Iowa didn’t even take the field, and the Hawkeyes still moved up.
Sitting out the weekend at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten, Iowa climbed two spots to No. 14 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll entering Week 8. The rise came as Texas and Missouri both slipped, opening the door for the Hawkeyes to move up in the national rankings.
Texas took the biggest hit among the teams around Iowa, getting stunned by Florida, 27-24. That result pushed the Gators back into the poll at No.
- Missouri also fell hard, dropping at Ole Miss, 31-3.
The top of the poll had its own chaos. For the second straight week, the No. 1 team lost, with Auburn knocking off Georgia, 27-24.
BYU took advantage of its own big win, jumping to No. 3 after upsetting then-No. 2 Notre Dame, 28-24.
The Big Ten still has plenty of representation near the top. Ohio State held onto the league’s best spot at No. 2 after winning a top-five matchup at Indiana, 19-15.
In all, seven Big Ten teams showed up in the rankings: No. 2 Ohio State, No.
6 Indiana, No. 10 UCLA, No.
14 Iowa, No. 15 USC, No.
23 Northwestern and No. 25 Oregon.
Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin are among the teams receiving votes.
The full top 25 entering Week 8 is headed by Miami (FL) at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, BYU, Georgia and Texas Tech. Indiana sits at No.
6, Ole Miss at No. 7 and Notre Dame at No. 8.
Utah checks in at No. 9, UCLA at No.
10, Tennessee at No. 11 and Kentucky at No. 12.
Alabama is No. 13, Iowa No. 14 and USC No.
- Houston is No.
16, LSU No. 17, Texas No.
18, Wake Forest No. 19, SMU No.
20, Missouri No. 21, Boise State No.
22, Northwestern No. 23, Florida No. 24 and Oregon No.
Among the teams that dropped out were No. 19 Mississippi State and No. 20 Oklahoma State.
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 🡒]