Depth charts: Projected starters for No. 22 Iowa vs. Purdue
Danny LawhonFirst, the bad news: Iowa has painted itself into a major corner. Big-stage losses in back-to-back weeks, accompanied by lackluster performances on offense, has the fan base's confidence shaken.
The silver lining: Because both of those defeats were to Big Ten Conference East Division foes, the No. 22 Hawkeyes are still mostly in control of their West Division fate ... if they win out.
A tall order for Iowa (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten), to be sure. But doable. It all begins with Saturday's 11 a.m., ESPN2-televised contest against Purdue (2-4, 1-2), which is banged-up and inexperienced (the Boilermakers sport 18 underclassmen as starters or co-starters on their depth chart) and just plain poor on defense.
So don't forget the past two weeks, but look forward to the next six games. This is where the rubber starts to meet the road.
Here are the projected starters for the game:
OFFENSE
Quarterback: No. 4, Nate Stanley (6-foot-4, 243 pounds, senior)
Running back: No. 10, Mekhi Sargent (5-11, 223, junior)
Tight end: No. 39, Nate Wieting (6-4, 250, sr.)
Fullback: No. 36, Brady Ross (6-0, 246, sr.)
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Wide receiver: No. 12, Brandon Smith (6-2, 218, jr.)
Wide receiver: No. 6, Ihmir Smith-Marsette (6-1, 183, jr.)
Left tackle: No. 77, Alaric Jackson (6-6, 320, jr.)
Left guard: No. 68, Landan Paulsen (6-5, 305, sr.)
Center: No. 65, Tyler Linderbaum (6-3, 286, freshman)
Right guard: No. 71, Mark Kallenberger (6-5, 291, sophomore)
Right tackle: No. 74, Tristan Wirfs (6-5, 322, jr.)
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DEFENSE
Defensive end: No. 57, Chauncey Golston (6-5, 270, jr.)
Defensive end: No. 94, A.J. Epenesa (6-6, 280, jr.)
Defensive tackle: No. 95, Cedrick Lattimore (6-3, 295, sr.)
Defensive tackle: No. 91, Brady Reiff (6-3, 277, sr.)
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Weak-side linebacker: No. 32, Djimon Colbert (6-1, 235, soph.)
Middle linebacker: No. 34, Kristian Welch (6-3, 239, sr.)
Leo/Cash: No. 49, Nick Niemann (6-4, 235, jr.)
Strong safety: No. 9, Geno Stone (5-10, 210, jr.)
Free safety: No. 28, Jack Koerner (6-0, 204, soph.)
Cornerback: No. 11, Michael Ojemudia (6-1, 200, sr.)
Cornerback: No. 8, Matt Hankins (6-0, 185, jr.)
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SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker: No. 10, Caleb Shudak (5-8, 180, jr.) OR No. 3, Keith Duncan (5-10, 180, jr.)
Punter: No. 22, Michael Sleep-Dalton (6-0, 212, sr.)
Kickoff returns: No. 6, Ihmir Smith-Marsette (6-1, 183, jr.)
Punt returns: No. 89, Nico Ragaini (6-0, 192, fr.)
PURDUE PROJECTED STARTERS
OFFENSE
Quarterback: No. 13, Jack Plummer (6-5, 220, fr.) OR No. 16, Aidan O'Connell (6-3, 210, soph.)
Running back: No. 22, King Doerue (5-10, 210, fr.)
Tight end: No. 89, Brycen Hopkins (6-5, 245, sr.)
Wide receiver: No. 3, David Bell (6-2, 210, fr.)
Wide receiver: No. 33, Jackson Anthrop (5-11, 190, jr.)
Wide receiver: No. 10, Amad Anderson (5-11, 175, fr.)
Left tackle: No. 78, Grant Hermanns (6-7, 295, jr.)
Left guard: No. 76, Mark Stickford (6-5, 295, soph.)
Center: No. 72, Sam Garvin (6-3, 295, soph.)
Right guard: No. 79, Matt McCann (6-6, 205, sr.)
Right tackle: No. 74, Eric Miller (6-7, 295, fr.) OR No. 70, Will Bramel (6-6, 295, fr.)
DEFENSE
Defensive end: No. 55, Derrick Barnes (6-1, 245, jr.)
Defensive end: No. 5, George Karlaftis (6-4, 265, fr.)
Defensive tackle: No. 98, Kai Higgins (6-4, 260, sr.)
Defensive tackle: No. 90, Lawrence Johnson (6-3, 300, fr.)
Linebacker: No. 36, Jaylan Alexander (6-1, 235, soph.)
Linebacker: No. 44, Ben Holt (5-11, 225, sr.)
Outside linebacker: No. 6, Jalen Graham (6-3, 215, fr.)
Free safety: No. 27, Navon Mosley (6-0, 200, sr.)
Strong safety: No. 38, Brennan Thieneman (6-1, 210, jr.)
Cornerback: No. 23, Cory Trice (6-3, 215, fr.)
Cornerback: No. 1, Dedrick Mackey (5-11, 185, soph.) OR No. 2, Kenneth Major (6-0, 195, soph.)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker: No. 85, J.D. Dellinger (6-2, 195, jr.)
Punter: No. 19, Brooks Cormier (6-5, 215, fr.) OR No. 38, Zac Collins (6-0, 195, soph.)
Kickoff and punt returns: No. 33, Jackson Anthrop (5-11, 190, jr.)