Iowa’s season just got a little brighter, and a lot more defined.
After Saturday’s 30-0 shutout of Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes are back in the AP Top 25 at No. 21 and back in the national conversation as the first College Football Playoff rankings arrive Tuesday night. Iowa’s trip to Northwestern comes with the kind of backdrop teams chase in November: a clearer view of where the postseason road might lead.
The win over Wisconsin did more than snap Iowa back into the poll after a one-week absence. It also pushed the Badgers out, with then-No.
25 Wisconsin falling out after the loss. Northwestern, meanwhile, slipped out of the rankings after losing at Oregon and is now effectively No. 26, with 79 points.
For Iowa, the picture is pretty clean at the moment. The Hawkeyes don’t have a ranked opponent left on the schedule. In the Big Ten standings, they’re tied for fifth with Northwestern, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois at 3-2 in conference play.
The conference still has plenty of weight in the national race. Five Big Ten teams are in the AP Top 25, led by No.
5 UCLA. No.
11 Ohio State dropped nine spots after losing to now-No. 18 USC, and the Trojans are back in the poll after that marquee win.
ESPN’s current playoff projections have three Big Ten teams in the 12-team field: UCLA, Indiana and Ohio State.
Tuesday night’s rankings release will give the first real snapshot of how the selection committee sees the league, and where Iowa fits in that picture. ESPN will unveil the rankings at 6 p.m.
There’s also movement on Iowa’s own depth chart heading into Northwestern. The Hawkeyes didn’t make any changes, and the quarterback “OR” remains in place even after Hank Brown’s strong start against Wisconsin.
LJ Phillips was not listed, though he did play against the Badgers. Kirk Ferentz said Phillips was considered “day-to-day,” but he wasn’t on the injury reports before the game.
Brown’s performance earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. He went 20-for-24 for 222 passing yards and two touchdowns in the shutout.
Iowa also got a scheduling note for later this month. The Nov. 14 game at Purdue has been set as a six-day flex, with kickoff time to be announced later this week.
Northwestern comes into the matchup after a 34-26 loss at Oregon, but the Wildcats had been rolling before that. They were ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2020 and climbed as high as No. 20 during a four-game winning streak. In three of those four wins, Northwestern beat its opponent by at least 11 points.
The Wildcats have also spent the season in their new home, Ryan Field, which opened earlier this year and has been one of the biggest storylines around the program. Saturday’s game against Iowa will be the fourth played there.
Around the Big Ten, Purdue hosts Maryland at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Big Ten Network, while Ohio State’s home game against Oregon stands out as one to watch.
The Buckeyes are playing without QB Julian Sayin, and a third loss could put their playoff hopes in serious danger. Outside the conference, No.
9 Alabama visits No. 15 LSU in another game that could shake up the CFP picture, and No.
7 BYU travels to No. 3 Utah.
In Other News...
Iowa Gets Its First Real Test In Ben McCollums Home Debut
The first home game of the Ben McCollum era arrives with a little more substance than a typical early-November tuneup. Iowa is set to open the 2026-27 season against Lipscomb on Nov. 3, and after a pair of closed scrimmages and an exhibition win over Illinois Springfield, the Hawkeyes will finally get a chance to show what their new look means in a real game setting.
Lipscomb is not bringing in the kind of opponent that lets a team ease into the schedule, either. Kevin Carrolls group began its season against Southeast Missouri State and comes with three preseason all-conference players, which gives Iowa an early measuring stick in McCollums home debut. For a program trying to establish a new identity, the opener already has the feel of something more than just the first game on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Caitlin Clark Just Gave Iowa Fans Another Reason To Celebrate
Caitlin Clark is already making her presence felt in Iowas orbit again, even in the middle of her WNBA offseason. Ahead of the Hawkeyes 2026-27 season, she delivered her first signature Nike shoes, the Caitlin Clark 1, in an Iowa-inspired yellow-and-black colorway to the womens basketball team, a fitting nod for a program that has spent years riding the wave of her legacy.
The timing only adds to the feel-good stretch around the program, which opened its season with a home victory over Towson. Clark has also been on a press tour promoting her new childrens book, but this latest gesture brought her back to the place where her star first took off and gave Hawkeyes fans another reminder that her connection to Iowa still runs deep. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Is Rallying Around Jack Campbell After A Scary NFL Moment
Jack Campbells injury in Sundays game against the Minnesota Vikings sent a jolt through everyone who watched the former Iowa linebacker get taken off the field on a stretcher. The Detroit Lions later offered a more reassuring update, saying Campbell was resting and recovering in a hospital with positive early indications, but the moment was still enough to trigger an immediate wave of concern back in Iowa, where he remains one of the programs most respected recent alumni.
Kirk Ferentz and Campbells former teammates have already made clear how much he means to the Hawkeyes family, and their thoughts are with him and his family as he recovers. For Iowa fans, it was a reminder that the bond with Campbell goes well beyond his college career, and even in a scary NFL scene, the support from Iowa has been instant and unmistakable. [Read more 🡒]