Iowa Football had high expectations entering the 2025-2026 season, especially on the offensive side of the football.
Offensive coordinator Tim Lester is in his second year, and Iowa completely revamped the quarterback room after struggling mightily last season.
The program brought in transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski (South Dakota State) to lead the quarterbacks room, followed by transfers Hank Brown (Auburn) and Jeremy Hecklinski (Wake Forest) as backups.
The season has not gone to plan for the Hawkeyes, who have dropped two of their first five games, including the second-straight loss in the annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game against Iowa State.
The bye week for the Hawkeyes could not come at a better time as they now sit at 3-2 (1-1 Big Ten) on the season, and are wondering what could've gone so wrong in the first first weeks.
A combination of slow offensive starts, questionable late-game play calling, and missed tackles on defense has doomed the early part of the Iowa schedule. Another equally appalling fact is that with the loss to No. 11 Indiana, the Iowa program is now 0-11 in its last 11 games against ranked opponents.
The Hawkeyes had two prime opportunities to take down ranked teams when they traveled to Iowa State to battle the No. 14 Cyclones in a rivalry game, and last weekend when they let the game against No. 11 Indiana slip away.
When asked about falling to 0-10 against ranked opponents after the Iowa State game, Ferentz would only say "Thanks for the reminder," and that it is "disappointing."
Iowa has not won a ranked game since the 2021-2022 season, when the Hawkeyes beat No. 17 Indiana 34-6 to start the season.
There is no magic fix for Iowa's struggles against ranked opponents, but if the program wants to continue to progress, the Hawkeyes need to be more competitive against ranked teams and end the streak.