Rece Davis Names Sleeper Pick to Reach Big Ten Championship Game
Heading into the 2024 season, a lot of pundits believe Ohio State and Oregon will meet in Indianapolis to play for a Big Ten championship. But ESPN's Rece Davis believes there's a sleeper team that could crash the party: Iowa.
During a recent episode of the College GameDay Podcast, Davis explained why he believes Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes could make a second straight run to Lucas Oil Stadium — pointing primarily to the team's schedule.
"A team from the Big Ten on my list that I think, with a couple of things going right, could get in the mix — and this might surprise you — Iowa," he said.
"I'm the one that always says if you're not good enough, a loss will find you. That applies to Iowa. That said, the reason to believe is the schedule. They miss Michigan, they miss Oregon, they miss Penn State. They do have to go to Ohio State. Everything else on their schedule is very very favorable."
The Hawkeyes reached the Big Ten Championship Game for the second time in three seasons last year, finishing the regular season with a 10-2 mark. Fielding one of the worst offensive units in college football in 2023, Iowa's success was a testament to its defense and special teams play throughout the year.
After the putrid year, Brian Ferentz was let go as the team's offensive coordinator. Kirk then hired former Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester to run the offense in 2024.
Davis believes the combination of a beneficial schedule and an improved offense could help Iowa find its way back to Indianapolis for a third time in four years.
"Schedule is great. If they only lose to Ohio State, high likelihood that they will be in the Big Ten Championship game," Davis said. "Another loss finds them along the way, they are very much improved, don't make the Big Ten championship game and don't make the playoff," says Davis. "But they look much better because they are better on offense."
Davis' colleague, Kirk Herbstreit, named a completely different dark horse in the Big Ten, but provided similar reasoning. "Herbie" thinks Rutgers has a legitimate chance to make some noise in the conference because of the returning talent mixed with a favorable schedule.
"Rutgers has a schedule that's, by Big Ten standards and this Big Ten world that we're in, they can make a little bit of a run," Herbstreit said on the Pat McAfee Show.
While Ohio State and Oregon are picked to finish in the top-two spots in the Big Ten, there's also a lot of hype surrounding Penn State, Michigan and USC. Could one of those teams carve out a path to Indianapolis?
With the league growing to 18 teams, there's a lot of anticipation for the 2024 season. It should be interesting to see if Iowa, Rutgers or another dark horse team makes a run at the Big Ten Championship Game or a College Football Playoff berth.
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