Iowa's most intriguing transfer portal addition

Iowa Football Doesn't Deserve Its No. 22 Ranking — Yet​


The Iowa Hawkeyes open their season Saturday against Northern Illinois carrying a No. 22 ranking in both major polls. Nobody has bothered to explain why.


This is a team that enters 2026 near the bottom of the country in returning production — roughly 110th out of 134 FBS programs, per preseason snap-count data. The offense returns barely half its snaps. The defense, somehow, returns even less. Three starting offensive linemen are gone. So is the entire quarterback room that started 2025.


And yet: No. 22. Because it's Iowa, and Kirk Ferentz is entering his 28th season, and Phil Parker's defense carries a reputation that precedes actual results, and the pollsters apparently vote on priors rather than rosters.


Start with the quarterback competition — or rather, the quarterback lack-of-decision. Days before the opener, Iowa still hadn't named a starter between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski, with four-star freshman Tradon Bessinger and Ryan Fitzgerald also pulling reps in fall camp. Four scholarship quarterbacks, zero clarity, one game away. This isn't a program flush with options; it's a program that still hasn't solved the single most important position on the field — which has basically been Iowa's brand identity since "Iowa offense" became shorthand for offensive futility. Tim Lester deserves credit for a modest uptick the past two seasons, but modest improvement off a historically bad baseline isn't the same as solved.


Here's the uncomfortable question nobody in Iowa City wants to answer out loud: what has this program actually proven recently that earns a top-25 slot before a single snap is played? Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured head coach in major college football, which reads either as institutional stability or as a proud, resource-rich program that quietly decided competence was the ceiling. Both can be true at once. Neither gets you into playoff contention in a Big Ten where Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon are stockpiling rosters like it's an arms race, while Iowa still leans on grind-it-out, ball-control football and a defense that has to bail out an offense that struggles to threaten anybody downfield.


The one legitimate reason for optimism is the backfield. Kamari Moulton and South Dakota transfer L.J. Phillips give Lester real weapons for the first time in years, and if either quarterback can complete a play-action shot without turning it over, this offense might finally look different. But "might" is carrying a lot of weight in a preseason top-25 ranking.


None of this means Iowa can't be good. Phil Parker has earned more benefit of the doubt than almost any coordinator in the country, and thin, inexperienced rosters sometimes gel faster than the numbers suggest. But rankings are supposed to reflect evidence, and right now Iowa's is built entirely on reputation — Ferentz's name, Parker's track record, a patient fanbase, and a Big Ten schedule nobody has tested yet.


By late October, after road trips to Michigan and Washington and a home date with Ohio State, we'll know whether No. 22 was a forecast or a fairy tale. Until then, it's a placeholder — a number the polls handed out because Iowa has earned trust, not because this particular team, with this unsettled quarterback room and this many holes to fill, has earned anything yet.
 
I hate national writer who don't bother to fact check. Yes, Iowa has 4 scholly QBs, but Fitzgerald is not one of them. Left Sullivan out of the article and there are some who think he could end up starting at some point this season. So, that's one dumb miss.

Second, the dig on Lester for the "modest" uptick in offensive performance is truly asinine. Under BF Iowa was averaging like 16 points per game and was at or near the bottom of offensive in the entire country. Iowa averaged almost 30 points a game last year and was ranked in the 40s nationally in scoring offense. Modest? Its damn near miraculous. Give me a break you hack.

The shitty thing is that I actually agree with the premise of the article that there aren't a lot of solid reasons that Iowa is ranked in both polls based upon returning productivity or the portal. Its a leap of faith by the voters that KF will reload. I also agree we will know whether the leap was justified after week 6. Still, the writer lost me with his failure to state facts accurately.
 
NCHawker said:

Iowa Football Doesn't Deserve Its No. 22 Ranking — Yet​


The Iowa Hawkeyes open their season Saturday against Northern Illinois carrying a No. 22 ranking in both major polls. Nobody has bothered to explain why.


