Iowa put together a Week 1 performance that looked the part of a ranked team, then still found itself on the wrong end of an eye-catching opinion list.
Against Northern Illinois, the Hawkeyes rolled up 507 total yards on offense, held the Huskies to 120 total yards on defense and even made noise on special teams. Transfer wide receiver Evan James piled up 108 punt return yards and took one back for a touchdown as Iowa handled business in all three phases.
That didn’t stop RJ Young from knocking Iowa all the way out of his Week 2 top 25. The Hawkeyes entered the season at No. 21 in both the AP and coaches’ polls, but Young moved them from No. 21 to unranked after the win over NIU.
His list still included Michigan after a shaky showing against Western Michigan, pushed Florida from unranked to No. 19 and slid North Dakota State in at No. 24.
The reaction to that ranking was blunt: Iowa had already done enough to justify staying in the mix, and certainly not dropping five spots out of a top 25 after a dominant opener. The list also leaned into the idea that media rankings favor the SEC and blue-blood programs, and it gives Iowa another piece of bulletin-board material heading into the rest of the week.
Young’s list wasn’t the only thing floating around that could catch the Hawkeyes’ attention. Iowa State DT Bryson Lamb also said they aren’t scared of Iowa’s offensive line. Iowa players and coaches usually say they tune out the noise, but the noise keeps showing up anyway.
For Iowa, the bigger issue is the next game. The Hawkeyes moved up slightly to No. 21 in the AP Top 25 ahead of a pivotal matchup with Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium in Week 2, and that’s the only ranking that really counts. The rest is just fuel.
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