Iowa’s ranking took a nice bump after a messy Week Seven around college football, but there’s already a case that the Hawkeyes could be sitting even higher.
With eight top-25 teams going down last weekend and three teams in the top five taking losses, Iowa moved up to No. 15 in the Week Eight AP Top 25. That’s the Hawkeyes’ second-highest spot of the season. They’re 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten as they head into a crucial early stretch to open the second half of the year, and there’s at least some support for the idea that they belong in the top 10 conversation.
CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell made that argument loudly. After Iowa sat idle in Week Seven, he slotted the Hawkeyes at No. 10 in his “unbiased” top 12, putting them ahead of Georgia and Indiana.
“It’s the best because is has no bias. After week 6 here is the #DKtop12
- BYU
- UCLA
- Miami
- Ohio State
- Texas Tech
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Wake Forest
- Iowa
- Georgia
- Indiana”
Kanell’s placement would represent a seven-spot jump from Iowa’s No. 17 position in Week Six. It also came with a few eyebrow-raising choices elsewhere on the list, including Georgia sliding behind Iowa after Auburn beat the Bulldogs at home.
Not everyone will buy Iowa at No. 10, and the skepticism is easy to understand. The Hawkeyes have only one ranked win, and their schedule doesn’t exactly scream elite.
Still, the case for them isn’t built on pure hype. Iowa has picked up three wins over solid opponents, including a road victory at Michigan in Week Four when the Wolverines were No. 18, followed by a blowout of Washington in Week Six after a rough outing against No.
5 Ohio State the week before.
The numbers back up at least part of the optimism. Iowa has averaged 31.0 points and 403.2 total yards per game on offense. Defensively, the Hawkeyes have been sturdy against the run, giving up just 14.5 points and 87.5 rushing yards per game, even if the pass defense has been less convincing at 208.7 yards allowed per game.
The biggest pushback remains the same: quality of opponent. Michigan looked better on paper when Iowa beat it than it does now, and Washington has slipped too.
But Iowa can only beat the teams in front of it, and both of its Big Ten wins have come on the road, including that Michigan win and the Washington result. Another road test against Minnesota is next, and if the Hawkeyes keep stacking results, Kanell’s top-10 nod may look a lot less extreme.
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