CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Iowa

10–⁠4 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz, finished No. 24 in the AP poll. Officially 6–⁠4: the NCAA vacated four regular-season wins.

From the season’s Wikipedia article: “As a result, the NCAA forced Iowa to vacate the four victories in which McNamara played before he suffered a season-ending injury.”

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2023, game by game: won vs. Utah State 24–14; won at Iowa State 20–13; won vs. Western Michigan 41–10; lost at No. 7 Penn State 0–31; won vs. Michigan State 26–16; won vs. Purdue 20–14; won at Wisconsin 15–6; lost vs. Minnesota 10–12; won vs. Northwestern 10–7; won vs. Rutgers 22–0; won vs. Illinois 15–13; won at Nebraska 13–10; lost vs. No. 2 Michigan 0–26; lost vs. No. 25 Tennessee 0–35+31−35Won 24–14 vs. Utah State+10Utah StateWon 20–13 at Iowa State+7Iowa StateWon 41–10 vs. Western Michigan+31Western MichiganLost 0–31 at No. 7 Penn State-31No. 7 Penn StateWon 26–16 vs. Michigan State+10Michigan StateWon 20–14 vs. Purdue+6PurdueWon 15–6 at Wisconsin+9WisconsinLost 10–12 vs. Minnesota-2MinnesotaWon 10–7 vs. Northwestern+3NorthwesternWon 22–0 vs. Rutgers+22RutgersWon 15–13 vs. Illinois+2IllinoisWon 13–10 at Nebraska+3NebraskaLost 0–26 vs. No. 2 Michigan-26No. 2 MichiganLost 0–35 vs. No. 25 Tennessee-35No. 25 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsUtah StateW 24–⁠14vacated73%
Sep 9atIowa StateW 20–⁠13vacated55%
Sep 16vsWestern MichiganW 41–⁠10vacated79%
Sep 23at7Penn StateL 0–⁠3134%
Sep 30vsMichigan StateW 26–⁠16vacated74%
Oct 7vsPurdueW 20–⁠1474%
Oct 14atWisconsinW 15–⁠646%
Oct 21vsMinnesotaL 10–⁠1271%
Nov 4vsNorthwesternW 10–⁠779%
Nov 11vsRutgersW 22–⁠077%
Nov 18vsIllinoisW 15–⁠1380%
Nov 24atNebraskaW 13–⁠1069%
Dec 2vs2MichiganBig Ten ChampionshipL 0–⁠2627%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs25TennesseeCitrus BowlL 0–⁠3554%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 35–⁠0 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 25
  2. Wk 3: 25
  3. Wk 4: 24
  4. Wk 8: 24
  5. Wk 13: 20
  6. Wk 14: 18
  7. Wk 15: 20
  8. Final: 24

Big Ten West champions7–⁠2 in the conference

Ray Guy AwardTory Taylor, P

2 consensus All-AmericansCooper DeJean, DB; Tory Taylor, P

Broyles AwardPhil Parker, coach

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 18
Points
216–⁠207
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1622 +25 this season
SP+ rating
5.8 No. 46 of 133; offense No. 129, defense No. 3, special teams No. 26
SRS
3.7 No. 48 of 133 in FBS
Returning
41% of last season’s EPA, No. 90 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 41 roster talent No. 41 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Ferentz
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Captains
Jay Higgins, Cade McNamara, Luke Lachey and Cooper DeJean
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense132nd of 133
  • Defense5th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted135th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted5th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.1133%1.04132nd of 133
Defense-0.0735%1.135th of 133
Opponent-adjusted-0.06 off
-0.04 def		34% off
36% def		—135th off
5th 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
Offense2.8own 3120% allowed
Defense2.9own 2716% caused

CORE rating -1.1, 71st of 133 (offense -18.5, defense -17.4).

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 yardsDeacon Hill QB1,152 yds
Passing touchdownsDeacon Hill QB5 TD
Rushing yardsLeshon Williams RB821 yds
Rushing touchdownsKaleb Johnson RB3 TD
Receiving yardsErick All TE299 yds
Receiving touchdownsErick All TE3 TD
TacklesJay Higgins LB171 tkl
SacksJoe Evans DE9 sacks
InterceptionsSebastian Castro DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Ben Kueter LB★★★★No. 294
Trevor Lauck OT★★★★No. 439
Alex Mota ATH★★★No. 574
Kahlil Tate S★★★No. 614
Leighton Jones OL★★★No. 628

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.869
Running backs23.00.856
Receivers53.00.854
Offensive line33.30.875
Defensive line43.00.862
Linebackers23.00.843
Defensive backs33.00.860
Athletes and specialists53.00.856
Whole class253.00.859

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 2Cooper DeJean CBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 4Erick All TECincinnati Bengals
Rd 4Tory Taylor PChicago Bears
Rd 6Logan Lee DTPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 126

The 2023 roster

126 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2023 portal
Erick All TE★★★★from Michigan
Nick Jackson LB★★★★from Virginia
Cade McNamara QB★★★from Michigan
Daijon Parker OT★★★from Saginaw Valley State
Rusty Feth OG★★★from Miami (OH)
Deacon Hill QB★★★from Wisconsin

Transfers out 12

Arland Bruce IV WR★★★★to Oklahoma State
Jestin Jacobs LB★★★★to Oregon
Keagan Johnson WR★★★★to Kansas State
Alex Padilla QB★★★to SMU
Dallas Craddieth S★★★to Kent State
Elijah Yelverton TE★★★no new school on file
Gavin Williams RB★★★to Northern Illinois
Isaiah Bruce DL★★★no new school on file
Josh Volk OL★★★to Northern Iowa
Justin Britt OL★★★no new school on file
Reggie Bracy CB★★★to Troy
Carson May QB★★to Coffeyville C.C.

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan9–⁠015–⁠01
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠210
Penn State7–⁠210–⁠313
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠424
Northwestern5–⁠48–⁠5
Wisconsin5–⁠47–⁠6
Maryland4–⁠58–⁠5
Rutgers3–⁠67–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠66–⁠7
Illinois3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan State2–⁠74–⁠8
Indiana1–⁠83–⁠9

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