Hawks Rank #25 in First AP Poll of 2023

With each day that passes we inch closer to the start of the 2023 football season. After months of stories about transfer portal targets, glimpses of practices, and the near total collapse of a 108-year old conference we’re finally getting tangible proof that the first games are right around the corner. Today we received the next morsel as the AP released their preseason top-25 poll, and look who just made the cut.

The Iowa Hawkeyes return to the AP’s poll for the first time since 2021, and it’s their 27th appearance in the preseason ranking all time according to Sports-Reference. The Hawks enter 2023 with some momentum, having picked up contributors in the portal while keeping most of a dominant defense intact. Many sportswriters and outlets had pegged Iowa as a low to mid-20’s team throughout the summer. Despite questions on whether the offense can indeed “drive to 325” and save Brian Ferentz’s career, and a recent scare involving quarterback Cade McNamara at Kids Day over the weekend, optimism remains that this Iowa team can improve from a year ago.

There’s a sizeable contingent of fans who will put no stock in preseason ranking, preferring to fly under the radar rather than start with a target on the team’s back. Plenty within the program feel the same way. Iowa has thrived as the underdog especially in recent history, and we’ve often seen highly-ranked Iowa squads stumble early on when ranked highly to start the season. It’s not just the Hawks either. How often have we seen teams highly ranked before the first kickoff, only to drop like a rock within only a few short weeks (looking at you 2021 Indiana and Iowa State)?

Whichever side of that fence you fall on, it’s always fun to see that number beside your team’s logo, especially to start the year when excitement is already running high.

What say you? Did the AP get Iowa’s placement right?