Iowa Building Something Special Despite Losses

Just two weeks ago, the Iowa Hawkeyes were well within the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture and, to some extent, in the conversation for high-level competition in the B1G Conference. Two weeks, and two losses, later, and the Hawkeyes are thoroughly back on the "fence-sitting" train, trending towards the same mid-level mediocrity - at least in a comparitive sense - that defined their 8-5 finish last season. Being good is far less than great in the eyes of the black and gold faithful.

Further Removed from Greatness

Now 6-4 (4-3), Iowa's two remaining matchups on the year, while each favorable, mean little in the way of overall improvement for a team striving towards higher ground. Even if they were to win out, a 9-4 finish yields a bowl similar to last year's and, even given a win, the team resets and is yet another year removed from their last B1G Championship appearance (and loss) in 2023.

After the team's latest of their two straight defeats, on the road to the #17 USC Trojans, head coach Kirk Ferentz retained a sense of pride for his team, in spite of their recent downturn in the national eye. While it'll hard for Hawkeyes fans to take any solace in his sentiment all the same, he at least expressed a great deal of care about the team.

"I really though our guys were focused, prepared, coming in here..." Ferentz said. "I was just really proud of their effort. Obviously, we're all really disappointed, it's a tough loss and we certainly want to give credit to our opponent."

Clearly, Ferentz isn't the only one emotionally invested in the current roster, either: