By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of the first signs that the college football season is approaching are the magazines that come out annually promoting the sport.

The 2026 Athlon Sports College Football Preview magazine arrived in the mail this week, and less than four months before Iowa’s season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5 at Kinnick stadium.

Kirk Ferentz is entering his 28th season as the Iowa head coach, and he will be 71 years old when the season starts.

Athlon Sports has Iowa ranked eighth in its conference standings, and ranked 25th nationally.

It also has Iowa facing Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Iowa only had two players  – junior offensive linemen Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck – selected to the magazine’s Big Ten pre-season first-team.

To see no picks from Iowa on defense or special teams is unusual, but this is an unusual season with Iowa having to replace nine starters on defense, a record-breaking kicker, its starting punter, and one of the greatest return specialists in Big Ten history.

The magazine has Ohio State defeating defending national champion Indiana in the 2026 Big Ten Championship game.

Oddly enough, there are no players from Ohio State listed on the first-team defense, while four Buckeyes are listed on the first-team offense: quarterback Julian Sayin, running back Bo Jackson, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and offensive lineman Austin Siereveld.

Indiana and Oregon both have two players listed on the first-team offense, four on the first-team defense and one on special teams.

The magazine listed 12 games to watch, but none of Iowa’s games made the cut.

Iowa’s 2026 recruiting class was ranked sixth in the Big Ten by Athlon Sports. USC’s class is ranked first, followed in order by Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Washington.

Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover is ranked as the No. 1 transfer in the Big Ten after having transferred from TCU. Iowa does not have a transfer ranked in the top 10.

Former Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, who now plays for Penn State, is ranked as the fifth best transfer.

The 2026 Athlon preview magazine will officially go on sale on May 22.

2026 Athlon Sports Big Ten Football Rankings

1. Ohio State

2. Indiana

3. Oregon

4. Michigan

5. USC

6. Washington

7. Penn State

8. Iowa

9. Illinois

10. Nebraska

11. Minnesota

12. UCLA

13. Wisconsin

14 Northwestern

15. Maryland

16. Rutgers

17. Michigan State

18 Purdue