Iowa's Depth Chart Shows Glaring Weakness Michigan Football Can Exploit

The Wolverines could use this weakness to their advantage this weekend.

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Michigan will open up Big Ten play this weekend by hosting the Iowa Hawkeyes and their No. 1 ranked defense. The Hawkeyes have taken care of business in their first three games, and despite only playing one team with somewhat of a pulse, Iowa has done what was expected of it.

Iowa is coming off a 55-0 win over Northern Iowa and the Hawkeyes were without a few key players in the win. That included star RB Kamari Moulton, who rushed for 878 yards in 11 games last season, leading the Hawkeyes on the ground.

In two games this season, Moulton is the only Iowa RB over 200 yards. He has 240 yards and two scores and that was without him playing against the lowly Northern Iowa team last weekend.

Moulton left off the depth chart

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According to Iowa Hawkeyes on SI, Moulton was considered day-to-day leading up to kickoff against Northern Iowa, but the Hawkeyes didn't play him. It was thought that Kirk Ferentz was opting to rest him to have Moulton ready for Big Ten play and the difficult Michigan defense.

But the Hawkeyes left him off of their Week 4 depth chart. Does that mean Moulton is hurt worse than expected or is Ferentz playing a game with the Wolverines? We are going to find out, but if Iowa doesn't have Moulton, that's a big hit for the Hawkeyes' offense.

This past week, Iowa had Xavier Williams (155 yards and three TDs), Braedon Jackson (125 yards and one TD), and Nathan McNeil (111 yards and two TDs) go off, but again, it was Northern Iowa.

Things instantly become easier for Michigan if Moulton doesn't play

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Michigan's defense isn't as statistically good as Iowa's, but the human eyes can see the Wolverines have a dominant defense. What Michigan excels at is stopping the run and getting pressure off the edge.

Hank Brown is Iowa's starting QB, who has next to zero experience until this season. Brown has fared well, throwing for 473 yards and three TDs in three games, but the Hawkeyes aren't made to win games using their QB. Iowa leans on its defense and run game to win games.

If Moulton is truly hurt the biggest piece of Iowa's offense is no longer in play and Ferentz will have to find a different way to beat Michigan's defense.

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