Iowa Hawkeyes
Big Ten
0-0 (0-0 conf)
SP+ #12
Ratings
2025 final
- SP+
- 19.7 (#12)
- SP+ Offense
- 32.1
- SP+ Defense
- 14.2
- SRS
- 13.8
- FPI
- 15.3
- Elo
- 1937
- Talent
- 710
- Recruiting
- 229 (#26)
2026 Outlook
Projected wins
8.3p10 6.0 — p90 10.0
| Round | Prob | |
|---|---|---|
| Win conference | 3.7% | |
| Make CFP | 25.1% | |
| Quarterfinal | 14.3% | |
| Semifinal | 5.4% | |
| Natl. final | 1.9% | |
| Natl. champ | 0.6% |
Schedule
proj record 8.4–3.6
Schedule
41st
toughest of 136
Offenses faced
84th
toughest of 136
Defenses faced
13th
toughest of 136
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 136 (easiest) · by 2025 SP+ · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Proj | Win% | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsNorthern Illinois | -16.7 | 47-8 | +39.3 | 99% | — |
| 2 | vsIowa State | +9.9 | 32-19 | +12.7 | 78% | — |
| 3 | vsNorthern Iowa | FCS | 49-3* | +46.3 | 100% | — |
| 4 | @Michigan | +12.4 | 26-29 | -2.7 | 43% | — |
| 5 | vsOhio State | +30.1 | 26-32 | -5.8 | 36% | — |
| 6 | @Washington | +18.4 | 26-25 | +1.2 | 53% | — |
| 8 | @Minnesota | +1.5 | 31-23 | +8.3 | 69% | — |
| 9 | vsWisconsin | -4.4 | 35-20 | +15.4 | 82% | — |
| 10 | @Northwestern | +5.8 | 31-26 | +4.4 | 60% | — |
| 11 | vsPurdue | -6.1 | 40-19 | +21.1 | 90% | — |
| 12 | @Illinois | +12.9 | 31-29 | +2.1 | 55% | — |
| 13 | vsNebraska | +6.2 | 33-21 | +11.2 | 75% | — |
* FBS-vs-FCS estimate from the SP+ gap — no per-game model for FCS opponents.
Quarterbacks · 3
2026 · 65
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Mark Gronowski | SR | 6'2" | 235 | — |
| QB | 2nd | Hank Brown | SO | 6'4" | 215 | ★★★ |
| QB | 3rd | Jeremy Hecklinski | FR | 5'11" | 188 | ★★★ |
Running Backs · 6
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | Kamari Moulton | SO | 5'9" | 205 | ★★★ |
| RB | 2nd | Xavier Williams | FR | 5'10" | 225 | ★★★ |
| RB | 3rd | Nathan McNeil | FR | 5'11" | 203 | — |
| RB | 4th | Terrell Washington Jr. | SO | 5'10" | 208 | ★★★ |
| RB | 5th | Brevin Doll | FR | 6'0" | 211 | ★★★ |
| RB | — | L.J. Phillips Jr.← South Dakota | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Wide Receivers · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Sam Phillips | SR | 5'7" | 183 | — |
| WR | 2nd | Jacob Gill | SR | 6'0" | 185 | — |
| WR | 3rd | Reece Vander Zee | SO | 6'4" | 215 | ★★★ |
| WR | 4th | Dayton Howard | SO | 6'5" | 215 | — |
| WR | 5th | Seth Anderson | SR | 6'0" | 187 | — |
| WR | 6th | Alex Eichmann | JR | 6'2" | 210 | — |
| WR | 7th | KJ Parker | FR | 5'10" | 184 | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Lance Beeghley← SMU | FR | 6'2" | 194 | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Evan James← Furman | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Tony Diaz← Texas-Rio Grande Valley | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Tight Ends · 4
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | DJ Vonnahme | FR | 6'4" | 240 | — |
| TE | 2nd | Zach Ortwerth | JR | 6'4" | 245 | ★★★ |
| TE | 3rd | Hayden Large | SR | 6'4" | 250 | — |
| TE | 4th | Addison Ostrenga | SR | 6'4" | 248 | ★★★ |
Defensive Line · 16
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 1st | Joseph Anderson | FR | 6'6" | 241 | ★★★★ |
| DL | 1st | Aaron Graves | SR | 6'5" | 295 | ★★★★ |
| DL | 2nd | Ethan Hurkett | SR | 6'3" | 259 | ★★★ |
