National Noise Dies Down Following Iowa’s Defeat

The Iowa Hawkeyes football program, after spending much of the 2024-25 season riding the fence of relevancy and, ultimately, not falling to either side, have enjoyed an unusual uptick in national attention over the last few weeks as a result of their had-been three-game winning streak. Entering this past weekend's duel with the sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks at home, Iowa was in perfect position to capitalize on the noise and confirm the widely realized potential that had them just outside the AP Poll looking in.

The Outside Looking In

To boot, the team had already been recognized in the first round of official College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, which set the late-season stage for which teams will find their way into the NCAA's ultimate tournament. Having been given the #20 spot, the Hawkeyes weren't far off from that elusive top-12, "you're in" realm.

Now, in the wake of a grueling 18-16 loss defined by exactly the sort of slow-moving football that Iowa tries to make every team play, the Hawkeyes are all but guaranteed to stay on the outside looking into the national rankings, and are likely to fall out of the CFP slate, too.

Given that they were one of only six teams among the 25 listed to take a loss this past week, that unfortunate reality is deserved in equally unfortunate measure.