Iowa Falls Behind in 2026 Recruiting

While there's nothing wrong with being consistently good, the Iowa Hawkeyes have the longest College Football Playoff drought of any Power 4 team. Head coach Kirk Ferentz always gets the job done, but this Hawkeyes team never seems to be able to get over that hump. Bowl game appearances are one thing, but Iowa is one win shy of 100 wins without a playoff appearance.

Sep 19, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) fights for rushing yards as Rutgers Scarlet Knights linebacker Abram Wright (6) tackles during the second half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Looking ahead, the Hawkeyes are in a fine spot for 2026. They're young at running back, but a few top seniors will be on their way out. Quarterback Mark Gronowski and defensive lineman Max Llewellyn are the first two that jump to mind. There are plenty of others, and there's also the transfer portal to consider.

As it stands, Iowa is ninth in the conference for their 2026 recruiting class. Again, Ferentz is good, but not great. While it's incredibly hard to compete with the NIL opportunities that Oregon, USC, and Ohio State have, Iowa once again finds themselves in the middle of the pack.

Updated Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings for the Big Ten📈https://t.co/CMM7eifNRE pic.twitter.com/z1PvknrFvP
— Rivals (@Rivals) September 24, 2025

Iowa is one of many teams yet to land themselves a five-star recruit in the class of '26. Shockingly, Maryland, who's ranked No. 14, has commitment from a five-star player. They have 12 total recruits, 11 of which are three-stars. Iowa at least has some four-star players in the mix, four of them, to be exact. In total, they have 14 commitments as 10 three-stars round out their 2026 class. Ultimately, that number isn't going to cut it.

Despite being ranked one spot below the Hawkeyes, Indiana, Iowa's opponent on September 27, has 22 commitments. They have one more four-star coming to their team along with seven more three-stars. At the end of the day, Rivals gives Iowa's class an 87.731 rating compared to Indiana's 87.645.

Going even further down the list, only two teams have fewer recruits than Iowa. It comes as no surprise that Nebraska, who sits dead last at No. 18, has the fewest recruits (11). From there, the only other team with less than Iowa is the aforementioned Maryland squad with 12.

Oregon, who's ranked No. 2, has an overall rating of 92.6 despite only having 17 total recruits. That's 15 fewer than USC, who sits at No. 1 with 32 commitments. No. 5 Penn State has more than No. 4 Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State, but their lack of a five-star really hurts their rating. To no surprise, Oregon leads the way with four five-star recruits.

One of the most interesting things that Rivals includes in their rankings is each team's average NIL allowance. Three team's have over $100,000 with one close behind. Oregon has the most ($267K) while USC ($168K) and Ohio State ($135K) follow. Iowa has a similar number to most of the conference, $29K. Maryland's $80K is shocking for how low they are, but the lowest is No. 17 Northwestern with just $11.3K.

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