| DL | 3rd | Jonah Pace | SR | 6'5" | 285 | ★★★ |
| DL | 4th | Kenneth Merrieweather | SO | 6'3" | 263 | — |
| DL | 5th | Bryce Hawthorne | SO | 6'3" | 296 | — |
| DL | 6th | Maddux Borcherding-Johnson | SO | 6'3" | 292 | ★★★ |
| DL | 7th | Jeremiah Pittman | SR | 6'2" | 285 | — |
| DL | 8th | Will Hubert | JR | 6'3" | 287 | ★★★ |
| DL | 9th | Iose Epenesa | FR | 6'3" | 260 | ★★★★ |
| DL | 10th | Devan Kennedy | FR | 6'3" | 275 | ★★★ |
| DL | — | Luke Gaffney | JR | 6'2" | 285 | — |
| DL | — | Brice Stevenson← Holy Cross | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DL | — | Emmanuel Olagbaju← North Dakota | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| EDGE | 1st | Lance Ingold← Northern Illinois | FR | 6'5" | 258 | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Kahmari Brown← Elon | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Linebackers · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Jaden Harrell | SR | 6'2" | 237 | ★★★ |
| LB | 2nd | Jayden Montgomery | JR | 5'10" | 225 | ★★★ |
| LB | 3rd | Jaxon Rexroth | SR | 6'1" | 230 | — |
| LB | 4th | Cam Buffington | FR | 6'3" | 239 | ★★★★ |
| LB | 5th | Preston Ries | FR | 6'1" | 225 | — |
| LB | 6th | Derek Weisskopf | FR | 6'3" | 235 | ★★★★ |
| LB | 7th | Landyn Van Kekerix | JR | 6'2" | 236 | ★★★ |
| LB | 8th | Zach Twedt | SR | 6'2" | 242 | ★★★ |
| LB | 9th | Kelby Telander | SR | 6'4" | 240 | — |
| LB | 10th | Nolan DeLong | SO | 6'0" | 233 | — |
Defensive Backs · 13
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB | 1st | Zach Lutmer | SO | 6'0" | 205 | — |
| DB | 2nd | Xavier Nwankpa | SR | 6'2" | 213 | ★★★★ |
| DB | 3rd | Deshaun Lee | JR | 5'10" | 189 | — |
| DB | 4th | Rashad Godfrey Jr. | FR | 6'0" | 195 | — |
| DB | 5th | Jaylen Watson | SO | 5'11" | 185 | — |
| DB | 6th | Jacob Wallace | FR | 5'10" | 178 | ★★★ |
| DB | 7th | Kyler Gerardy | FR | 6'0" | 198 | — |
| DB | 8th | Shahid Barros | SR | 6'0" | 185 | — |
| DB | 9th | Alex Mota | SO | 6'0" | 193 | — |
| S | 1st | Tyler Brown← James Madison | SO | 5'11" | 194 | ★★★ |
| S | — | Cody Haddad← Ohio State | FR | 5'11" | 186 | ★★★ |
| S | — | Xavier Styles← Robert Morris | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| S | — | Anthony Hawkins← Villanova | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Special Teams · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | 1st | Eli Ozick← North Dakota State | SO | 5'11" | 191 | — |
| P | — | Tanner Philpott← Simpson College | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 1st | Drew Stevens | SR | 6'1" | 205 | — |
Projected Season
2026 · win prob / game
Exp. Wins
8.4
Exp. Losses
3.6
Toss-ups
3
bars: model win probabilityfav / toss-up / dog
2025 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
32.174
Off PPA
+0.1543
Pass PPA
+0.2450
Rush PPA
+0.1673
Success
44%67
Explosive
1.102
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
Advanced
2025 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.15 | +0.05 |
| Passing | +0.24 | +0.13 |
| Rushing | +0.16 | +0.04 |
| 1st Down | -0.03 | -0.01 |
| 2nd Down | +0.19 | +0.08 |
| 3rd Down | +0.45 | +0.25 |
Scoring Trend
2025 · pts/game
PPG For
28.9
PPG Against
15.2
Differential
+13.8
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / L2025
- Overall
- 8-4
- Home
- 5-2
