that, I would say, in order
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  Speaker 3: tight end and running back, really deep at running at
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  Speaker 3: running back five D probably this year Leashawn Williams, Caleb Johnson,
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  Speaker 3: Kamari Moulton, those are your top three, and then Jazzy
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  Speaker 3: and Patterson, maybe some true freshmen in there as well.
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  Speaker 3: Luke Lache should be I mean, I think he's probably
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  Speaker 3: gonna be the best tied end in the Big Ten.
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  Speaker 2: I know Michigan might dispute that, but I would be.
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  Speaker 3: I think Luke's going to be right there in terms
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  Speaker 3: of maybe even being in the Mackie conversation. Think about
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  Speaker 3: what Sam Laporta has done at the NFL level. Luke
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  Speaker 3: is more physically talented than Sam. All are great hands, physical,
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  Speaker 3: six He's like six seven to sixty, so he's he's
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  Speaker 3: a big guy, hey, and really good player.
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  Speaker 2: They're so lucky he came back.
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  Speaker 3: And you mentioned the offensive line, that's where big question
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  Speaker 3: mark because yeah, they bring back like one hundred and
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  Speaker 3: fifty starts, but how many of those were good starts? Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: but they they are so veteran up front, and if
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  Speaker 3: you have any passing threat, that's going to help. And
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  Speaker 3: what we've heard, getting back to your tim Lester question,
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  Speaker 3: is with all that prestat motion, that's giving this offensive
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  Speaker 3: line more time, more ability to have a shot. I
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  Speaker 3: mean last year, last couple of years, two and a half, really,
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  Speaker 3: Iowa just hasn't been able to throw the balls.
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  Speaker 2: Defense. They are teeing off on Spence Patris he can help.
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  Speaker 3: They know they can't hurt him with pass and so
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  Speaker 3: now if you can just keep those guys at bay,
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  Speaker 3: those linebackers at bay, offensive line maybe has a chance.
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  Speaker 1: So that's what they're hoping to h Let's talk about
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  Speaker 1: the fun side of the ball in Iowa.
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  Speaker 2: That is the sims.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that also that's also another fun side of
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  Speaker 1: the ball. We're gonna talk a little about Phil Parker
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  Speaker 1: because Phil Parker kind of got his flowers after last
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  Speaker 1: year A bunch of national awards. He's someone who has
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  Speaker 1: just been so good at what it does for so long.
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  Speaker 1: And it's not like they are constantly you know, it's
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  Speaker 1: not like they're loaded with five stars everywhere now, and
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  Speaker 1: it's not like they run the most complex scheme in
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  Speaker 1: the world.
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  Speaker 2: They just it.
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  Speaker 1: It almost to me is like the air raid, where
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  Speaker 1: they would just do these, you know, these certain things,
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  Speaker 1: but they do them so well and they executed it
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  Speaker 1: such a high level that it's hard to deal with.
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  Speaker 1: Is what what makes Phil Parker such an incredible defensive coordinator?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's uh.
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  Speaker 3: I think it's just kind of the classic story of
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  Speaker 3: development because you always think they lost Cooper to gen
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  Speaker 3: that's the one guy they really lost this yupid you know,
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  Speaker 3: They've got like three or four corners like right behind
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  Speaker 3: him that are pretty talented and pretty good ahead and
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  Speaker 3: you're you've never heard of before. But then all of
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  Speaker 3: a sudden they're in the All Big ten conversation because
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  Speaker 3: they have three or four picks, maybe a pick six.
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  Speaker 3: That's just kind of how he's done it. And in
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  Speaker 3: terms of just coaching, like the game, he what he
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  Speaker 3: does is they just are so disciplined, so effective, at
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  Speaker 3: eliminating space. They make quarterbacks make tough rows. College quarterbacks
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: have a tough time making those tough rows. Now we saw,
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  Speaker 3: you know, I would say the beginning of the iow
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  Speaker 3: Ohio state game two years ago was a good example
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  Speaker 3: of that. Iowa's defense played pretty darn good the first
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  Speaker 3: half of that game, and in fact, you know, got
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: a fumble six. But eventually, when your offense can't do anything,
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  Speaker 3: the defense is going to crack at some point.
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  Speaker 2: And we also saw that in the Big Ten championship
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  Speaker 2: game last year against Michigan.
