Did Iowa's Latest Win Warrant a Bigger Jump in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll?

Through the first six weeks of the college football season, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been a staple in the rankings. After starting the season ranked, Iowa's 5-1 record has them firmly in the polls, but are the Hawkeyes ranked high enough?

The Hawkeyes have done a lot of good things so far, with road wins at Michigan and Washington standing out as big-time resume boosters.

While those are good, the Hawkeyes have their work clearly cut out for them, as this season has become an excellent opportunity to make something special happen in Iowa City.

Iowa Football's AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll Rankings

The AP Top 25 Poll, which has seemed to be consistently lower on the Iowa Hawkeyes this year, gave Iowa a slight bump. After dropping Iowa to No. 20 last week, the AP Top 25 has slotted Iowa in at No. 17 this week.

The Coaches Poll seems to like the Hawkeyes a bit more this year, and the rankings have shown that through the first six weeks, with Iowa trending higher in this poll. This week's Coaches Poll moved Iowa up two spots to No. 18 in the country.

Should Iowa be ranked higher?

There are two ways to look at this. First, let's look at what Iowa has done. Road wins over Michigan and Washington, which came on a short week, have to carry some water if we are going to judge teams by who they play.

The problem with these two wins? Washington, a trendy playoff sleeper before the season began, looks all sorts of broken. The same story goes for Michigan, which dropped a game to Minnesota. Is it fair to punish Iowa in the polls for these teams' lack of success? It seems unfair.

Who should Iowa be ranked ahead of?

The other part is looking at who is ranked around Iowa. One spot ahead of Iowa in the AP Top 25 is Mississippi State, which can be analyzed in a one-game comparison. Iowa lost to Ohio State by 17. Mississippi State lost to Alabama by 33. What are we doing ranking them higher than Iowa?

Others right in front of Iowa consist of Kentucky, Tennessee, UCLA, and Missouri. Kentucky knocked off LSU. UCLA stunned Oregon in Autzen Stadium. Missouri has a top-10 win under its belt against Florida.

The one Iowa could, and potentially should, be ahead of is Tennessee. The Vols barely survived Arkansas, a bottom-feeder in the SEC. I know it's getting nitpicky, but we're splitting hairs when all of these teams carry just one loss.

Add us as a preferred source on Google