Deontae Craig recalls military school, previews final year at Iowa
Iowa defensive end Deontae Craig recalls his time at Culver Military Academy in Indiana as a culture shock.
Amid months of buildup ahead of the game’s July 19 release date, the latest wave of hype surrounding EA Sports College Football 25 had a puzzling take on Iowa football.
After releasing lists on the game’s toughest environments and top offenses earlier this week, EA Sports dropped College Football 25’s defensive power rankings. And well, the Hawkeyes slotted 13th as an 88 overall.
That ranking puts Iowa fifth among Big Ten schools behind No. 1 Ohio State (96 overall), No. 3 Oregon (90 overall), No. 7 Michigan (90 overall) and No. 9 Penn State (88 overall). The Hawkeyes sit two spots ahead of No. 15 Wisconsin (86 overall) and three spots ahead of No. 16 USC (86 overall).
The Hawkeyes at 13 feels a bit low considering the defensive success Iowa has produced recently has single-handedly propped up the team for two straight seasons. The Hawkeyes ranked fourth nationally last season, surrendering just 14.8 points per game. Iowa yielded the seventh-fewest yards per game (282.5) and led the country in fewest yards per play average (4.1).
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
