It certainly wasn’t a perfect performance on Saturday. The offense had moments where they looked better, but more often than not they left much to be desired. The struggles inside the opponents half of the field were still there and points were left on the field.
But at the end of the day, Iowa got a W over a team that’s had their number the last two years as they defeated Purdue 26-20. That’s something a number of teams in the top-25 couldn’t manage this weekend. As a result, the Hawkeyes find themselves once again climbing in the rankings.
In the Coaches Poll, a week after falling to 23rd, Iowa finds themselves in a bit of strange territory. They’ve climbed back into the top-20 and are at #19. That’s a spot in front of Michigan, who beat the Hawkeyes two weeks ago.
In the AP, Iowa didn’t climb quite as high as it sanity seemed to prevail with regard to the Hawkeyes vs. Michigan. Iowa comes in at #20 right behind the 19th ranked Wolverines. Here’s the full AP poll.
- Alabama
- LSU
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Baylor
- Texas
- SMU
- Minnesota
- Cincinnati
- Michigan
- Iowa
- Appalachian State
- Boise State
- Iowa State
- Arizona State
- Wake Forest
You’ll note the Iowa State Cyclones take the Hawkeyes’ former spot at #23. Minnesota continues their rise up the rankings to #17. Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois caused them to tumble all the way to 13 while Penn State climbed just one spot with their win over Michigan.
Iowa will look to continue their ascent this week as they take on Northwestern in Evanston at 11am on ESPN2.