No. 20 Iowa faced the unenviable task of traveling two times zones for Friday night's game at Washington on short rest after a physically taxing Week 5 loss to Ohio State. Further complicating matters for the Hawkeyes was a shoulder injury that kept starting quarterback Hank Brown out. But with backup Jeremy Hecklinski slinging the rock, Iowa jumped out to an early four-touchdown lead and stunned the Huskies 41-24.
In the process, the Hawkeyes reinserted themselves into the College Football Playoff hunt. At 5-1 and 2-1 in the Big Ten, Iowa is entering the second half of its schedule with a realistic path to a 10-2 record or even 11-1 if it runs the table. A 10-2 Iowa team would have roughly a 60% chance of reaching the College Football Playoff, according to the CBS Sports College Football Forecaster.
The Hawkeyes are one of the strongest Power Four programs to have never made a CFP appearance. While the path ahead isn't necessarily easy, it's notable for what it doesn't include. There is no Indiana or Oregon on the docket.
In fact, not a single team ranked in the AP Top 25 entering Week 6 action remains on Iowa's slate. Kamari Moulton takes it 56 yards up the middle to the HOUSE for @HawkeyeFootball 💨 pic.twitter.com/JQnyPyPVXE With Ohio State in the rearview mirror and Iowa's lone West Coast trip in the books as a resounding victory, Hawkeyes fans can enter a bye week with honest belief in their team's playoff potential. The Big Ten dissolved its divisional structure after the 2023 season as it welcomed four former Big Ten programs to the fold amid an expansion from 14 to 18 teams.
But for those who remember the pre-realignment life, the best way to explain Iowa's remaining schedule is that it's literally the old Big Ten West. The CBS Sports College Football Forecaster gives the Hawkeyes between a 44% and 79% chance of winning every remaining game on their schedule. Putting it in those terms brings into focus how attainable a 5-1 or 6-0 finish could be for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes won the division in 2015, 2021 and 2023 while competing against the six teams remaining on their schedule. Iowa appears to have a quarterback controversy on its hands. Hecklinski completed 14 of 19 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns in Friday night's win at Washington as the Hawkeyes racked up 465 total yards, including 279 in the first half.
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