Iowa Football: 3 things we learned in Hawkeyes win over Iowa State

Is Iowa the Big Ten West favorite?

Through two weeks, you can’t say anyone in the Big Ten West is better than Iowa, at least not objectively. Wisconsin will have its say but Iowa has to be the early favorite or co-favorite with the Badgers.

Those two teams look very similar and while Wisconsin lost a tight game to Penn State, it’s far too early to judge the Badgers. Iowa, on the other hand, has played Indiana and Iowa State and won both games by double digits.

The offense hasn’t been spectacular but Spencer Petras has yet to throw an interception and Tyler Goodson is one of the Big Ten’s best backs. So the offense will be what it has always been.

The key is going to be this Iowa defense. It remains to be seen how it can hold up against a team like Ohio State, although Penn State should be a solid test.

But this Hawkeyes team is going to be ranked pretty high in the polls this week (deservedly so) and right now, it looks like that Wisconsin-Iowa battle in Madison will determine the Big Ten West representative.

And at the very least, through two games, we have seen that Iowa football is more than capable of winning the Big Ten West title in 2021.