Iowa football: Hawks not being ranked in top-25 is ridiculous

Most preseason rankings have the Iowa football team anywhere from 10th to 22nd, however, one ridiculous ranking didn’t include the Hawkeyes at all.

I’ll be honest when I say the Iowa football team being ranked 10th was a bit ridiculous. I believe the Hawkeyes fall firmly in the 18-22 range.

There is a ton of talent on this team, but there are also quite a few question marks too.

Here’s just a few questions/storylines that could make or break this season

• Will the run game improve?
• Will the four new starters on the defensive line reach their ceiling?
• Can Nate Stanley take the next step?
• How do you replace two first-round tight ends and the go-to slot receiver?

However, despite this, how could anyone reasonably not rank the Iowa football team?

Yet, here we are. In an article written by 247Sports, the Iowa football team was not included in the top-25 but other Big Ten West foes, Nebraska and Wisconsin, were as well as in-state foe Iowa State.

The Iowa football team has arguably the top offensive line and the top defensive line in the nation. They return a third-year starting quarterback, who in spite of accuracy issues, is a good college quarterback. And they have one of the best players in all of college football in defensive end AJ Epenesa.

This Iowa football team is coming off a 9-4 season that ended with a victory of Mississippi State, and although they are losing quite a few starters, the players coming up to replace them are already experienced. It’s not a complete guessing game with what AJ Epenesa or Chauncey Golston will do with more playing time. We have a pretty good idea they are going to be wrecking opposing team’s offensive lines.

For the record, before I begin this next piece, I understand why Nebraska and Wisconsin are ranked, but I don’t agree with the Iowa football team not being ranked and those teams being ranked.

Nebraska went 4-8 and Adrian Martinez lost his best receiver. The defense was also garbage last year. Wisconsin, meanwhile, is either going to be starting the seasons with the uninspiring Jack Coan or the true freshman Graham Metz. Their offensive line is completely retooled, and they lost some key players on defense.

Both of these teams have holes as well, and they can’t compete with the top-end talent the Iowa football team has in Tristan Wirfs, Alaric Jackson, and AJ Epenesa.

This ranking doesn’t matter, but it’s frustrating to see the lack of respect being given to this year’s Iowa football team by some media members.