This is a team that enters 2026 near the bottom of the country in returning production — roughly 110th out of 134 FBS programs, per preseason snap-count data. The offense returns barely half its snaps. The defense, somehow, returns even less. Three starting offensive linemen are gone. So is the entire quarterback room that started 2025.


And yet: No. 22. Because it's Iowa, and Kirk Ferentz is entering his 28th season, and Phil Parker's defense carries a reputation that precedes actual results, and the pollsters apparently vote on priors rather than rosters.


Start with the quarterback competition — or rather, the quarterback lack-of-decision. Days before the opener, Iowa still hadn't named a starter between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski, with four-star freshman Tradon Bessinger and Ryan Fitzgerald also pulling reps in fall camp. Four scholarship quarterbacks, zero clarity, one game away. This isn't a program flush with options; it's a program that still hasn't solved the single most important position on the field — which has basically been Iowa's brand identity since "Iowa offense" became shorthand for offensive futility. Tim Lester deserves credit for a modest uptick the past two seasons, but modest improvement off a historically bad baseline isn't the same as solved.


Here's the uncomfortable question nobody in Iowa City wants to answer out loud: what has this program actually proven recently that earns a top-25 slot before a single snap is played? Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured head coach in major college football, which reads either as institutional stability or as a proud, resource-rich program that quietly decided competence was the ceiling. Both can be true at once. Neither gets you into playoff contention in a Big Ten where Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon are stockpiling rosters like it's an arms race, while Iowa still leans on grind-it-out, ball-control football and a defense that has to bail out an offense that struggles to threaten anybody downfield.


The one legitimate reason for optimism is the backfield. Kamari Moulton and South Dakota transfer L.J. Phillips give Lester real weapons for the first time in years, and if either quarterback can complete a play-action shot without turning it over, this offense might finally look different. But "might" is carrying a lot of weight in a preseason top-25 ranking.


None of this means Iowa can't be good. Phil Parker has earned more benefit of the doubt than almost any coordinator in the country, and thin, inexperienced rosters sometimes gel faster than the numbers suggest. But rankings are supposed to reflect evidence, and right now Iowa's is built entirely on reputation — Ferentz's name, Parker's track record, a patient fanbase, and a Big Ten schedule nobody has tested yet.


By late October, after road trips to Michigan and Washington and a home date with Ohio State, we'll know whether No. 22 was a forecast or a fairy tale. Until then, it's a placeholder — a number the polls handed out because Iowa has earned trust, not because this particular team, with this unsettled quarterback room and this many holes to fill, has earned anything yet.
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NC. you may want to add a tag/link to this, and also a disclaimer, to prevent the site from being liable.
 
Getting back to the OP's posted article, Hawkins definitely is an intriguing guy. Phil can do a lot of creative things with a player like that, but, first and foremost, he needs to earn Phil's trust that he is not going to allow anything over the top. That is Phil's litmus test - do that a couple of times and you will be welcomed to the bench in a hurry...
 
I hate saying it but I think our ranking is about nothing more then generating hype for the Michigan game. It screams an SEC preseason hype in which one program (unfortunately ours in this scenario) gets ranked way higher then they should to build the resumes of their opponents.

I think they see it as us having a good chance on paper to be 3-0 heading into the Michigan game. It generates a lot of buzz and attention for an absolutely brutal way to enter conference play and cushions it slightly that if either us or Michigan struggle coming out of the gate there's the slightest chance were both ranked after the game which could generate more buzz for OSU coming to Kinnick to play a ranked Iowa the following week.

I think it's more about hype and less about substance at this point in the season, but if we get off to a great start and somehow find a way to come out of those first 3 conference games at 2-1 it's a great look for the conference and like the SEC has done for years we'll be seeing much more ranked teams playing week in and week out which benefits the conference come playoff time.
 
NCHawker said:

Iowa Football Doesn't Deserve Its No. 22 Ranking — Yet​


The Iowa Hawkeyes open their season Saturday against Northern Illinois carrying a No. 22 ranking in both major polls. Nobody has bothered to explain why.


