The Iowa Hawkeyes are lurking. Like they so often do in games, where they just hang around, don't beat themselves, and somehow find a way late, they are replicating that strategy in the polls, which are slowly starting to reward the Hawkeyes.
Iowa was on a bye week this past weekend, which may be the biggest blessing in disguise of the season, as the college football world lost its mind and saw chaos at every corner with top teams losing.
It has created a College Football Playoff path for Iowa, though, that begins with a trip to Minnesota for the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry this weekend.
The Iowa Hawkeyes' AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll rankings
It doesn't have to be pretty to climb in the rankings. In fact, other teams making a mess all over themselves while you do literally quite nothing at all can be enough sometimes. For Iowa, that was the case this week. The Hawkeyes jumped in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.
AP Top 25 Rankings
The Hawkeyes, who most recently took down Washington rather handily and sit at 5-1, have been slid up two spots in this week's AP Top 25 rankings. Iowa comes in at No. 15 in the AP Top 25, just ahead of fellow Big Ten member No. 16 USC.
Coaches Poll
This week's Coaches Poll is ever so slightly higher on the Iowa Hawkeyes. While the Coaches Poll followed suit with a two-spot bump up the polls, Iowa is coming in at No. 14 in this week's rankings, one spot behind No. 13 Alabama, which fell to the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers.
Riley Donald's Quick Thoughts
Honestly, I don't have too much of a gripe with Iowa's spot in either of these polls. It's right where a 5-1 team out of the Big Ten should be. And, Iowa fans, let's be honest with ourselves for just one moment before we pound on the table that the Hawkeyes should be in the top 10.
Iowa simply doesn't have the resume at this point to enter the top 10. Yet.
The Michigan win is Iowa's best win, which could continue to look better if Michigan can continue winning, like it just did against Penn State.
But this isn't a worry to have. If Iowa keeps winning and taking care of business, the rankings will take care of themselves as they always do, and see Iowa work its way, spot by spot, into the top 10. Plus, once we get College Football Playoff rankings, that's when the number by the name really matters.
Add us as a preferred source on Google