By admin 
There’s always a couple of teams that surprise everyone as College Football Playoff contenders. Last year it was James Madison and Tulane. The year before it was Boise State and Arizona State. But as the 2026 season ramps up, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit has his eyes on a potential dark horse coming from the Big Ten.
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Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit suggested that the Iowa Hawkeyes might be a team to look out for this year. He pointed out that Kirk Ferentz’s team always seems to be at around the 10-win mark, which could be good enough for them to make the Playoff this year. Ultimately, he feels that Iowa’s Playoff hopes hinge on the team’s ability to “play with the big boys” in college football.
“I always look at Iowa with Kirk Ferentz as a team that’s knocking on the College Football Playoff door… Herbstreit said. “It all comes down to if they can play with the big boys.”
Iowa has long been criticized for playing a very ugly brand of football. They haven’t had a top-20 scoring offense in nearly 25 years and haven’t even sniffed College Football Playoff eligibility since 2015.
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But Iowa has been consistently good under Ferentz and even great from time to time. The Hawkeyes have finished with eight wins or better in a non-pandemic year every season since 2015 and have only had one season in that span where they weren’t in the AP top 25 at one point or another.
Challenges Await
If Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes want to prove they belong in the College Football Playoff conversation, they’ll have plenty of opportunities. Over the next four weeks alone they have a game against almighty Ohio State, a road game against Michigan and a road game against Washington.
The schedule eases up over the final six games, so if Iowa can end their first half of the schedule with no more than one loss, they can definitely make noise as the postseason approaches.
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 12:16 PM.