Iowa football: What’s next for the Hawkeyes in 2019

With a Big Ten West title basically off the table, here’s what the 2019 Iowa football team has to play for with three regular-season games left.

Well, yesterday sucked, but the failed two-point conversion was quite poetic. It was basically the Iowa football team’s 2019 season in a nutshell. So close, yet not close enough. Not able to win the big game in a big moment.

Now, sitting at 6-3 with a three-game road stretch that seemed winnable at the start of the season (and still does save for Minnesota’s surprisingly starting the season 9-0 with a big win over Penn State), where do the Hawks go from here?

The Big Ten West title is off the table. The goal of going to a New Years Six Bowl is pretty much off the table. With five teams ahead of them in the Big Ten pecking order, they’re also not going to the Citrus Bowl either.

Which means, this season is basically going to be another big moral victory, something Iowa football fans are all too familiar with.

The Hawks have two trophy games left, which are always nice little moral victories and with Minnesota shocking the world yesterday and remaining undefeated, the Hawks have an opportunity to spoil that party next weekend in Kinnick.

So there are a few things to play for in the regular season.

And as long as the Hawks don’t drop more than one of their next three games, they are almost guaranteed to end up in the Holiday Bowl.

Moreover, I know it doesn’t seem plausible right now, but the Iowa football team could finish the season 10-3 still by winning out and winning their bowl game which would give Kirk Ferentz his 6th double-digit win season, and his first since 2015. As much as people hate to admit, that’s still a good season for most programs.

I know many of us had hopes of heading to Indianapolis and maybe even Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, but it just isn’t happening this year. But, as I highlighted above, there are still quite a few things to play for this season.