What you need to know before the Missouri Tigers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes game.

I had the opportunity to exchange questions with Eliot Clough from Hawkeye Beacon, our Iowa location, before Monday’s game.

Here are my questions and his answers.

Eliot: After suffering an injury to his right hand/wrist, he started at center Logan Jones missed training on Thursday but was fit on Friday. I’m still working with a cast and snapping with my left hand. I would be surprised if Jones played on Monday. He just announced he will return for the 2025 season and the tires already have quite a bit of tread. It wouldn’t make much sense for Jones to see the field, possibly injure his hand even worse, and miss the entire spring. It would be a surprise if he saw the field.

Eliot: In the backfield, Kamari Moulton And Jaziun Patterson will attempt to share the majority of carries on Monday. Moulton, a redshirt freshman, and Patterson, a redshirt sophomore, each made brief appearances between the last two seasons, and Moulton was initially listed as an RB1 prior to the start of the season and Johnson’s breakout campaign. Moulton, both young defenders with potential, is more of a complete defender, whereas Patterson is a hard-nosed, experienced contact runner who hits it hard. We were told not to be surprised if we were real newbies Xavier Williams and/or Brevin doll Check out the field on Monday too. Both were three-star prospects coming out of high school. Doll is also a name to keep an eye on on special teams.

At corner, the second cornerback position has been pretty inconsistent all season. The replays were mostly shared TJ Halla junior, and Deshaun Leea redshirt sophomore. Lee was mostly solid while Hall mostly struggled. Hall is more physically gifted, but Lee makes up for his lack of size with consistent tackling and is a better cover corner than Hall. Hall also took a few more penalties in coverage than Lee. Behind that lies the second semester John Nestor and true newcomer, Jaylen Watson. Nestor got his most reps of the season against Michigan State, where he really struggled. Aidan Chiles and the Spartans pursued him all night long. Watson has seen the field in spurts across Iowa’s dime package and on special teams. Watson is an elite athlete but is only in his second year playing defensive back. Although he’s still figuring things out, he has a lot of potential.

With McNamara gone, Brendan Sullivan will assume the starting role for the first time since Iowa’s 20-17 loss at UCLA on Nov. 8. Sullivan is a much more mobile option and a better playmaker than McNamara and is the fan base’s preferred option at QB. Although the Northwestern transfer didn’t have the same hit status as the Michigan transfer when he arrived, Sullivan largely had the better track record with the Hawkeyes. He’s more fun to watch and a much more dynamic athlete. Sullivan’s main deficiency is throwing the ball deep. He’s more of a situational, game-planned passer than someone who can throw guys away or has any great arm talent.

He is expected to replace Jones Tyler Elsbury. As a fifth-year senior with 49 games played and five starts under his belt, Iowa fans should have little concern about Elsbury. Elsbury replaced Jones for parts of last year and this season and was more than solid, even looking better than Jones at times. Heading into the 2024 season, it probably wouldn’t have surprised anyone if he had secured a starting guard spot, but he maintained a reserve role and was solid in it again this season.

Eliot: I could imagine it Tim Lesters The game plan is to get the ball in the air more. If Iowa can’t rely on the All-American consensus on the ground, it will be terribly difficult to make explosive plays in an interior zone or swing pass, as was the case with Johnson.

Without Johnson, receivers could be Iowa’s two best offensive options for big plays Jacob Gill and tight end Luke Lachey. Newbie far away Reece Vander Zee could also be thrown into this mix. If I were to bet, I would say the ball will be thrown in the air more often in Iowa in 2024 than in an average game.

Moulton and Patterson will be solid, but if the Hawkeyes want to make big plays, it may have to be the passing game.

Eliot: Expectations for this season were adjusted after the loss to Iowa State and especially after the loss to Michigan State. Heading into the year, the CFP’s hopes were high for this Iowa team, which returned eight of its 11 starters to one of the best defenses in the country and brought in a new offensive coordinator after the dismal loss Brian Ferentz Years. That got lost pretty quickly in Iowa City.

A miserable second-half performance against the Cyclones, a crushing loss to Ohio State and the upset against Michigan State completely changed the perception of the program and Cade McNamara in particular. After that, the fan base was ready to move on from the former Wolverine and embrace Sullivan. After his relegation, the focus was primarily on staying healthy and getting as many wins as possible, even though he was only on the fourth line, the Colorado State transfer. Jackson Stratton.

With expectations adjusted, a 9-4 season and a bowl win could be considered satisfactory. If fans were to abandon their hopes in August, this season could be considered a disappointment.

Eliot: I’ve heard a lot about Missouri’s exceptional athletes beforehand, and that makes me nervous about the offensive line and running backs. If Iowa McNamara were out there, I’d be nervous for him too, but Sullivan’s mobility could help neutralize Mizzou’s pass rush.

Additionally, Iowa’s defense struggled most this season when it couldn’t do much to stifle the opposing team’s passing attack. It faces an experienced passer Brady Cook could be a problem. As the defense ran down the field and couldn’t stop them, they looked completely drained in each of their losses this season. The fatigue led to poor tackling, which only made the problem worse. However, the Tigers will be without one Luther’s burden And Armand Membou Offensively, it wouldn’t shock me if Cook destroyed Iowa’s defense on Monday.

As you can see/hear on HawkCast, I predicted a 24-16 win for Missouri.

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