Greg Sankey predicts Iowa has ‘big bag of offensive tricks’ for Big Ten Championship

Iowa has struggled on offense all year. Entering Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan, the Hawkeyes are dead last in total offense nationally at 246 yards per game.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is holding out hope that the Iowa offense is ready to come to life this weekend.

Sankey appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday and predicted an offensive explosion for the Hawkeyes against Michigan.

“I’m certain, I’m convinced, that Iowa has a big bag of offensive tricks for tomorrow,” Sankey said. “I think they’ve been saving it all year. The defense is specialized and finely tuned. I think it’s going to be a big bag of offensive tricks to pull off.”

That would be stunning considering what we’ve seen from Iowa this season.

The Hawkeyes are currently 10-2, despite averaging 18 points per game, which ranks No. 124 out of 133 FBS teams.

Oddsmakers certainly aren’t expecting much from the Iowa offense against Michigan. FanDuel currently has Michigan favored by 21.5 points. The Iowa team total for the game is 6.5 points.

An Iowa win could help the SEC as Greg Sankey believes Georgia and Alabama will both have a case for the College Football Playoff if Alabama upsets the Bulldogs on Saturday. Iowa winning and the SEC potentially getting two teams in the CFP seems to be what Sankey is hoping for, no matter how unlikely it seems.

Greg Sankey quotes ‘Dumb and Dumber’ in response to question about SEC missing CFP

Greg Sankey believes the SEC should get at least one team in the College Football Playoff, no matter what happens on championship Saturday.

With that said, not everyone agrees. Sankey was asked what he would say to people who argue the SEC should be left out of the playoff if Alabama beats Georgia on Saturday.

“As I recall, the saying ‘There’s a chance’ came from Dumb and Dumber, which may be a good description of that observation,” Sankey said on The Pat McAfee Show. “You know, people who know and understand football don’t have a doubt about our status.”

The top eight in the College Football Playoff poll right now consists of Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Florida State, Oregon, Ohio State, Texas and Alabama.

If the Crimson Tide beat Georgia they will certainly move up, but just how much is to be determined. No matter the outcome, Sankey believes the SEC will be represented in the playoff.

“You can look this year – sure, we lost some nonconference games. But this is not a one-week evaluation. This is a season evaluation,” Sankey said. “And you watch how teams perform, how they improve, how they win big games, how they win close games, how they figure it out. And I think the winner of this game tomorrow, and in fact both teams, depending on the outcome, will be fully under consideration.”