College football preview 2018: 10 unranked teams most likely to surprise

Iowa was a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team in 2017, finishing with a respectable but unremarkable 8-5 record. They did pull off the biggest upset of the season and probably changed the course of the College Football Playoff though. Iowa’s 31-point win over Ohio State gave the Buckeyes a second loss, and an embarrassing one at that, which was enough to cancel out the Big Ten Championship in the minds of the selection committee.

The Ohio State upset was the highlight of 2017. There were several lower points in 2017 though including close losses to Penn State (2 pts), Northwestern (7 pts) and Michigan State (7 pts).

Coming back in 2018, is quarterback Nathan Stanley, who threw 26 touchdown passes last season as opposed to only six interceptions. He’ll be accompanied by All-American tight end Noah Fant and leading receiver Nick Easley this year. Both leading rushers are gone as are all three starting linebackers from last year. There are a couple young running backs ready to take over the run game and a dominant defensive line will help cover the inexperience at linebacker.

Iowa is, at least, likely to be as good as they were last season. They play Wisconsin at home and go on the road to play Penn State. They dodge Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State and should be favored in nine of their ten remaining games on the schedule.