Hawkeyes finish No. 25 per College Football News

College Football News released its final top 25 of the 2022 college football season where the Iowa Hawkeyes checked in at No. 25 nationally.

After using a pair of pick-six scores from defensive backs Cooper DeJean and Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa dispatched of the Kentucky Wildcats in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, 21-0. That means Iowa finished its 2022 campaign 8-5.

It’s actually three spots in front of College Football News’ preseason ranking of Iowa at No. 28 nationally.

Still, categorizing the 2022 season for Iowa is difficult. It isn’t an outright failure, because the Hawkeyes stabilized themselves from their 3-4 start, made a bowl game and won said bowl game.

The Hawkeyes’ defense was historic and it featured some of the game’s biggest stars like Iowa’s first-ever Butkus Award winner in linebacker Jack Campbell. Defensive back Cooper DeJean emerged as a star of the future and was a first-team All-Big Ten defense choice by the media. Cornerback Riley Moss was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches.

Plus, linebacker Seth Benson, defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness and defensive lineman Joe Evans were all second-team All-Big Ten choices, too. Safety Kaevon Merriweather and defensive linemen Noah Shannon and Logan Lee earned honorable mention nods.

Offensively, Iowa featured the Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year in Sam LaPorta. Running back Kaleb Johnson, tight end Luke Lachey and left tackle Mason Richman all garnered All-Big Ten honorable mention status as well.

All of this is to say there were some really good players on this team and some great individual moments. The Cooper DeJean Game and The Jack Campbell Game are two wins Hawkeye fans won’t ever forget.

The rub is that with a defense this great, Iowa fell short of a return trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game and actually got worse offensively. That part is disappointing and makes it hard to judge on where exactly this Iowa season falls in terms of success or…