Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I was thinking of this little feller.

Someone stole Bob's Big Boy,damn bugeaters

This little guy was our original mascot.  Somebody on the 1916-17 "Punitive Expedition" sent into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa found him and brought him back to Norman.

Little Red doesn't look like any Sooner.Looks like someone who would attack a Sooner Schooner

Yeah, he came up short on thematic consistency as well as cultural sensitivity.

#24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Independent

The good news is that Ian Book elected to return for his senior year.  The third year starter jump started the Irish’s playoff run in 2018, as a sophomore.  The bad news is that even with a loaded group of skill position players around him as a junior last year, Book regressed.  More was put on his shoulders, attempting over 6.5 more passes per game in 2019 compared to 2018, which resulted in him surpassing the 3,000 yard passing mark, the first Notre Dame quarterback to do that since Everett Golson in 2014.  However his completion percentage fell by 8%, and he lost 0.8 ypa.  The even worse news is that with running back Tony Jones Jr. and tight end Cole Kmet turning pro early, Book loses his best running back, top two receivers, and starting tight end.  The accuracy problems he had last year cannot return.  As far as who fills those skill positions slots, it’s anybody’s guess.  The leading returning rusher is Jahmir Smith with 187 yards, while Tommy Tremble and his 13 receptions for 158 yards leads all returning players in receptions.  Notre Dame’s three highest rated recruits in their 2020 class, including their lone 5-star, tight end Michael Mayer, should be immediate factors.  Receiver Jordan Johnson and all purpose back Chris Tyree are the other two.  Then you have Northwestern transfer receiver Ben Skowronek, who had 90 receptions for 1,206 yards and 8 touchdowns between 2017 and 2018, and was on a similar pace last year before suffering a season ending injury in his third game.  They also hope to get sophomore Kevin Austin Jr. back, after being suspended for the entire 2019 season.  To his credit, he stuck with the program, and most Irish insiders say he might have been Notre Dame’s best receiver last year.  He missed the end of 2018 as well though, so by the time the season starts it will have been 23 months since his last action.  The should benefit from an experienced offensive line, which they have not had the previous two seasons, after seeing a pair of high NFL Draft picks depart.  All five starters return, and a couple of the reserves have starting experience.  All in all, there are a combined 114 starts among the offensive linemen, which is nearly two full years of starts per position.  The line ranked #5 in line yards in 2017, but fell to #106 in 2018, and back up to just #62 last year.  This unit has no excuse not to be top 20.  He’s not even listed here, but if Notre Dame is going to surprise in 2020, their best defensive player has to be sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who has easily the highest ceiling of anyone on the roster, certainly of the defense.  He started to put it all together at the end of last year, and while the guys listed below had better years, that finish, extrapolated out, gives the Irish an All-American.  His versatility is impressive.  He can move inside and stop the run, or move out and either defend in coverage or rush the passer.  Outside of linebacker and safety, the Notre Dame defense has plenty of questions.  On the line, the starting group is serviceable, but depth is a major issue, particularly as much as Notre Dame rotates linemen; and there is a major question mark at cornerback.  Neither Tariq Bracy or Shaun Crawford has instilled much confidence in their previous chances, and now it seems likely that is your starting duo.  The Irish have been able to rely on a top 4 pass defense in each of the past two seasons, and it appears highly unlikely they’ll scratch that this year.

	KEY PLAYERS
QB	Ian Book, Senior
T	Liam Eichenberg, Senior
G	Aaron Banks, Junior
	.
DT	Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Junior
LB	Drew White, Junior
S	Kyle Hamilton, Sophomore

So, Appy State is the top rated team in NC.  Fascinating.

Boone is a nice town to visit last I was there.

Ohio is all but eliminated. 

#22 Iowa Hawkeyes

#6 in Big Ten

Arguably no school in the country has been hurt more by players leaving early for the NFL Draft over the past two years than Iowa.  The Hawkeyes lost another four players last year, after losing three the year before.  While seven early entrants is not nearly the most during that time, I would bet that none of the others who lost more recruit at Iowa’s level, and rely on development.  I think it robbed them of what could have been a truly special 2019.  While I don’t think the full returning roster in 2020 would have been quite as good, it certainly could have been good enough to be hosting Wisconsin in the season finale with the West Division title on the line.  Granted back to back road games at Ohio State and Penn State in mid-October are slightly problematic either way.  Now, it seems like the Hawkeyes are a full step behind rivals Wisconsin and Minnesota, which is about the least satisfying #3 you can be for an Iowa fan.  Figuring out a way to replace Nathan Stanley will go a long way towards closing that gap.  While Stanley probably never fully realized his potential, he was always there, starting all 39 games over the past three seasons, appearing in 46 in his career, and throwing more passes than anyone in Iowa football history.  Over those three years where Stanley started, Hawkeye backup quarterbacks attempted a combined total of 24 passes.  Peyton Mansell and Samson Evans transferring out helps sort out the quarterback room, with sophomore Spencer Petras, who was the #2 last year, probably holding a slight lead.  It would be a shame to waste this deep group of receivers with poor quarterback play.  The Hawkeyes return their seven leading pass catchers from last year, with All-Big Ten candidate Ihmir Smith-Marsette at the top of the list.  The last Hawkeye to play in Iowa City, and go on to play in the NFL was Kevin Kasper, who was a senior in 2000.  I’ll bet Smith-Marsette breaks that two decade drought.  It goes beyond that though.  After producing a pair of first round NFL picks the year prior at tight end, Iowa struggled to replace them, but the emergence of true freshman Sam LaPorta over the final month of the season bodes well for such an important position in this offense.  He didn’t appear until the eight game of the season, but had a reception in every game from there out, including six in the Holiday Bowl win over USC.  At running back, I’m not sure whether the more puzzling thing is that Toren Young left early for Sundays, or that Brian Ferentz kept him third in usage among the backs, despite having the best efficiency.  So the good news is that Iowa returns their two leading rushers, with the downside being they probably lost their best one.  Iowa is always fine on the line, and that continues to be the case.  They had the best pair of tackles in the Big Ten last year.  Alaric Jackson elected to return for his senior year, and even though Tristan Wirfs didn’t, they added former All-Big Ten tackle Coy Cronk as a grad transfer from Indiana.  Oh, and they found a freshman center who earned all-conference honors.  The defense actually has less certainty than the offense.  For most teams I would be worried about the secondary, but Iowa seems to keep finding someone, who was probably a 3* who didn’t play a ton, to just come into their own as a junior.  Is that cornerback Matt Hankins this year.  Chauncey Golston is developing well on the line, but now has to deal with all of the attention that A.J. Epenesa was dealing with.  Iowa has utilized more two linebacker packages the past two years, even as base packages, and with this group, I don’t see the rush to get more of them on the field.

	KEY PLAYERS
WR	Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Senior
T	Alaric Jackson, Senior
C	Tyler Linderbaum, Sophomore
	.
DE	Chauncey Golston, Senior
CB	Matt Hankins, Senior
S	Jack Koerner, Junior