Top 25 Polls Reward the Iowa Hawkeyes to Foreshadow A Marquee Matchup

The polls are rewarding the Hawkeyes for the win over Iowa State. But does the spot they slotted Iowa into make sense?

Iowa Hawkeyes defensive end Drew Campbell (13) motions for the crowd to cheer louder during the Cy-Hawk football game against Iowa State Sept. 12, 2026 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Iowa Hawkeyes were never going to drop in the top 25 polls after picking up a win over a Power Four team. The question was where Iowa would climb to, and how much the polls would reward them for the Cy-Hawk victory.

Iowa State took Iowa to the brink, which saw Iowa squeak out a 16-13 victory on a late game-winning field goal off the right foot of Caden Buhr. The win is enough to see the Hawkeyes ascend in the AP Top 25 Poll and the Coaches Poll.

Where are the Iowa Hawkeyes ranked?

After taking down Iowa State, the Iowa Hawkeyes saw jumps in both the Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 Poll.

The Coaches Poll wasn't as on board with the Hawkeyes' Cy-Hawk win, sliding them up just one spot to No. 20 in this week's rankings.

The AP Top 25 Poll is more on board with Iowa climbing the polls, with a three-spot bump up to No. 18.

Iowa earned a small bump in the polls

At this point in the year, it's so early, and sample sizes are so small, that simply winning against a Power Four opponent has to be rewarded, and such was the case for the Hawkeyes. They didn't dominate Iowa State, but a win is a win, and the polls respect that.

With a third consecutive home game at Kinnick Stadium coming up next weekend against the Northern Iowa Panthers, Iowa has likely done all of the climbing that it can control and is likely to only ascend due to losses by teams above them.

The polls foreshadow a massive Big Ten showdown

It's hard to look at the polls and not think about the approaching Big Ten opener on the road against Michigan staring back at the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa has Northern Iowa next, while Michigan takes on UTEP after pulling out a big win over Oklahoma. Barring a massive upset, both teams are favored to enter this game 3-0 and ranked.

What makes it curious is how these two teams sit in the polls currently. In the Coaches Poll, Michigan is at No. 19, while Iowa is at No. 20. In the AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa sits at No. 18, one spot ahead of No. 19 Michigan.

The two teams are expected to stay in lockstep through this weekend with two very winnable games, which is setting the stage for the Big Ten to have a headlining ranked matchup as conference play begins for both the Hawkeyes and the Wolverines.