Iowa’s path to the College Football Playoff is already getting treated with skepticism, and Athlon Sports made that crystal clear in its early bowl projection for 2027.
The magazine has the Hawkeyes landing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Virginia Tech on December 26, a forecast that leaves Iowa well outside the New Year’s bowl picture and nowhere near the CFP conversation. It’s also a notable call on the other sideline, with former Big Ten foe James Franklin set for his first season leading the Hokies in Athlon’s projection.
That’s a sharp contrast from what Iowa has been chasing. The Hawkeyes have been consistent under Kirk Ferentz and have put together a winning record every season since the College Football Playoff began in 2015, but they still haven’t broken through and reached it. Last season briefly put them in the mix before they fell short.
The 2027 outlook comes with a lot less certainty than Iowa is used to. The Hawkeyes return only six total starters from last season: Kamari Moulton at running back, Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck on the offensive line, Jayden Montgomery at linebacker, and Deshaun Lee and Zach Lutmer in the secondary. That kind of turnover is a big reason why some observers are cooling on Iowa’s chances.
The biggest questions sit in the trenches and at quarterback. Iowa has five new starters on the defensive line, three new starters on the offensive line, and a new situation under center. That’s a lot to replace at once, especially for a team that has usually leaned on veteran experience to get through the grind of the season.
Still, there are reasons to think the offense could have more juice than usual at the skill spots. Iowa has more talent at wide receiver, tight end and running back than it has in the past, and those groups could go four or five deep. But all of that depends on who wins the quarterback job.
Defensively, there’s still plenty of trust in Phil Parker’s group, even with the changes up front. The bigger issue is whether the offense can hold up its end of the bargain, because if Iowa starts slowly, climbing back in a season with this much roster turnover could be tough.
Athlon’s projection also doesn’t account for a brutal stretch in the middle of the schedule. Iowa has five difficult games in a row there, including back-to-back matchups with Ohio State and Michigan.
So while the Hawkeyes are once again facing an uphill climb to make their first CFP, Athlon’s early read feels especially harsh. Iowa has been built to outperform outside expectations before, and this prediction suggests plenty of people think that formula is about to be tested in a big way.
In Other News...
Iowa Fans Wont Love What This New QB Ranking Suggests
EA Sports College Football 27 gives Iowa plenty to like elsewhere, with a deep roster that should look familiar to anyone who has watched the Hawkeyes lean on defense, line play and overall depth. The quarterback room, though, is a different story. Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown are the names at the center of it, and the games initial ratings put both well below where Iowa would hope to be at the sports most important position.
For fans, the concern is less about a video game number than what it hints at for the real season ahead. Iowa is expected to sort through Brown or Hecklinski under center, and neither has started a game for the Hawkeyes yet. The challenge now is obvious: prove on the field that the rating is too low, and give the program a reason to believe the quarterback position can climb out of the bottom tier. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Football Faces An Uncomfortable 2027 Recruiting Reality
Iowas 2027 recruiting picture is off to an awkward start, with the Hawkeyes sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten in the early rankings. For a program that has long made a habit of finding and developing overlooked players, the number is not exactly fatal, but it is the kind of snapshot that can make fans uneasy this far out from signing day, especially when the league table is already starting to take shape around them.
The bigger question is how much that ranking really matters in Iowa City, where Kirk Ferentzs staff has never relied on splashy recruiting alone to stay competitive. The Hawkeyes have leaned more heavily on the transfer portal to balance the roster and have shown they can still patch together a capable team even when the high school class is slow to build, but the current pace leaves plenty of room for concern until the next wave of commitments arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Top Iowa Prospect Is Coming Home After A Brutal Twist
Brett Harris had spent much of his senior year at Western Dubuque High School looking like one of Iowas most promising baseball prospects, with his play on both the baseball diamond and the football field keeping him squarely on the radar of college programs. The senior had originally committed to Ole Miss, a path that seemed to fit the kind of talent and profile he had built in Dubuque.
Instead, Harris is now headed to the University of Iowa after Ole Miss withdrew its scholarship offer, a stunning turn for a player who has kept competing while undergoing radiation treatment for a brain tumor. The move sends one of the states top prospects closer to home at a time when his athletic future has already been tested far beyond the usual recruiting drama, and it adds another layer to a story that has drawn attention well beyond the box scores. [Read more 🡒]