ESPN’s Mark Schlabach released his latest way-too-early top 25 rankings for college football as the calendar moves into the summer. Iowa just did make the cut for the top 25, sitting at No. 25 in Schlabach’s updated rankings.
The Hawkeyes join fellow Big Ten schools Ohio State at No. 2, Michigan State at No. 9, and Michigan at No. 10. The rest of Schlabach’s updated top five had Alabama staying put at No. 1, Georgia still ranked No. 3, USC leaping eight spots up to No. 4 and Texas A&M still at No. 5.
Rounding out Schlabach’s top ten are No. 6 Utah, No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 8 North Carolina State to join the Big Ten’s Spartans and Wolverines.
Here’s what Schlabach had to say about the Hawkeyes.
Iowa fans haven’t questioned too many of coach Kirk Ferentz’s decisions in his previous 23 seasons, but more than a few are scratching their heads and holding their breath about his plan to fix the Hawkeyes’ struggling offense. With Ken O’Keefe moving into an off-field position, Ferentz gave his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, the role of quarterbacks coach. A former offensive lineman at Iowa, Brian Ferentz has never coached quarterbacks. He was heavily criticized last season when the Hawkeyes finished 99th in the FBS in scoring (23.4 points) and 121st in total offense (303.7 yards). Quarterback Spencer Petras, who has started 10 of the past 20 games, will try to hold off Alex Padilla, who went 3-0 as the starter when Petras was injured in 2021. – Schlabach, ESPN.
Iowa’s quarterback competition is the most interesting offseason storyline. The Hawkeyes struggled mightily offensively in 2021, registering the No. 121 total offense, the No. 109 passing offense, the No. 102 rushing offense and the No. 99 scoring offense.
A Hawkeye defense that ranked No. 13 nationally in scoring defense, surrendering just 19.21 points per game helped the Hawkeyes to a 10-4 finish last season. Iowa was tied-third nationally with 30 turnovers forced, including…
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