Iowa benefited from a chaotic Week Seven in college football in which eight top-25 teams were defeated.
The Hawkeyes were lucky to be at home, enjoying a well-deserved break, but still jumped in the rankings. With three top-five teams falling, Iowa jumped to No. 15 in the Week Eight AP Top 25, its second-highest ranking of the season, and has support to be even higher. Iowa is 5-1 (2-1 Big Ten) heading into a critical early stretch to start the second half of the season, and it has the support to be ranked in the top 10.
Iowa is currently at No. 15, but CBS Sports' Danny Kanell has them in his top 10
It isn't always pretty, but Iowa has some quality wins on its resume this season. Iowa State has been better than expected, and although Michigan and Washington are trending in the wrong direction, they are still quality wins. Iowa beat Michigan on the road in week four when the Wolverines were ranked No. 18 overall, and after a dud against No. 5 Ohio State in week five, crushed Washington in week six. Three of Iowa's five wins came against solid opponents, and one analyst took notice.
It’s the best because is has no bias. After week 6 here is the #DKtop12
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) October 18, 2026
1. BYU
2. UCLA
3. Miami
4. Ohio State
5. Texas Tech
6. Tennessee
7. Kentucky
8. Ole Miss
9. Wake Forest
10. Iowa
11. Georgia
12. Indiana
CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell released his "unbiased" top-10 rankings, with Iowa at No. 10. That suggests Iowa would have jumped seven spots from No. 17 overall in week six and sat idle in week seven. Interestingly, Kanell has Iowa ahead of SEC powerhouse Georgia after unranked Auburn upset them at home, and Indiana, who had the game-winning touchdown drawn up against Ohio State before Nick Marsh caught the pass with a foot out of bounds on fourth-and-long. Multiple people wouldn't agree with this list simply because of Iowa's schedule, with only one ranked win.
Kanell's Iowa ranking is aggressive, but isn't completely out of the question. With multiple top-10 teams falling last weekend, it's not strange to think Iowa could've climbed the rankings, especially after only one loss to an elite opponent. Iowa's offense has been surprisingly good this year, putting up 31.0 and 403.2 total yards per game, and while the defense has been suspect at times, it has held teams to 14.5 and 87.5 rushing yards per game. The pass defense has left something to be desired, but hasn't been awful, allowing 208.7 yards per game.
The numbers are there, but the main argument concerns Iowa's schedule. Iowa's best win against Michigan doesn't look as good after the Wolverines have stumbled through the first seven weeks of the season, but you can't hold that against Iowa. Both of their Big Ten wins came on the road (Michigan and Washington), and they have another chance to add to that with another road game against Minnesota this week. The stats are there, and the wins could pile up over the next few weeks, making Kanell's top-10 not completely ludicrous.
It's hard to fully justify Iowa as a top-10 team right now, especially after a week-seven bye, but with a few more wins, it isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Add us as a preferred source on Google