Hawkeye Football was idle last weekend as they enjoyed their second and final bye week before a pivotal four-game stretch to close out the regular season.
The bye week gave the Hawkeyes an extra week to prepare for a difficult Oregon Ducks squad this upcoming weekend at Kinnick Stadium. It also allowed the players to recover from injuries.
As the squad has become healthier, the results have shown up on the field, with the Hawkeyes on a three-game winning streak.
Starting quarterback Mark Gronowski has the offense clicking, and the defense continues to dominate in the trenches.
Defensive coordinator Phil Parker has been impressed with the improvement of the big men in the trenches, stating that the group's work ethic has been "unbelievable."
Before Iowa's biggest game of the 2025-2026 season against Oregon this weekend, the AP Top 25 Poll for week 11 was released with the Hawkeyes on the outside looking in.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/hbIe941uod pic.twitter.com/knH2ll5Hot
— On3 (@On3sports) November 2, 2025
Iowa (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) received 71 votes this week, but was not added to the top 25. Oregon (7-1, 5-1 Big Ten), Iowa's Week 11 opponent, remained at No. 6 after defeating Wisconsin 21-7 in a somewhat unconvincing fashion.
If Iowa can complete a big upset over No. 6 Oregon at home this weekend, it will catapult the Hawkeyes into the top 25 and set them on a path to make the College Football Playoff.
It will not be an easy task as the Oregon Ducks boast one of the best offenses and defenses in college football.
Oregon's offense ranks No. 9 in rushing offense (237.0 yards per game) and total offense (483.9 yards per game, and is No. 5 in scoring offense (41.3 points per game).
The Ducks' defense is also very stingy, only allowing 239.4 yards (No. 4 overall) and 13.4 points (No. 6 overall) per game.
Iowa's offense must start the game quickly and cannot have a first half similar to the ones against Indiana and Penn State.
If Iowa's offense starts fast and the defense forces Oregon to put the ball in the air more than they want to, the Hawkeyes have a good chance to upset the Ducks this weekend.