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Iowa Football: 5 takeaways from 2018 season

By Quinn Douglas

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes calls a play during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes calls a play during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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In a season that ended up short of preseason expectations, Iowa football still managed to put together an eight-win season with a bowl victory.

The 2018 season was a roller coaster for Iowa once again, but maybe not as drastic as the ride the Hawkeyes took during the 2017 season. Iowa started off 2018 red-hot, running their record to 6-1 before dropping three games in a row in the most crucial stretch of their season and ultimately cost them a shot at Indianapolis. But unlike Iowa teams in the past, the Hawkeyes didn’t mail it in, instead, they took out their frustrations on Illinois, Nebraska and Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl, ending the season with a three-game winning streak.

Unquestionably, the leader for the Hawkeyes was their field general, junior quarterback Nate Stanley. Stanley kept his composure all season, even with some questioning whether he could get it done in crunch time during Iowa’s three-game skid. Stanley responded by engineering a walk-off score against Nebraska and single-handily beating Mississippi State through the air in Iowa’s Outback Bowl win.

The Hawkeyes also possessed one of the best defenses in the country in 2018, a staple of Iowa teams under Kirk Ferentz. They were led by a devastating front four that could play eight players at any given time. The group was led by Anthony Nelson and Parker Hesse, two players who had become a devastating duo at defensive end with sophomore sensation A.J. Epenesa registering 10.5 sacks and not starting a single game.

Here’s what I got from this group of Hawkeyes.

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