Each college football season is full of surprises. Around the nation, the Iowa Hawkeyes making the College Football Playoff would qualify as a surprise to many.
Though Iowa landed as the No. 25 team in both the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and in the Associated Press top 25 , there’s reservations on the Hawkeyes’ ability to piece it all together and advance to the CFP. Of course, that’s primarily due to hangups concerning Iowa’s offense .
Still, Iowa’s No. 25 ranking suggests that the Hawkeyes have to at least be in consideration as a possibility to advance to the CFP.
Given the mixed bag of excitement over what Iowa could be in 2024, it makes sense that the Hawkeyes are among 247Sports’ College Football Playoff bubble teams .
Chances are, Kirk Ferentz has a rabbit’s foot nearby. This schedule sets up for major success at Iowa this season if the Hawkeyes’ offense is just percentage points better than it was last season. That’s all it’s going to take against a schedule featuring just one nationally-ranked opponent in the preseason AP Poll (Ohio State) and many of the Hawkeyes’ other toughest matchups coming in Iowa City.
Iowa has taken full advantage of favorable slates before and reached the Big Ten Championship Game, despite lopsided scores in Indianapolis. The resume won’t impress, but if the Hawkeyes went 11-2 this season with the only losses coming to the Buckeyes (twice), they’re in. – Brad Crawford, 247Sports .
The consensus on paper is that the Hawkeyes do have a manageable schedule. Though Iowa travels to No. 2 Ohio State on Oct. 5, the Hawkeyes don’t play Oregon , Michigan , Penn State or USC .
Those four are all ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and made up the remainder of the top five in the USA TODAY Sports Network Big Ten preseason poll .
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Iowa has the second-easiest schedule among Big Ten teams .
If the preseason polls in the Big Ten are an accurate representation of what the league has in store in 2024, then Iowa should be in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth. A CFP appearance would represent the first for Iowa since the format’s inception in the 2014 college football season.
Iowa joined Memphis, Missouri, Kansas State, Clemson , LSU , Michigan and Tennessee among 247Sports’ College Football Playoff bubble teams.
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