It has become common in Iowa City and around the country for people to poke fun at the Iowa offense, and rightly so.
After a successful run as Iowa's offensive line coach, the program made the mistake of promoting Brian Ferentz to offensive coordinator in 2017, with disastrous results.
The Iowa offense was consistently near the bottom of the Big Ten Conference in yards per game and yards per play, capped off with a horrible 234.6 yards per game (ranked No. 14 in the Big Ten) and 3.94 yards per play (ranked No. 14 in the Big Ten).
After the program moved on from Brian after the 2023 season, replacing him with Tim Lester, the Hawkeye offense is finally starting to look competent.
The offense took strides in Lester's first season as OC, albeit with inconsistent quarterback play, and this season, it has grown even more.
Iowa moves up to #54 nationally in scoring offense, finishing Tim Lester's second year at 29.3 ppg.
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) January 1, 2026
Currently #9 in scoring defense (16.1 ppg).
After a 34-point outburst against Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Hawkeyes finished the season averaging 29.3 points per game, good for No. 54 overall in college football.
Iowa's points-per-game ranking is the highest the program has had since ranking No. 40 overall in 2020 (31.8 points per game).
While that does not seem like a big jump, Iowa ranked No. 72 overall last season, averaging 27.7 points per game, and the offense continues to improve.
Iowa only managed to score over 30 points per game in one season under Ferentz (31.2 points per game in 2018), excluding the Covid-19-shortened 2020 season, and scored a paltry 15.1 points per game in his final season with the program.
With how strong the Iowa defense is, the offense has not had to be very good, but Hawkeye fans and critics alike recognize how bad it's been for a while.
Something still has to be figured out in the passing game, but Lester has shown the ability to tailor his offensive scheme towards his playmakers.
While it has only been a two-year sample size, the offense has taken strides, and it is high time everyone stopped bashing the Iowa offense and appreciated the improvements the unit has made.