- Away
- 3-2
- Conference
- 6-3
- Non-Conference
- 2-1
- One-Score (≤8)
- 2-4
- Avg Margin
- +13.8
Situational Splits
2025 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 5-2 | 28.3 | 13.7 |
| Away | 3-2 | 29.8 | 17.2 |
| Neutral | 1-0 | 34.0 | 27.0 |
| Competition | |||
| vs Ranked (SP+ 25) | 2-3 | 22.2 | 23.0 |
| Conference | 6-3 | 28.1 | 16.9 |
| Non-conference | 3-1 | 32.0 | 14.3 |
Season History · last 12
1 AP top-10 · 11 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8-4 | 6-3 | #12 | #17 | 1-0 |
| 2024 | 8-4 | 6-3 | #16 | #21 | 0-1 |
| 2023 | 10-3 | 7-3 | #46 | #18 | 0-1 |
| 2022 | 7-5 | 5-4 | #26 | — | 1-0 |
| 2021 | 10-3 | 7-3 | #27 | #2 | 0-1 |
| 2020 | 6-2 | 6-2 | #13 | — | — |
| 2019 | 9-3 | 6-3 | #20 | — | 1-0 |
| 2018 | 8-4 | 5-4 | #23 | — | 1-0 |
| 2017 | 7-5 | 4-5 | #35 | — | 1-0 |
| 2016 | 8-4 | 6-3 | #37 | — | 0-1 |
| 2015 | 12-1 | 8-1 | #42 | — | 0-1 |
| 2014 | 7-5 | 4-4 | #49 | — | 0-1 |
Recent Form · last 5
3-2 SU · 3-1 ATS · O1/U3
Betting Profile
2025 · 12 w/ line
| Straight up | 9-4 |
| ATS | 8-467% |
| Over / Under | 5-6 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 5-3 |
| As underdog | 3-1 |
| Home | 4-3 |
| Away | 4-1 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #38 · 38 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★154 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | #26 | 229 | 0 | 9 | 4 |
| 2025 | #38 | 208 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 2024 | #32 | 215 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| 2023 | #41 | 204 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 2022 | #30 | 215 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 2021 | #23 | 214 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| 2020 | #35 | 204 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2019 | #41 | 199 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2018 | #39 | 203 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 2017 | #41 | 191 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
2026
Portal in 15net +7Out 8
Portal avg stars (in / out)3.0 / 3.1
Notable Portal Moves
| ▲ | Lance Ingold | EDGE | 3★ | ← Northern Illinois |
| ▲ | Emmanuel Olagbaju | DL | 3★ | ← North Dakota |
| ▲ | Anthony Hawkins | S | 3★ | ← Villanova |
| ▲ | Cody Haddad | S | 3★ | ← Ohio State |
| ▼ | Brian Allen | EDGE | 4★ | → Vanderbilt |
| ▼ | Koen Entringer | S | 3★ | → Louisville |
| ▼ | Jaziun Patterson | RB | 3★ | → Michigan State |
| ▼ | CJ Bell Jr. | CB | 3★ | → UConn |
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2026
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
20 items
- How The 2009 Iowa Football Team Would Stack Up In A 24-Team CFP FieldThe 2009 Hawkeyes rose to 9-0 before securing Iowa's first and only major bowl win since 1959.IOWA16h
- How The 2008 Iowa Football Team Would Stack Up In A 24-Team CFP FieldLed by star running back Shonn Greene, the Hawkeyes won six of their final seven to close the season.IOWA1d
- Iowa Football's Biggest Question Grows Louder, But When Will It Be Answered?No team has all of the answers, but plenty have questions, and Iowa needs to solve its biggest question sooner than later for the sake of success.IOWA1d
- How The 2004 Iowa Football Team Would Stack Up in A 24-Team CFP FieldThe 2004 squad ended the season on an eight-game winning streak to capture Iowa's most recent Big Ten title.IOWA2d
