USA TODAY Sports put together its All-2000s college football teams, and three Iowa names from the Kirk Ferentz era made the cut.
The Hawkeyes landed one player on the first team: punter Tory Taylor. For Iowa fans, that probably feels right.
Taylor was the kind of specialist who didn’t just handle a job - he changed field position every time he stepped onto the grass. USA TODAY’s writers highlighted his impact this way: "Perhaps no program’s fans appreciate their punter more than Iowa’s, and few did it better than Taylor.
The 2023 Ray Guy Award winner helped the Hawkeyes to a 10-3 record as a senior despite the team averaging just 16.6 points a game. Taylor averaged 46.3 yards per punt over his career and led the Bowl Subdivision in kicks downed inside the 20 three years in a row."
Iowa’s second-team honors went to two more program staples: tight end Dallas Clark and kicker Nate Kaeding.
Clark was a major piece of the Hawkeyes’ offense in 2001 and 2002, putting together 81 catches for 1,281 yards and eight touchdowns across those two seasons. He earned All-American recognition in 2002 and later became a first-round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Kaeding remains Iowa’s career scoring leader with 373 points. He won the Lou Groza Award in 2002 and followed that with a consensus All-American season in 2003. Over his Hawkeye career, Kaeding hit 67 field goals and once strung together 22 straight makes across the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
In Other News...
Brutal Heat Forced Iowa Fans To Change Their Kinnick Routine
The heat hanging over the states football openers forced both Iowa schools to rethink what a September Saturday looks like at the stadium. At Kinnick Stadium, the University of Iowa rolled out heat-related safety measures that included allowing fans to bring sealed water bottles, handing out refillable bottles, and adding cooling stations along with medical support to help people get through the day.
Across the border at Jack Trice Stadium, Iowa State made its own adjustments, including alcohol sales inside the stadium for the first time. Those sales came with limits on where fans could buy, how much they could buy and when they could buy it, and the Cyclones also added more security as part of the broader effort to keep the opener manageable in punishing conditions. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Is Bringing Back A Hawkeyes Legend For The Opener
Iowa is tapping into its own history for the 2026 opener, naming former running back Sedrick Shaw as the Week 1 honorary captain for the game against Northern Illinois. Shaw remains one of the programs most accomplished backs, still holding multiple Iowa rushing records, and his return gives the Hawkeyes a familiar face with real weight in the programs record book. He was also a third-round NFL draft pick, adding another layer to a career that already means plenty in Iowa City.
Shaw will take part in the pregame coin toss and stay with the team throughout the game, a fitting nod for a player who helped define an era of Hawkeye football. His recognition does not stop there, either, as he is also set to be inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame. For a program that prides itself on honoring its past, it is the kind of choice that connects a new season to one of its more enduring names. [Read more 🡒]
Dowling Catholic Just Raised The Stakes In Iowas Title Race
Week 2 in Iowa high school football already had the feel of a playoff week, and the top of the rankings responded in kind. The states No. 1 team took on a fellow Top 5 opponent, while sixth-ranked West Des Moines Valley also got a chance to measure itself against a ranked foe, turning an early-season slate into something that looked a lot closer to October than September.
For the Hawkeyes crowd that follows the states talent pipeline as closely as the standings, it was a reminder that the title race is going to be shaped by high-end matchups all fall. The schedule only gets busier from here, with several Top 25 teams lined up for more tests, and the next round of ranked games could reshuffle the picture again before the season has much time to settle. [Read more 🡒]