Good and Bad of Joel Klatt's Preseason Top 25 Ranking for Iowa Football

It's no surprise to the Iowa Hawkeyes or their fans that they are being put in a "prove it" spot to start the 2026 season. It's how the Hawkeyes are normally treated in preseason polls.

Joel Klatt, a college football analyst on FOX who is traditionally high on the Hawkeyes and their success, has ranked them, but it comes at the bottom of the Big Ten teams making the poll.

Joel Klatt ranks the Iowa Hawkeyes No. 22 in his preseason top 25

Just as the Coaches Poll did, Klatt has Iowa slotting in at No. 22 in the country ahead of the 2026 season. The Hawkeyes are ranked, sure, but it feels more like a favor to Kirk Ferentz than a belief that Iowa will prove something in 2026.

The ranking is a tad bit eyebrow-raising when you dig in a bit and check out where the other Big Ten teams are falling. Iowa is ranked in this poll, but it's telling that the Hawkeyes are slotted at No. 8 in the Big Ten if we go by these rankings.

Big Ten Top 25 Rankings

No. 1 Oregon Ducks
No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 10 Michigan Wolverines
No. 12 USC Trojans
No. 17 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 20 Washington Huskies
No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes

Joel Klatt's set of rankings would add an interesting metric to Iowa's schedule. Per the Coaches Poll, Iowa has three top-25 teams on the schedule: Ohio State, Michigan, and Washington.

These rankings would retain that number, but give Iowa a shot at knocking off two top-10 teams, with Michigan sneaking in at No. 10.

Thoughts on @joelklatt's Preseason Top 25? pic.twitter.com/P39EewUOCh
— The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football on FOX Pod (@JoelKlattShow) August 10, 2026

Riley Donald's Quick Thoughts

It's preseason rankings. Truth be told, I am of the belief that we shouldn't even begin ranking teams until Week 4, at the earliest. That may even be too early, with teams changing the way they schedule non-conference games.

It might make sense to hold off on ranking teams until Week 6 or Week 8 if we want to truly get a grasp on who the top 25 teams in the country are after a considerable body of work.

The Hawkeyes coming in at No. 22 is logical. It's hard to rank a team any higher when they don't even know who their starting quarterback will be.

The defense, while it may take some time to grow together, should be another outstanding year under Phil Parker, while the offense, as we know, always remains the question for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa added talent in the transfer portal, but the Hawkeyes are going to have to prove they deserve to be ranked higher with their on-field performance.

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