Agree. It's one thing to win when you have a 9/10 defense and a 12/10 special teams play; that's enough to overcome a 0/10 offense.I don't think there's any chance Iowa wins 9-10 this year. I think this is not a good Iowa team that has zero offense and teams will be able to pass against them better than the past. I look for them to have one of the worst years in a long time and Kirk will be gone. Look for K-State's coach to take that job.
But that "generational" special teams play is gone. And the defense looks more like 8/10.
The margin for error, which was small, is now VANISHINGLY small.
Right now, a lot of their games look like toss-ups to me. OSU is a loss, and NW & Troy are wins. But the others are probably 50/50. That looks like 7-5 or 8-4 at best.