Two things were guaranteed when you think about the Wisconsin Badgers and the Iowa Hawkeyes. You knew both teams were defense first and anything provided on offense was just a bonus. For the last three seasons, Graham Mertz and Spencer Petras were the signal callers for the Badgers and Hawkeyes. Most Saturday’s the fan bases were frustrated with the play from their quarterbacks. Neither player is with their program anymore. When Wisconsin and Iowa battle in Madison on October 14, not only do I think whoever wins this game heads to the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis, but I think Iowa and Wisconsin are the two best teams in the Big Ten West.
Both Teams Did The Most Work And Best Work In The Transfer Portal
Uw Football Spring Practice 5 March 25 2023
There’s no doubt both Wisconsin and Iowa upgraded at the quarterback position. Wisconsin grabbed Tanner Mordecai from SMU. Iowa snagged Cade McNamara from Michigan. While Mordecai didn’t come from a power five school and McNamara has had limited action the last few seasons behind J.J. McCarthy, both players are talented and we’ve seen them prove it on the big stage. Not only are these the two best quarterbacks in the Big Ten West, but both are likely top five quarterbacks in the entire Big Ten as of today.
Both Wisconsin and Iowa grabbed big time play makers in the receiving game from the portal as well. Wisconsin landed former five star and USC product C.J. Williams. The Hawkeyes grabbed tight end Erik All from Michigan and Kaleb Brown from Ohio State. Add in the running game and offensive line (which both teams are very good in) and all of a sudden there is two formidable offenses. It’s important to remember Wisconsin and Iowa are also the most successful teams in the West over the course of the last handful of years and they’ve done it with at best average or slightly below average play on the offensive side.
Why Not Minnesota?
If I were to throw in a third team, I would say it’s Minnesota. There’s reasons to believe the Golden Gophers could be the dark horse in this race. While Tanner Morgan is out now, redshirt sophomore Athan Kaliakmanis showed glimpses why there was hype surrounding him. He even went into Madison and beat the Badgers last season to keep Paul Bunyan’s Ax and played well doing so.
Minnesota also lost long time running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who is arguably one of the best to ever wear a Gopher uniform. However, they did get back receiver Chris Autman-Bell for a seventh season following a nasty season ending injury last year as well as sixth year tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. Spann-Ford is one of the best tight ends in the league and should hear his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft. Add in the ninth overall ranked defense from last year and this is a solid team as well.
At the end of the day, I know what I’m getting more with Wisconsin and Iowa more than I’m getting with Minnesota. I know Minnesota is scrappy and tough on defense. If you can score 24 points on them, you should win 10 times out of 10. I think the offense is more of a question mark for P.J. Fleck and this team. Kaliakmanis had flashes in the limited action he saw last year, but that was only in a handful of games. Wisconsin and Iowa both have established quarterbacks with a ton of experience. Minnesota also ran Ibrahim time and time again when they needed to run the clock out or get momentum going. Do they have the running game to compliment the passing game? The Badgers and Hawkeyes do.
Defense wins in the Big Ten West and Minnesota has the defense to stay in games. There’s more to like with the Badgers and Hawkeyes. Both teams have Big Ten West championship pedigree as well. It should be a fun Big Ten West season. I just think the winner comes out of Iowa City or Madison.
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