Iowa Football: Hawkeyes move up to 16th in College Football Playoff

The Iowa Hawkeyes are now ranked 16th in the College Football Playoff standings.

Iowa football (5-2) moved up three spots from No. 19 to No. 16 in the College Football Playoff this week after defeating Illinois on Saturday by a final score of 35-21.

The Hawkeyes have now won five straight games after beginning the season 0-2. Iowa lost those games to Northwestern and Purdue by a combined five points.

Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes cannot win the Big Ten West due to their loss to Northwestern. However, with No. 4 Ohio State’s game being canceled against Michigan this weekend, it’s plausible that Iowa could play the Buckeyes during the Big Ten’s Champions Week on Dec. 18-19.

Ohio State (5-0) is officially ineligible for the Big Ten Championship game due to not meeting the six-game minimum threshold. If Ohio State were to play Iowa, the result would have huge implications for whether the Buckeyes make it to the College Football Playoff final four.

Iowa’s biggest rival, the Iowa State Cyclones (8-2), moved up from No. 9 to No. 7 in the CFP rankings. It’s possible the Hawkeyes could play the Cyclones in a bowl game since the two were unable to meet earlier this season.

The Hawkeyes host Wisconsin (2-2) this weekend at 2:30 pm CT at Kinnick Stadium. Wisconsin is unranked after losing to No. 12 Indiana this past weekend. Saturday’s game will be televised on either Big Ten Network or FS1.