2026 Iowa

5–⁠1 (2–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz. Share

Schedule and results

Biggest upsetBeat No. 18 Michigan 20–⁠19Sep 26
Michigan was ranked No. 18 and favored to win.

Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.

Date	Opponent	Result
Sep 5	vsNorthern Illinois	W 40–⁠0	83%
Sep 12	vsIowa State	W 16–⁠13	66%
Sep 19	vsNorthern Iowa	W 55–⁠0	93%
Sep 26	at18Michigan	W 20–⁠19	45%
Oct 3	vs5Ohio State	L 14–⁠31	47%
Oct 9	atWashington	W 41–⁠24	47%
Oct 24	atMinnesota	Preview	62%
Oct 31	vsWisconsin	Preview	75%
Nov 7	atNorthwestern	Preview	52%
Nov 14	vsPurdue	Preview	84%
Nov 21	atIllinois	Preview	61%
Nov 27	vsNebraska	Preview	67%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

AP poll, week by week

Wk 1: 22
Wk 2: 21
Wk 3: 18
Wk 4: 17
Wk 5: 14
Wk 6: 20
Wk 7: 17

Record: 5–⁠1
Conference: 2–⁠1 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP now: No. 17 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 14
Points: 186–⁠87
Coach: Kirk Ferentz
Elo: 1668 +37 this season
SP+ rating: 13.0 No. 24 of 138; offense No. 50, defense No. 15, special teams No. 4
SRS: 12.5 No. 24 of 138 in FBS
Returning: 34% of last season’s EPA, No. 83 of 136
Recruiting class: No. 26 roster talent No. 44 in FBS

Offensive coordinator: Tim Lester
Defensive coordinator: Phil Parker
Offense: West Coast
Defense: 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

Offense86th of 138
Defense47th of 138
Offense, opponent-adjusted77th of 138
Defense, opponent-adjusted51st of 138

	Success	Explosiveness	FBS rank
Offense	0.07	42%	1.20	86th of 138
Defense	0.04	36%	1.22	47th of 138
Opponent-adjusted	0.09 off 0.07 def	42% off 37% def	—	77th off 51st def

Passing and running

	Pass success	Depth of target	Deep throws	Line yards	Stuffed
Offense		48%	7.7 yds	13%	3.50	14%
Defense		41%	10.9 yds	18%	2.70	18%

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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

	Points per trip inside the 40	Average start	Havoc
Offense		3.8	own 31	11% allowed
Defense		3.2	own 24	17% caused

CORE rating 4.6, 45th of 138 (offense 3.5, defense -1.1).

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 yards	Hank Brown QB	832 yds
Passing touchdowns	Hank Brown QB	5 TD
Rushing yards	Kamari Moulton RB	519 yds
Rushing touchdowns	Kamari Moulton RB	4 TD
Receiving yards	Tony Diaz WR	329 yds
Receiving touchdowns	Reece Vander Zee WR	3 TD
Tackles	Cam Buffington LB	52 tkl
Sacks	Joseph Anderson DE	3 sacks
Interceptions	Deshaun Lee DB	2 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Tradon Bessinger QB	★★★★	No. 156
Darion Jones CB	★★★★	No. 170
Julian Manson LB	★★★★	No. 200
Carson Nielsen OT	★★★★	No. 288
Kasen Thomas LB	★★★★	No. 290
Hudson Parliament OL	★★★★	No. 331
Gene Riordan OL	★★★★	No. 393
Marcello Vitti ATH	★★★★	No. 458

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

The 2026 class by position

	Signed	Stars	Rating
Quarterbacks	1	4.0	0.937
Receivers	5	3.0	0.878
Offensive line	5	3.6	0.896
Defensive line	1	3.0	0.872
Linebackers	3	3.7	0.906
Defensive backs	2	3.5	0.903
Athletes and specialists	2	3.5	0.856
Whole class	19	3.4	0.890

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.

Roster 111

The 2026 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 15

The 2026 portal

Emmanuel Olagbaju DL	★★★	from North Dakota
Lance Ingold DE	★★★	from Northern Illinois
Anthony Hawkins S	★★★	from Villanova
Cody Haddad S	★★★	from Ohio State
Kahmari Brown DE	★★★	from Elon
Tyler Brown S	★★★	from James Madison
Evan James WR	★★★	from Furman
L.J. Phillips Jr. RB	★★★	from South Dakota
Tony Diaz WR	★★★	from Texas–Rio Grande Valley
Trent Wilson OL	★★★	from James Madison
Xavier Styles S	★★★	from Robert Morris
Brice Stevenson DL	★★★	from Holy Cross

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 8

Brian Allen DE	★★★★	to Vanderbilt
Koen Entringer S	★★★	to Louisville
Jaziun Patterson RB	★★★	to Michigan State
C.J. Bell Jr. CB	★★★	to UConn
Terrell Washington Jr. RB	★★★	to New Mexico State
Jackson Stratton QB	★★★	no new school on file
Rhys Dakin P	★★★	to Michigan State
Kael Kolarik S		to South Dakota

2026 Big Ten standings

Conference page

Team	Conf.	Overall
UCLA	4–⁠0	6–⁠0
Ohio State	4–⁠0	6–⁠1
USC	3–⁠1	6–⁠1
Indiana	3–⁠1	6–⁠1
Iowa	2–⁠1	5–⁠1
Northwestern	2–⁠1	5–⁠1
Oregon	2–⁠1	4–⁠2
Minnesota	2–⁠1	4–⁠2
Wisconsin	2–⁠1	4–⁠2
Nebraska	2–⁠2	5–⁠2
Purdue	2–⁠2	3–⁠4
Michigan	1–⁠2	4–⁠2
Illinois	1–⁠2	3–⁠3
Rutgers	1–⁠2	2–⁠4
Washington	1–⁠3	4–⁠3
Penn State	0–⁠4	3–⁠4
Michigan State	0–⁠4	2–⁠5
Maryland	0–⁠4	2–⁠5

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