This is a team that enters 2026 near the bottom of the country in returning production — roughly 110th out of 134 FBS programs, per preseason snap-count data. The offense returns barely half its snaps. The defense, somehow, returns even less. Three starting offensive linemen are gone. So is the entire quarterback room that started 2025.


And yet: No. 22. Because it's Iowa, and Kirk Ferentz is entering his 28th season, and Phil Parker's defense carries a reputation that precedes actual results, and the pollsters apparently vote on priors rather than rosters.


Start with the quarterback competition — or rather, the quarterback lack-of-decision. Days before the opener, Iowa still hadn't named a starter between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski, with four-star freshman Tradon Bessinger and Ryan Fitzgerald also pulling reps in fall camp. Four scholarship quarterbacks, zero clarity, one game away. This isn't a program flush with options; it's a program that still hasn't solved the single most important position on the field — which has basically been Iowa's brand identity since "Iowa offense" became shorthand for offensive futility. Tim Lester deserves credit for a modest uptick the past two seasons, but modest improvement off a historically bad baseline isn't the same as solved.


Here's the uncomfortable question nobody in Iowa City wants to answer out loud: what has this program actually proven recently that earns a top-25 slot before a single snap is played? Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured head coach in major college football, which reads either as institutional stability or as a proud, resource-rich program that quietly decided competence was the ceiling. Both can be true at once. Neither gets you into playoff contention in a Big Ten where Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon are stockpiling rosters like it's an arms race, while Iowa still leans on grind-it-out, ball-control football and a defense that has to bail out an offense that struggles to threaten anybody downfield.


The one legitimate reason for optimism is the backfield. Kamari Moulton and South Dakota transfer L.J. Phillips give Lester real weapons for the first time in years, and if either quarterback can complete a play-action shot without turning it over, this offense might finally look different. But "might" is carrying a lot of weight in a preseason top-25 ranking.


None of this means Iowa can't be good. Phil Parker has earned more benefit of the doubt than almost any coordinator in the country, and thin, inexperienced rosters sometimes gel faster than the numbers suggest. But rankings are supposed to reflect evidence, and right now Iowa's is built entirely on reputation — Ferentz's name, Parker's track record, a patient fanbase, and a Big Ten schedule nobody has tested yet.


By late October, after road trips to Michigan and Washington and a home date with Ohio State, we'll know whether No. 22 was a forecast or a fairy tale. Until then, it's a placeholder — a number the polls handed out because Iowa has earned trust, not because this particular team, with this unsettled quarterback room and this many holes to fill, has earned anything yet.
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Who wrote this?
 
kicker22 said:
I hate saying it but I think our ranking is about nothing more then generating hype for the Michigan game. It screams an SEC preseason hype in which one program (unfortunately ours in this scenario) gets ranked way higher then they should to build the resumes of their opponents.

I think they see it as us having a good chance on paper to be 3-0 heading into the Michigan game. It generates a lot of buzz and attention for an absolutely brutal way to enter conference play and cushions it slightly that if either us or Michigan struggle coming out of the gate there's the slightest chance were both ranked after the game which could generate more buzz for OSU coming to Kinnick to play a ranked Iowa the following week.

I think it's more about hype and less about substance at this point in the season, but if we get off to a great start and somehow find a way to come out of those first 3 conference games at 2-1 it's a great look for the conference and like the SEC has done for years we'll be seeing much more ranked teams playing week in and week out which benefits the conference come playoff time.
[/QUOTE

Kind of a stretch on the “hype” conclusion, Kicker.
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NCHawker said:
@BigD you're really fond of those MSN articles arent you?
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You know how that goes with MSN. They track what you are interested in and continually post those articles to keep your attention. There is a technical term for how that is done on the internet but I can't think of it right as this time.

So yes they see me following our beloved Hawkeyes and everyday they have several articles on their home page targeting my interest. So I just share them with everyone on here. It's only fair because of the way ESPN is so SEC biased. I try to even things up as much for the hawk fans.
 
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