EA Sports has Iowa sitting at an 80 overall in College Football 27, and that number puts the Hawkeyes in a tie for 12th among the game’s top-rated teams.
It’s an interesting spot for Iowa, especially because the ratings appear a little flipped when you look at the roster construction. The offense comes in at 80, while the defense is listed at 79. For a team built around Phil Parker’s unit, that’s the part that stands out most.
The offensive grade feels a bit generous based on the uncertainty at quarterback and the questions at wide receiver. A 76 or 77 would have made more sense, but EA Sports seems to be betting on Iowa’s offensive line, running game, and a healthy dose of tight end DJ Vonnahme to carry the load.
The defensive number is even more surprising. Iowa has spent the last two seasons improving on offense under Tim Lester, but Parker’s track record still makes this 79 feel low.
The rating reflects the new-look defensive line, which has to replace a lot of production, along with several new faces in the secondary. Even so, this group feels more like a mid-80s unit than what EA Sports handed out.
So while the Hawkeyes’ overall grade lands in a reasonable neighborhood, the split between offense and defense doesn’t quite match how Iowa usually gets evaluated. The game has Iowa at 80 overall, tied with Arkansas, Boise State, Maryland, TCU, and Michigan State.
Here’s how the Big Ten teams stack up in the ratings released for the game:
Oregon - 91
Ohio State - 90
Indiana - 90
USC - 86
Michigan - 85
Nebraska - 83
Penn State - 83
Washington - 83
UCLA - 82
Minnesota - 81
Iowa - 80
Maryland - 80
Michigan State - 80
Illinois - 79
Northwestern - 79
Wisconsin - 79
Rutgers - 78
Purdue - 77
In Other News...
A Familiar Big Ten Villain Is Back And Iowa Fans Know It
Shawn Eichorst has spent the past several years out of the Big Ten, working as deputy athletic director at Texas since 2018, but his name still carries plenty of baggage around the conference. Before that, he was the Nebraska athletic director, and his tenure there made him a familiar figure to Iowa fans who remember how much of the Cornhuskers' recent run-up and reset was tied to his decisions.
Now he is back in the league as Wisconsin's new athletic director, which is the kind of move that immediately gets attention in this corner of the rivalry map. Iowa and Wisconsin have built a competitive history of their own, with the next season set to bring the 100th meeting between the programs, and the Hawkeyes know Eichorst's arrival only adds another layer to a conference landscape where old grudges tend to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Sioux City East Faces Its Biggest Test After Breakout 9-2 Season
Sioux City East is coming off a season that put the rest of Iowa on notice, finishing 9-2 and averaging nearly 35 points a game while looking like a team built to keep climbing. The schedule will bring back plenty of familiar opponents in 2026, and the Black Raiders also have the benefit of a roster that still includes several important pieces on both sides of the ball.
The bigger question is how well they can keep that momentum going after a major departure under center, even with the rest of the group intact and hungry for more. There is enough returning talent to make Sioux City East a real factor again, but the next step will depend on how quickly the offense settles in and whether the program can turn last years breakout into something more enduring. [Read more 🡒]