As we inch closer and closer to college football season, everyone is jumping on way-too-early rankings lists for next season.
Preseason award watch lists, power, and player rankings will continue to dominate headlines until kickoff near the end of August. Although nothing is decided on paper, they are still very interesting. The Hawkeyes are a bit of an anomaly heading into next season due to multiple factors, which will cause them to play the familiar role of an underdog. As per usual, most early rankings are heavily skewed towards the Big Ten and SEC, with one power rankings list surprisingly including the Hawkeyes.
ESPN's initial Football Power Index has Iowa locked in at No. 25
Iowa has multiple factors working against it before next season, and even though you can't put much stock in early power rankings, its place in ESPN's recent FPI is very interesting.
NEW: ESPN FPI ahead of the 2026 College Football Season📈📉https://t.co/ZX8MOnZxU2 pic.twitter.com/hfx54OWHPP
— On3 (@On3) July 9, 2026
The Hawkeyes checked in at No. 25 in ESPN's FPI before next season, on a list dominated by the SEC and Big Ten. In unsurprising news, the list features 13 SEC programs and seven Big Ten programs, headlined by Ohio State at No. 1. All the usual suspects are featured on this list, but that does not mean this is how it will shake out when it's all said and done. ESPN is notorious for ranking SEC teams far too favorably on any rankings list, so it will be very interesting to see what happens towards the middle and end of the season.
The most surprising is Iowa cracking the top 25, albeit in the last spot, given how many things they have working against them. The most glaring issue the Hawkeyes currently have is the uncertainty surrounding the starting quarterback, arguably the most important position on the field. In a late spring rankings list, ESPN ranked all 138 quarterback situations in college football, placing Iowa in Tier 15. Their Tier 15 was labeled "everyone gets lucky sometimes," with Iowa being placed there not only because the starter is unknown, but also because they felt both starting options aren't "marketably worse" than in previous seasons.
It is interesting that ESPN doesn't highly value Iowa's starting quarterback option, but still believes the squad is good enough to crack the top 25 before next season. This proves that regardless of who is under center next season, Iowa has a very good chance of being in the mix. The offense has been awful for a while, largely relying on the offensive line, running game, and defense to win. This is a credit to the coaching staff and players for finding ways to win despite a bad offense, but with only 10 returning starters on both sides of the ball, it will be even harder to do so this season.
It will be interesting to see how Kirk Ferentz, tight end Addison Ostrenga, linebacker Jayden Montgomery, and defensive back Zach Lutmer answer those pressing questions and more during the Big Ten Football Media Days later in July, but in a more positive light, analysts are starting to realize what Iowa fans have known all along. While the quarterback has become increasingly important in college football, the program has found multiple ways to get around it, and it doesn't matter who earns the starting job this September.
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