Heading into the 2015 season, the notion that the Iowa Hawkeyes would be a College Football Playoff contender was laughable at best. The program hadn’t even been ranked since 2010.
Now in mid-October, Iowa is 6-0 and one important win away from sealing its place as a true possibility for the four-team tournament that decides the national champion.
crazy thought, Northwestern will be the best team Iowa has left on the schedule
— PlannedSickDays (@PlannedSickDays) October 11, 2015
On Saturday at noon ET, 20th-ranked Northwestern will host No. 17 Iowa, but the Wildcats have something to prove. Northwestern had an undefeated season of its own ended last weekend, suffering a 38-0 beatdown at the hands of Michigan.
According to Odds Shark, Iowa is only a 1.5-point favorite in the Big Ten clash that should be a low-scoring affair. Northwestern runs the ball on 67.8 percent of its snaps and Iowa does on 60.6, while both programs rank in the top 25 of scoring and total defense categories.
But let’s say Iowa pulls out the victory. What comes next for the Hawkeyes is a schedule for which every single CFP hopeful would trade. Every. Single. One.
Look at Iowa's schedule. They could finish 12-0 and legitimately not be one of the best 15 teams in the country.
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) October 11, 2015
Yes, Ohio State has taken heat for a remaining slate that isn’t tremendously daunting, but it does include Michigan and Michigan State. Iowa, on the other hand, avoids each of those three teams and would’ve knocked off its two toughest opponents in Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Following a bye week, the Hawkeyes will host a mediocre Maryland team, travel to face Indiana then return home for Minnesota and Purdue before finishing at Nebraska. Those five squads combined hold a 13-17 record, including a 1-9 mark in the Big Ten.
The schedule is weak, yes. But Iowa shouldn’t apologize for beating the teams the Big Ten puts in front of the Hawkeyes.
For many analysts and longtime fans of the sport, it might not be easy to buy stock in Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, since the program has only won at least 11 games once since 2002. The Hawkeyes would need 13 to stake a claim to a College Football Playoff spot.
But if running back Jordan Canzeri and a strong defense can overcome Northwestern, it’s time to give serious attention to Iowa as the darling of the 2015 season.