Iowa Hawkeye football has been many things during the 2023 season. Expectations were high as key additions to the team plus a favorable schedule had many thinking this Iowa team could make a championship run. But then injuries set in. The offense regressed. Iowa football became a joke. But who's laughing now? The Hawkeyes finished 10-2 and will play for the Big Ten Championship on Saturday night. But at least one high-profile ESPN host doesn't give Iowa a fighting chance.

Reece Davis is the host of ESPN's College GameDay. The show broadcasts live from the campus of the biggest college football game of the week each Saturday. Davis has to be considered an expert on college football and he previewed the Iowa versus Michigan game on his ESPN College Football podcast this week.

Davis and his guests started by stating the obvious. Iowa getting to the Big Ten Championship game after everything they've been through this season is a huge accomplishment. They lost their starting quarterback, top two tight ends, and the team's best overall player in defensive back/punt returner Cooper DeJean. And yet they still found a way to grind out 10 wins. But Davis pointed out that they're about to get "steamrolled" by a very good Michigan team.

As an Iowa fan, I don't have much hope going into Saturday night's game. But nothing in sports is guaranteed. The old saying is, 'That's why you play the game.' Anything can happen. Turnovers. Injuries. A lack of respect for your opponent. It isn't Iowa versus Michigan on Saturday. It's Iowa versus the world. And who doesn't love an underdog?

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