Iowa Football: Ranking Hawkeyes’ 2020 opponents by toughness

Purdue, like Northwestern, is another program that took a step back in 2019 after breaking through in previous seasons but Jeff Brohm’s team suffered a slew of major injuries. Losing Jack Plummer, Elijah Sindelar and Rondale Moore in the same season had a massive effect on the Boilermakers as they finished 4-8.

Getting Plummer and Moore back at full-strength in 2020 could be the difference between a four-win season and 7-8 wins but the whole team should be far better.

This has the feel of one of those slip-up games on the schedule.

Slightly tougher than a road game at Purdue, Nebraska comes to town hoping to prove that the first two seasons under Scott Frost were nothing more than just warm-ups for a serious contending third year.

The Cornhuskers were disappointing, to say the least, in 2019. They finished 5-7 overall after beginning the year as favorites to win the Big Ten West. They return Adrian Martinez at quarterback, Dedrick Mills and Wan’Dale Robinson as offensive weapons and three defensive backs. The defense needs to rebound, but the offense will surely be better.

Nebraska won’t be a cakewalk.