Iowa Football had an average season last year, going 8-5 (6-3 Big Ten), and performed better at home at Kinnick Stadium than on the road.
Iowa went 6-1 at home, with their only loss coming heartbreakingly to rival Iowa State on a last second field goal.
The Hawkeyes lost three games by a total of seven points, and were close in every game, excluding the 45-7 loss to future National Champion Ohio State.
Iowa's offense struggled and was unable to score points when the team needed them most. The lone bright spot on the offense was Kaleb Johnson, who rushed for nearly 1,600 yards and set a new school record with 21 rushing touchdowns.
In response to a poor offensive season, the Hawkeyes completely revamped their quarterback room. Iowa added transfers Hank Brown, Mark Gronowski, and Jeremy Hecklinski to the roster, alongside early enrollee Jimmy Sullivan and returner Jackson Stratton.
The biggest addition to the room was Gronowski, who is the projected starter next season.
The Iowa running backs room will also look different this season without workhorse Kaleb Johnson. Kamari Moulton is the projected starter and the Hawkeyes are confident that they have a "loaded" running back group this season.
Prior to the 2025-2026 season, multiple college football analysts have dropped their top 25 lists, and one list has Iowa projected to be in the top half of the Big Ten and just outside the top 25 to start the season.
ESPN's Bill Connelly used their SP+ metrics to determine where each Big Ten team will be ranked to start the 2025-2026 season. The metric is described as "a tempo and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency."
Connelly notes that this tool is not used to determine the AP Top 25 at the end of the season; instead, it is used to establish offseason power rankings.
The determining factors for the list include returning production, recent recruiting, and recent history.
Using these determining factors, Connelly surmised that Iowa is No. 7 in the Big Ten and No. 28 overall ahead of the 2025-2026 season.
He noted that having Iowa ranked in the top 30 in college football "feels right," and while they do not consider Iowa a playoff threat, they will not rule it out.