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  Speaker 3: Michigan only had two hundred and sixty yards maybe against
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  Speaker 3: Iowa here in Indy, but the offense couldn't do anything
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  Speaker 3: until i was twenty six nothing and I think their
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  Speaker 3: two touchdown drives were under ten yards. So, you know,
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  Speaker 3: it's just such a solidly designed defense. Last two years,
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  Speaker 3: they've led the nation and yards for play aloud, and
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  Speaker 3: they've got almost everybody back to lead the Big Ten
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  Speaker 3: in returning starters overall as a team. Most of them
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  Speaker 3: are on defense. They got so many six year seniors
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  Speaker 3: this year, so the whole thought is they're going to
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: be solid on defense. The schedule was there to do something.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: And one guy who is not a six year senior,
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  Speaker 1: but someone who Ohio State fans are gonna be very
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: familiar with is Xavier and Wampa. Yeah, he was someone
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  Speaker 1: who Ohio State really wanted. Ohio State does not lose
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  Speaker 1: very many recruiting battles to Iowa. They lost this one.
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  Speaker 1: And he's someone who seems early on like he's on
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: his way to fairly big things.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, he had a broken hand second half of last year,
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  Speaker 3: so that I felt like that really damp dampened his production.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe we haven't seen like those big type of numbers
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: maybe we expected from Xavier. But he's you know, he's
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: close to six three to ten at strong safety.
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  Speaker 2: And he can hit hard. He's got incredible ball.
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  Speaker 3: Skills up, Dude, if he gets the ball in his hands,
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  Speaker 3: he's special. So he's a guy that I could see
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  Speaker 3: breaking out this year and a guy that you know
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  Speaker 3: he does if he has the year that he expects.
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  Speaker 3: Another Phil Parker example, Like he's bought into the Phil
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  Speaker 3: Parker system and been patient with it. And I feel
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  Speaker 3: like this is the type of guy that you could
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  Speaker 3: see totally break out, you know, maybe even into a
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  Speaker 3: big ten defensive back of the year type of tender
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: because they put these guys in position to make plays
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  Speaker 3: on defense in the secondary in particular. That's why you've
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  Speaker 3: seen Riley Mosk for the Geen. You know Harmani Hooker,
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: Josh Jackson, Desmond King, lots of Micah Hyde. These are
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: all Big Ten defensive backs. Here at Iowa, there were
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: two or three star recruits and here's a five star
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: recruit in that system. So he's definitely one I'm excited
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: to watch.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: You mentioned the schedule, and boy, they played at Ohio State.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: That's that's not what anyone's looking for necessarily. Other than that,
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: No Michigan, no Oregon, no Penn State. They get nebrask
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: at home. I mean for a schedule where you have
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: to go to Columbus, that's about as friendly as schedule
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: as you're gonna get in the new Big Ten. So
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: you know, what, what what does success look like for
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: this ball? What is a what constitution to a successful season?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean obviously it depends what you asked. I
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  Speaker 3: think they've got to be in playoff contention. I'm not
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  Speaker 3: going to say they have to make the playoffs and
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: have a successful year. Maybe they go ten and two
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  Speaker 3: and get left out. And I can't say that's totally unsuccessful,
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  Speaker 3: but yeah, the schedule is really interesting because you're outside
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: of Ohio State, which is probably gonna be pre touchdown underdog,
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: you know, something like that.
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  Speaker 2: They should be.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: They might be favored in the other four road games,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: or at Minnesota early in the year, at Michigan State,
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: at UCLA, at Maryland in week eleven, they might be
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: favored in all those and then you and they get
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: all their tough home, tough home games at home Iowa State,
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: it's be one of the contenders in the Big twelve.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: That's gonna be a tough one week too.
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  Speaker 3: They get Wisconsin at home, Washington at home, and Braska
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: and so those are going to be like those those
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: type of games you've got to win to be in contention.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: But you know, I do like how the schedule plays out.
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  Speaker 3: My week's kind of space out nicely for them. They
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  Speaker 3: make the West coast trip to u c. L A
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: and they get a bye, then it's Maryland Nebraska finish.
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  Speaker 3: I think if they can get to eight and two
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: through week ten and maybe make a statement in those
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: last two, they're at least going to be in the
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: conversation to the playoff and then then make it at
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: ten to two. You might have to go eleven and one,
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: so you might have to be just about perfect outside
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: of Columbus. But it's hard to do, but at least
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: put yourself in that posie.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Well, I will be following you all season to see
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: how the Iowa guys do. If other people want to
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: follow you and read your work, let them know how
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: to do that.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah, at chad Leistiko on X. It's just like it
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: sounds l E I s t I kow. But yeah,
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: it should be fun. I'll be I've already booked my
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: plane ticket to columbusould be a it should be a
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: fun game. I actually think it would be competitive. If
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: Iowa has an offense, it could be an interesting game.
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, it doesn't know how to state, I have
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: like a really big game or after that, right hit,
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: they have Oregon the week after that. Yeah, so you know,
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: maybe there's a little look ahead factor potentially, so it
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: could be an interesting game. But yeah, thanks for thanks
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: for having me. Yeah, appreciate thanks so much.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Yep, make sure you join us a little later on
• 14:20
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  Speaker 1: Have a great day. We'll talk to you tomorrow.