Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz talks to player during the first quarter against Iowa State in the Cy-Hawk Series at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa Drops to Bottom 25 in CFB Rankings

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Jennifer Streeter | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The second bottom 25 list of the college football season is out from CBS, and unfortunately for the Iowa Hawkeyes, they've found themselves on it.

There was plenty of offseason hype surrounding the Hawkeyes after they picked up quarterback Mark Gronowski from the transfer portal. However, Iowa has undoubtedly fallen short of those expectations. The program has started out 1-1 on the season, with the Hawkeyes' season opener being a 34-7 win over Albany, and then Week 2 consisting of a 16-13 loss at now-No. 14 Iowa State.

Iowa currently checks in at No. 25 on the list, primarily due to the lack of production from the passing offense.

Iowa's 16-13 Week 2 loss to rival Iowa State confirmed the fears that an underwhelming Week 1 win over Albany produced," David Cobb of CBS Sports wrote. "The Hawkeyes' passing offense is abysmal once again. Any hopes that two-time FCS national-title winner Mark Gronowski would bring a spark at quarterback dissipated with his second consecutive sub-100 yard passing performance."

Florida clocks in just above Florida at No. 24, with Syracuse (No. 23), Northwestern (No. 22) and North Carolina (No. 21) under new head coach Bill Belichick following.

To be fair, there are other programs on the list — including but not limited to UCLA and West Virginia — who are in much worse situations than the Hawkeyes.

Akron rounds out the CBS list at No. 1.

Signal caller Gronowski has completed 21 of 29 attempts (53.8%) and has also thrown for one interception so far on the current 2025 season. The Illinois native has also been sacked four times.

This play comes after his four seasons of work with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits; Gronowski passed for a total of 10,308 yards and 93 touchdowns en route to two FCS national championships and an FCS record-tying 49 wins.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz currently possesses a 205-125 overall record with the Hawkeyes. He is in his 27th season with the program.

The Hawkeyes are also currently close to the bottom on ESPN's Big Ten Conference Football Power Index.

Iowa's Week 3 opponent of UMass was also included on the same CBS bottom 25 list at No. 8. The players on the Hawkeyes' roster have also indicated a strong focus on the standards of their program ahead of the upcoming play against the Minutemen.

"We know [football] is an imperfect game and not everything is going to go your way," Graduate student wide receiver and return specialist Kaden Wetjen said following the recent loss against Iowa State. "And I think you've seen in the past, we have a pretty good tradition of responding after adversity ... the standards we have in plans ... since January we've been working and know the team that we have. I have no doubt we will respond to adversity."

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: