Iowa Football: Hawkeyes Ranked 10th in AP, 12th in Coaches Poll

The Iowa Hawkeyes opened up their 2021 season with a bang as they came away with a 34-6 thrashing of then-#17 Indiana in front of the first raucous crowd in Kinnick Stadium in nearly two years. While Iowa looked good in their opener, a slew of other ranked teams did now.

Week one saw a total of eight ranked teams lose with three falling to unranked opponents. Still others struggled against inferior competition. The end result is quite a bit of movement in the latest AP Poll released on Tuesday.

The Hawkeyes jumped 8 spots from #18 in the preseason poll to #10 entering week two.

Here’s a look at the full AP Poll for the opening of the 2021 season:

1) Alabama, 1-0 (59 first place votes)
2) Georgia, 1-0 (4)
3) Ohio State, 1-0
4) Oklahoma, 1-0
6) Texas A&M, 1-0
5) Clemson, 0-1
7) Cincinnati, 1-0
8) Notre Dame, 1-0
9) Iowa State, 1-0
10) Iowa, 1-0
11) Penn State, 1-0
12) Oregon, 1-0
13) Florida, 1-0
14) Southern Cal, 1-0
15) Texas, 1-0
16) UCLA, 1-0
17) Coastal Carolina, 1-0
18) Wisconsin, 0-1
19) Virginia Tech, 1-0
20) Ole Miss, 1-0
21) Utah, 1-0
22) Miami (FL), 0-1
23) Arizona State, 1-0
24) North Carolina, 0-1
25) Auburn, 1-0

Others Receiving Votes (Big Ten-only): ~31) Michigan; ~33) Indiana; ~34) Michigan State; ~41) Maryland
Dropped Out: #16 LSU, #17 Indiana, #20 Washington, #23 Louisiana-Lafeyette

Over in the Coaches Poll, there was a similar amount of movement. The Hawkeyes moved up six spots this week from 18th to 12th.

1) Alabama, 1-0 (64 first place votes)
2) Georgia, 1-0 (1)
3) Ohio State, 1-0
4) Oklahoma, 1-0
6) Texas A&M, 1-0
5) Clemson, 0-1
7) Notre Dame, 1-0
8) Cincinnati, 1-0
9) Florida, 1-0
10) Iowa State, 1-0
11) Oregon, 1-0
12) Iowa, 1-0
13) Penn State, 1-0
14) Southern Cal, 1-0
15) Texas, 1-0
16) UCLA, 1-0
17) Wisconsin, 0-1
18) Utah, 1-0
19) Coastal Carolina, 1-0
20) Ole Miss, 1-0
21) Virginia Tech, 1-0
22) North Carolina, 0-1
23) Oklahoma State, 1-0
24) Miami (FL), 0-1
25) Arizona State, 1-0

Others Receiving Votes (Big Ten-only): ~27) Michigan; ~32) Indiana; ~36) Michigan State; ~44) Rutgers; ~46) Maryland
Dropped Out: #13 LSU, #17 Indiana, #21 Washington, #23 Louisiana-Lafeyette

Noted Notables

• Iowa jumps into the top-10 for the first time since that magical run in 2015. The week two appearance marks the earliest Iowa has been in the top-10 in the AP since they started the 2010 season ranked 9th in the nation.
• With the Hawkeyes making the jump and Iowa State only falling two spots in the AP, this weekend will mark the first matchup between two top-10 teams in the history of the Cy-Hawk series.
• This will also mark just the second time in series history the Cyclones have been ranked entering the matchup. Iowa State won the previous meeting 31-0 in 1978.
• The SEC leads all conferences with six teams ranked in the top-25. They also have three in the top-5 and the top two ranked teams in the country. The Pac-12 is second with five ranked teams, though none are inside the top-10. The Big 10 is tied with the ACC for third with four ranked teams. That includes #3 Ohio State, #10 Iowa, #11 Penn State and #18 Wisconsin.
• UCLA was the biggest mover this week. They went from unranked to 16th after a 38-27 win over now unranked LSU in week one. Iowa and Penn State each moved up 8 spots after impressive week one wins over ranked opponents. Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and Auburn all entered the ranks this week after staring the year on the outside looking in.

The Hawkeyes will be in Ames on Saturday for the game of the week. ESPN’s College Game Day will be in town for the second consecutive meeting between these two teams. The top-10 matchup is the only of its kind this week. The only other game this week featuring two ranked opponents features #12 Oregon at #3 Ohio State in Columbus.

Iowa’s matchup against the Cyclones is set for 3:30pm CT and will be broadcast on ABC.