- How The 2003 Iowa Football Team Would Stack Up In A 24-Team CFP FieldWhile not as good as the 2002 team, the 2003 squad continued Iowa's rapid rise on the national scene under Kirk Ferentz.IOWA3d
- Iowa Football Quarterback Competition Could Come Down to One Unlikely FigureNot Kirk Ferentz, Tim Lester, or another player, but one new addition to the coaching staff could determine the Hawkeyes' quarterback competition.IOWA4d
- How "The Boogeyman" Tony Diaz Landed With Iowa FootballThe UTRGV transfer wide receiver had interest from Alabama, but was drawn to the Hawkeyes because of their strong culture.IOWA5d
- How The 2002 Iowa Football Team Would Stack Up In A 24-Team CFP FieldKirk Ferentz's breakthrough season came very, very close to playing in the BCS National Championship Game.IOWA6d
- Iowa's Kirk Ferentz ranked among USA TODAY's top 25 college football coachesIowa's Kirk Ferentz resides within college football's top 25 coaches headed into 2026, per USA TODAY Sports.IOWA6d
- Iowa Football: Bold Offensive Predictions for the 2026 HawkeyesIt's a year of transition for the Hawkeyes on offense, which means things could see more unusual outcomes than normal.IOWA6d
- Ranking Iowa Football Quarterbacks of the 2020sThe 2020s have been a bit of a roller coaster for the Iowa Hawkeyes and quarterback play with a turnstile of players taking snaps. Still, a few have stood out.IOWA8d
- Breaking Down Where Iowa Landed in ESPN's Preseason FPI RankingsESPN's Football Power Index projects Iowa's national ranking, expected record, Big Ten title odds and College Football Playoff chances entering the 2026 season.IOWA9d
- Iowa football's Kirk Ferentz named to Dodd Trophy preseason watch listEntering his 28th year at the helm of Iowa football, head coach Kirk Ferentz has been named to the 2026 Dodd Trophy preseason watch list.IOWA10d
- Which Coaches on Iowa Football's 2026 Schedule Are on the Hot Seat?A few coaches on Iowa's 2026 schedule enter the season under pressure, and the Hawkeyes could play a major role in determining their job statuses.IOWA10d
- The Good and the Bad of Iowa Football Bowl ProjectionsIt may not be the College Football Playoff, but the intrigue of one specific bowl game is up there.IOWA10d
- College Fantasy Football: Which Iowa Hawkeyes Can Win You a Championship?Fantasy football has hit the college ranks. These Iowa Hawkeyes can win you a championship.IOWA11d
- What to Make of Iowa Football's Grim Big Ten 2027 Recruiting RankingIowa turns recruits into stars, but the 2027 class is going to be a particularly tough ask if things don't change.IOWA11d
- Elite to Question Marks: Ranking Iowa Football's Position Groups for 2026The Iowa Hawkeyes have groups to lean on, but how much weight can they shoulder?IOWA13d
- Iowa football projected to thrive, not just survive, in grueling 2026 Big Ten slateThe Iowa Hawkeyes continue to find ways to win despite not always having the biggest names on their team. Expect more of the same this fall if national pundits are correct.IOWA14d
- Iowa Football Season-Opener Made More Interesting by the Transfer PortalIowa may have its hands full with a Northern Illinois team that loaded up through the transfer portal. This might not be the layup the Hawkeyes assume it'll be.IOWA15d