We are at the midpoint of the 2026 regular season, and Iowa’s special teams have already become one of the clearest reasons the Hawkeyes are sitting pretty.
The offense has taken steps forward under Tim Lester, the defense has held up, and the team has largely outperformed preseason expectations outside of a dud against Ohio State at home. But the unit that has most quietly reshaped Iowa’s season is the one that had the biggest turnover.
After losing coordinator LeVar Woods to Michigan State, kicker Drew Stevens to the NFL, return specialist Kaden Wetjen to the NFL, and punter Rhys Dakin to Michigan State, there was plenty of uncertainty about how the Hawkeyes would piece things together. Iowa moved quickly, elevating Chris Polizzi from within and rebuilding the group around him.
Seven weeks into the season, including the bye week, the answer has been pretty clear: Iowa has not lost a step.
The Hawkeyes already have a punt-return touchdown, a kick-return touchdown and a game-winning field goal on the board. They’ve also gotten strong work from starting kicker Caden Buhr and punter Boston Everitt. Buhr is 9/11 on field-goal attempts with a long of 51 yards, while Everitt has averaged 41.6 yards per punt and consistently put opponents in tough spots.
That kind of production is exactly why Polizzi’s start deserves attention. Chad Leistikow summed it up this way: "Pretty impressive what Chris Polizzi has done … already a game-winning FG, a punt-return TD, a kick-return TD, terrific punting … and the most impressive part might be kickoff coverage. Those guys are maniacs. https://t.co/WI8poC9BiH"
Iowa’s return game has also been a big part of the story. Polizzi has inserted Evan James and Braeden Jackson into those roles, and both have made their mark. Jackson scored Iowa’s only first-half points against Michigan in week four, keeping that game close, while James has been a key factor as a punt returner.
For Iowa, this is familiar territory. Special teams have long been a defining piece of the program, and Kirk Ferentz has made sure it stays that way.
The unit’s latest performance has continued that standard, even with a rebuilt cast. "Punting is winning" still applies in Iowa City, and Polizzi’s group has backed it up with results.
The expectations were already high. The execution has matched them. And with this much production from a unit that had to be rebuilt on the fly, the Hawkeyes may only be getting started.
In Other News...
Iowas Minnesota Trip Suddenly Carries Much Bigger Stakes
The annual Floyd of Rosedale trip to Minnesota already matters, but this one has a little extra weight behind it for Iowa. The Hawkeyes come in off a bye week, and a wild stretch around college football has nudged their playoff outlook into a better place than it was not long ago. In a league where every stumble gets magnified, rivalry games can do more than shape a record, and this one is sitting right in the middle of Iowas season.
Minnesota is still Minnesota, though, and the Gophers have a way of making this series feel like more than just another Big Ten date. Iowa has built a reputation for handling rivalry games well, and keeping that edge matters now with so much still on the line. For a team trying to turn a strong start into something bigger, the path forward may look simple enough: protect the trophy, protect the momentum, and keep the playoff conversation alive a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Rise Just Made One Hawkeyes Decision Even Bigger
Iowas climb to No. 15 in the latest AP Poll has only sharpened the spotlight on the quarterback situation, and that makes the Hawkeyes next move under center feel even more important. At 5-1, the season has given this team real momentum, but it has also left one of its biggest questions unresolved as Hank Brown is back at practice after missing a game and Jeremy Hecklinski has given the staff reason to keep leaning into the competition.
Offensive coordinator Tim Lester has already said both quarterbacks will play meaningful snaps in the second half of the season, which adds another layer to a decision that now carries more weight than it did a few weeks ago. With Iowa positioned as a top-15 team and the schedule tightening, the Hawkeyes do not need a placeholder at quarterback so much as the right answer, and that makes this one of the more interesting calls on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Remaining Schedule Suddenly Feels Bigger Than Anyone Expected
With Iowa on a bye week at 5-1, the bigger picture around the Hawkeyes has taken on a different look. A wave of upsets and near-misses elsewhere in college football has shaken up the national conversation, and some of the teams sitting ahead of Iowa in the rankings have suddenly made the path a little more interesting than it seemed a week ago.
The Hawkeyes still have work to do, of course, but the remaining schedule now carries more weight because the field around them has become so unsettled. If Iowa handles its own business, those chaotic results could leave the door open to postseason possibilities that felt far less realistic before the latest round of turbulence. [Read more 🡒]