How Iowa football lands in the Big Ten after its fourth loss of the season

IOWA CITY — A week of disappointment and full of more “what ifs” plague Iowa football following its loss to USC on the road.

Across the conference, there weren’t many shakeups. There’s only two weeks remaining in the regular season, giving Iowa a chance to make a final push to finish in the upper half of the conference and for the fight for a four-bid league in the College Football Playoff.

Where the Hawkeyes stand today

Iowa’s loss to USC was the first time the Hawkeyes suffered back-to-back losses sine 2022, when Iowa lost to Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State in the month of October. The consequences of Iowa’s loss puts the Hawkeyes in a five-way tie for seventh.

The Big Ten has five programs ranked in this week’s AP Top 25, with Iowa receiving 14 votes as one of three programs earning some points on the national ballot. This week’s College Football Playoff rankings will be released on ESPN on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Last week, Iowa was one of six Big Ten programs to be inside the committee’s top 25.

Notes on Iowa

The Hawkeyes watched three of their starters at the line of scrimmage — Gennings Dunker, Beau Stephens and Kade Peiper — exit the game against USC early with injuries. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said postgame he wasn’t completely sure the status of all three players.

All three, however, were listed in their normal starting positions in Iowa’s depth chart on Monday. Ferentz can clarify the offensive line’s status during his weekly news conference.

Along with the offensive lineman listed, Iowa has put all five running backs on the depth chart for the first time this season. Previously, the Hawkeyes have listed the first three in the rotation.

The Hawkeyes also are hosting senior day against the Spartans, recognizing 27 athletes in the annual pregame ceremony.

Notes on Michigan State

Michigan State heads into the final two weeks of the regular season without a conference win. After picking up wins against FCS’ Western Michigan, Youngstown State and ACC’s Boston College, the Spartans haven’t found the win column.

The program’s closest opportunity was against Minnesota, a 23-20 overtime loss on Nov. 1. Every other game has been at least a two-score difference.

However, Michigan State beat Iowa in the last matchup, 32-20, in East Lansing. Iowa leads the all-time series, 25-23-2.

Game of the week

The biggest Big Ten game of note is Oregon hosting USC. Although Iowa’s faced these two teams already, there’s College Football Playoff implications directly tied to the winner of this game.

As of now, Ohio State and Indiana are the only two programs near-guaranteed spots in the 12-team bracket, with Oregon earning a spot with one loss in the last two rankings. USC has two losses, but a win over Oregon could help make a late case in the final two weeks of the season.

Iowa’s matchup against Nebraska, scheduled for Nov. 28, will be on CBS at 11 a.m. It’s the third time in five games the Hawkeyes are broadcast on CBS.

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