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2020 Iowa

6–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2020, game by game: lost at Purdue 20–24; lost vs. Northwestern 20–21; won vs. Michigan State 49–7; won at Minnesota 35–7; won at Penn State 41–21; won vs. Nebraska 26–20; won at Illinois 35–21; won vs. No. 25 Wisconsin 28–7+42−4Lost 20–24 at Purdue-4PurdueLost 20–21 vs. Northwestern-1NorthwesternWon 49–7 vs. Michigan State+42Michigan StateWon 35–7 at Minnesota+28MinnesotaWon 41–21 at Penn State+20Penn StateWon 26–20 vs. Nebraska+6NebraskaWon 35–21 at Illinois+14IllinoisWon 28–7 vs. No. 25 Wisconsin+21No. 25 Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 24atPurdueL 20–⁠2466%
Oct 31vsNorthwesternL 20–⁠2171%
Nov 7vsMichigan StateW 49–⁠768%
Nov 13atMinnesotaW 35–⁠748%
Nov 21atPenn StateW 41–⁠2157%
Nov 27vsNebraskaW 26–⁠2085%
Dec 5atIllinoisW 35–⁠2175%
Dec 12vs25WisconsinW 28–⁠767%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 28–⁠7; No. 16 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 14: 24
  3. Wk 15: 19
  4. Wk 16: 18
  5. Final: 16

Consensus All-AmericanDaviyon Nixon, DL

Record
6–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
254–⁠128
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1728 +87 this season
SP+ rating
16.3 No. 13 of 130; offense No. 55, defense No. 3
SRS
15.9 No. 7 of 77 in FBS
Returning
58% of last season’s EPA, No. 80 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 35 roster talent No. 43 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Ferentz
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense62nd of 127
  • Defense6th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted56th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted7th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1145%1.0962nd of 127
Defense-0.0638%1.176th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.01 def		45% off
40% def		—56th off
7th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.0own 3314% allowed
Defense3.2own 2717% caused

CORE rating 10.1, 23rd of 127 (offense -0.5, defense -10.6).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsSpencer Petras QB1,569 yds
Passing touchdownsSpencer Petras QB9 TD
Rushing yardsTyler Goodson RB762 yds
Rushing touchdownsMekhi Sargent RB7 TD
Receiving yardsIhmir Smith-Marsette WR345 yds
Receiving touchdownsIhmir Smith-Marsette WR4 TD
TacklesNick Niemann LB77 tkl
SacksChauncey Golston DL5.5 sacks
InterceptionsJack Koerner DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Logan Jones DT★★★★No. 242
Deontae Craig WDE★★★★No. 373
Luke Lachey TE★★★★No. 380
Tyler Elsbury OG★★★★No. 405
Deuce Hogan PRO★★★No. 441

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.887
Running backs23.00.876
Receivers43.30.866
Offensive line33.30.881
Defensive line53.40.875
Linebackers23.00.850
Defensive backs33.00.843
Athletes and specialists13.00.876
Whole class213.20.868

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 3Chauncey Golston DEDallas Cowboys
Rd 5Ihmir Smith-Marsette WRMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Daviyon Nixon DTCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Nick Niemann ILBLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 129

The 2020 roster

129 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 50 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2020 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State5–⁠07–⁠12
Northwestern6–⁠17–⁠210
Indiana6–⁠16–⁠212
Iowa6–⁠26–⁠216
Wisconsin3–⁠34–⁠3
Penn State4–⁠54–⁠5
Minnesota3–⁠43–⁠4
Maryland2–⁠32–⁠3
Nebraska3–⁠53–⁠5
Rutgers3–⁠63–⁠6
Michigan2–⁠42–⁠4
Purdue2–⁠42–⁠4
Michigan State2–⁠52–⁠5
Illinois2–⁠62–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.