Podcast: Breaking down Iowa football with Black Heart Gold Pants

Thanks to some returning depth and a more than favorable schedule, the trendy pick to the win the Big Ten West, or at least compete for the title, is Iowa. A longtime butt of jokes, from being subject to the wrath of an angry, running back-hating deity, to being just all around boring, the Hawkeyes have a chance to make things legitimately interesting. Or at least, the best that Iowa can.

Could Ohio State tangle with the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten title game, should they make it that far? What do Ohio State fans need to know about the team? In order to get the straight dope on all things Hawkeyes, we chatted with Patrick Vint of the best Iowa blog on the internet, Black Heart Gold Pants.

As always, you can subscribe to HITHL via iTunes, or check out our previous episodes here. Or, you could just listen below:

This podcast starts with a little coverage of Ohio State's first practices of fall camp. Patrick joins us at the 7:00 min mark. Topics of conversation include:

• What BHGP is doing with their fundraising drive to help sick kids in Iowa, AND put Adam Jacobi on a horse.
• What Iowa fans are expecting as far as improvement from Jake Rudock, and why this crop of Hawkeye wideouts could be their best in recent memory, or at least, their deepest
• How Iowa will replace losses on their offensive line, and what their depth situation will look like there
• How Iowa will replace three very good linebackers, and how they expect their defense to adjust
• Is Iowa actually good, or would success just be a byproduct of a crappy schedule? And do Iowa fans even care?
• What does success look like this season? Should they win the league?
• Why Iowa never looked as good or exciting on offense last year as they did against Ohio State.