Iowa's preseason ranking creates an intriguing start to the Big Ten Conference slate

The first preseason rankings release is always a fun time for college football programs because it helpes them gauge where everyone else see them.

For six months, programs have been practicing and scrimmaging against themseleves and while most programs know how good they can be internally, it is interesting to see where they stack up on a national scale. For the Hawkeyes, they continue to sneak into the early preseason rankings, landing at No. 22 in the AP's first preseason rankings before the 2026 season. After a 9-4 season, the Hawkeyes have a lot to prove, and while they deserve to be ranked, their path to stay that way won't be easy.

The preseason top -25 rankings give Iowa a unique three-game stretch to start Big Ten play

After all the speculation and ranking projections, we now know who will be in the initial rankings and where, and Iowa checked in at No. 22 overall, just behind Utah and just ahead of Houston. It is the Hawkeyes' highest preseason ranking since starting at No. 18 overall in the 2021-2022 rankings, and they have their work cut out for them if they want to stay in it. Iowa should easily win its first three games to start the season, but it gets way more interesting after that, with the potential for three straight ranked games to begin conference play.

Iowa is one of eight ranked Big Ten teams to start the season, and the conference schedule makers didn't do the Hawkeyes any favors by giving them a gauntlet to begin conference play. The Hawkeyes' first road game of the season is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, against the No. 16-ranked Michigan Wolverines, before hosting No. 1 Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium, and finishing the three-game stretch on the road on a short week at No. 17 Washington. Iowa also has back-to-back rivalry games with trophies on the line against Minnesota and Wisconsin, creating an extremely precarious five-game stretch.

The only potential early pitfall in Iowa's schedule is Iowa State, which always plays the Hawkeyes extremely tough, regardless of their ranking. The annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game is in Iowa City this year, and with long-time head coach Matt Campbell now with Penn State, Iowa should win, but there are no guarantees. If Iowa starts 3-0 like everyone believes they will, that means they could have three straight ranked-on-ranked games, creating an interesting scenario for their College Football Playoff hopes.

Despite Iowa's regular-season success, the program has never made it to the College Football Playoff, and this season's schedule isn't making their path very easy. If Iowa falters even a little bit against Michigan, Ohio State, or Washington, they could easily be 3-3 to end that strecth, which puts their CFP hopes in jeopardy. The Hawkeyes must one at least one of those three games to stay in strong contention for the CFP. The two obvious choices are Michigan or Washington, but both are on the road, and Iowa traditionally plays much better later in the season. That is not saying Iowa can't beat Ohio State at Kinnick, similar to 2017 when they knocked off the No. 6-ranked Buckeyes, but that defense was exceptionally better than the current unit.

Iowa's best-case scenario is to catch Michigan and Washington early and knock them off, creating the potential to move up in the rankings. The Big House in Ann Arbor is VERY difficult for road teams, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they beat the Hawkeyes, albeit by a narrow margin. While losing to ranked teams shouldn't be a major black mark on Iowa's resume, they need to take the decision out of the committee's hands by knocking off one or two of their first three opponents.

If they lose all three games and go undefeated for the remainder of the season, it is theoretically possible for a 9-3 Iowa squad to make the CFP, but it is still way too early to know how the committee will vote in the new era of an expanded CFP field. If we had our way, Iowa would win all three games, but more realistically, the Hawkeyes will win one of them.

Prediction: loss at Michigan, loss vs. Ohio State, win at Washington

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