CFB Analyst Gives Iowa Hawkeyes High Ranking Ahead of 2025 Season

The Iowa Hawkeyes and head coach Kirk Ferentz received high praise ahead of the 2025 college football season.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during a NCAA Big Ten Conference football game against Nebraska, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the 2025 college football season just around the corner, the Iowa Hawkeyes and head coach Kirk Ferentz continue to receive an ample amount of praise ahead of week one.

College football analyst Joel Klatt released his top 25 teams prior to week one on Monday, with the Hawkeyes claiming the No. 22 spot.

Thoughts on @joelklatt’s Preseason Top 25? pic.twitter.com/rCrU51YrWw
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) August 4, 2025

In addition to Iowa landing inside his top 25, Klatt would go on to say that the program's ranking "might even be a bit underrated."

"You're trying to find these teams at the back end of the top 25, these are the eight, nine win teams during the course of the year," Klatt said. "Do we think Iowa can do that? Yeah. Do we think they can do more? Yeah, probably. This [ranking] might even be a bit underrated."

After finishing the 2024 season with an 8-5 record, Ferentz completely lost their identity on offense once running back Kaleb Johnson declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. Luckily for the program, they were able to land one of the best transfer portal quarterbacks in Mark Gronowski this offseason. The former FCS standout brings plenty of experience to the table, as he threw for over 10,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in four seasons with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

Alongside Gronowski, running back Kamari Moulton is projected to take over a majority of the ground work for Iowa in 2025. The junior rusher ended last year with 473 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 84 carries, which gives the Hawkeyes a two-headed monster with Gronowski proving to be a true dual-threat quarterback.

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