No. 20 Iowa left Seattle with more than a statement win. The Hawkeyes left with a legitimate opening back into the College Football Playoff conversation.
Traveling two time zones west on short rest after a bruising Week 5 loss to Ohio State, and doing it without starting quarterback Hank Brown because of a shoulder injury, Iowa could have been in trouble. Instead, backup Jeremy Hecklinski took over and the Hawkeyes raced to an early four-touchdown cushion on the way to a 41-24 win over Washington.
That result matters because it changes the shape of Iowa’s season. At 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes now have a realistic shot at finishing 10-2 - and even 11-1 if everything breaks right. According to the CBS Sports College Football Forecaster, a 10-2 Iowa team would have about a 60% chance of making the College Football Playoff.
For a program that remains one of the strongest Power Four teams never to reach the CFP, the route ahead is suddenly looking manageable. Iowa does not have Indiana or Oregon left on the schedule, and not a single opponent remaining was ranked in the AP Top 25 heading into Week 6. With Ohio State behind them and their lone West Coast trip already banked as a blowout win, the Hawkeyes can use the bye week to sit on something they haven’t had in a while: real playoff belief.
The rest of the schedule looks, in old Big Ten terms, a lot like the old Big Ten West. CBS Sports’ College Football Forecaster gives Iowa between a 44% and 79% chance to win each of its remaining games:
Oct. 24 at Minnesota (58%)
Oct. 31 vs. Wisconsin (57%)
Nov. 7 at Northwestern (50%)
Nov. 14 vs. Purdue (79%)
Nov. 21 at Illinois (56%)
Nov. 27 vs. Nebraska (44%)
That set of numbers puts 5-1 or 6-0 down the stretch squarely in play. Iowa won the division in 2015, 2021 and 2023 while playing against the six teams still on its schedule.
Friday night also raised a bigger question inside the program: what happens at quarterback when Brown is healthy?
Hecklinski answered in style, completing 14 of 19 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Iowa piled up 465 total yards, with 279 coming in the first half alone. It was the first time since 2018 that the Hawkeyes reached 465 or more yards against a Big Ten opponent.
The offense has changed the feel of this team. Iowa built its identity in the NIL era around a punishing defense and elite special teams, but an attack that can actually move the ball gives the Hawkeyes a different kind of edge.
The defense, though, is still very much the backbone. Against Washington, Iowa recorded six sacks and nine tackles for loss.
The formula looks a little different than it has in the past, but the defense remains as dangerous as ever.
In Other News...
Michael Penix Jr. Faces Another Injury Scare At The Worst Time
Michael Penix Jr. ran into another injury scare Sunday, this time in the closing moments of a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens. The former Washington quarterback left late with a rib injury after throwing for 240 yards and a touchdown, adding another tense chapter to a stretch that has already tested his durability at the worst possible times.
Penix was replaced in overtime by Tua Tagovailoa, who ended up throwing the game-ending interception, while the severity of the quarterbacks latest setback remained unclear with imaging still pending. For Washington fans still tracking one of the programs most prominent recent stars, it was the kind of update that instantly turns a routine box score into a waiting game. [Read more 🡒]