Iowa Hawkeyes Land Promising Outlook for 2025 CFB Season

As the Iowa Hawkeyes and head coach Kirk Ferentz prepare for the 2025 college football season, the program's upcoming schedule continues to look favorable ahead of week one.

CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli recently ranked the strength of schedules for every Big Ten Conference program, with the Hawkeyes claiming the No. 11 spot.

The Hawkeyes play the hated Iowa State Cyclones on the road this year, and who knows how that two-hour bus ride will impact their bodies for the rest of the season? Non-conference games against Albany and UMass project as comfortable wins. Iowa also catches by avoiding Ohio State and Michigan -- and while it has to play both Oregon and Penn State, they're coming to Iowa City," Fornelli wrote. "The road slate in B1G play includes Rutgers, Wisconsin, USC and Nebraska. There's also a home game against Indiana that could prove troublesome if the Hoosiers are playoff contenders again."

After having to face the likes of the Ohio State Buckeyes last season, Ferentz and the Hawkeyes will avoid the former National Champions this upcoming season. However, Iowa is now slated to take on both Oregon and Penn State in 2025, with both program's likely to end the season as top-10 teams in the nation.

Outside of the CyHawks Series and the home games against two of the best teams in the conference, Iowa must travel to Rutgers, USC and Nebraska. All three opponents should be considered major threats to the Hawkeyes this season, but with a newly-revamped offensive attack, the program should be up for the challenge. Ferentz biggest transfer portal addition this offseason, Mark Gronowski, is the first quarterback in what feels like ages for the Hawkeyes that can help provide stability to the unit.

While the Hawkeyes may benefit from the weaker strength of schedule in 2025, this could haunt the program later in the year if they are in CFP consideration. Depending on the results against Oregon and Penn State, the Hawkeyes must hold strong victories against the rest of their schedule to potentially find a way into the postseason.

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