By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – In ranking the Iowa football team 22nd in the 2026 preseason Coaches Poll, Kirk Ferentz’s coaching peers are paying him and the Iowa program a nice compliment.

That ranking at first glance might not seem like such a big deal, especially with seven Big Ten teams ranked above Iowa, and with the college playoff only having 12 teams, at least for now.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll discover some reasons to question whether Iowa truly is a top-25 team on paper, which is all there is until the games start being played.

Iowa will face Northern Illinois in the 2026 season opener on Sept. 5 at Kinnick Stadium.

So for the next month, the rankings are based on just hype and speculation.

As for questioning Iowa’s potential, it stems from all the significant personnel losses from last season.

The coaches who vote in the Coaches Poll apparently were willing to overlook the fact that Iowa has to replace its starting quarterback from last season in Mark Gronowski, along with three All-Big Ten offensive linemen, including 2025 Rimington Trophy-winning center Logan Jones, one of the greatest return specialists in Big Ten history in Kaden Wetjen, record-breaking kicker Drew Stevens, starting punter Rhys Dakin and eight starters on defense.

The fact that Iowa has added 16 players from the transfer portal shows just how significant the losses are from last season.

Gronowski in many ways was the heart and soul for last year’s team, which finished 9-4 and ranked 17th in both polls, even though it was his only season as a Hawkeye.

He set a record for an Iowa quarterback with a whopping 16 rushing touchdowns last season while also rushing for 545 yards.

He also excelled as a leader, earning captain status for all 13 games.

Junior Hank Brown and sophomore Jeremy Hecklinski are in a hotly contested battle for the starting quarterback position, and by the end of spring practice, it still was too close to call.

No matter who ultimately wins the job, Iowa’s next starting quarterback will have little game experience.

Brown appeared in three games last season, completing 11-of-21 passes for 107 yards with one interception and one touchdown on the season.

He replaced an injured Gronowski early in the fourth quarter against Indiana, and it’s fair to say that Brown struggled as he completed just 5-of-13 passes for 48 yards and one interception. He also missed an open receiver on a screen pass.

In Brown’s defense, he was playing against an Indiana squad that would go on win the national championship while compiling a 16-0 record.

Brown also started two games while playing for Auburn in 2024, producing mixed results

In his first start versus New Mexico, Brown completed 17-of-25 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns.

However, in his second start against Arkansas, Brown only completed 7-of-13 passes for 72 yards before being replaced.

Hecklinski, meanwhile, appeared briefly in two games last season, completing both of his pass attempts for eight yards. He also had a 6-yard touchdown run against Minnesota in mop-up duty.

As a true freshman at Wake Forest in 2024, Hecklinsk took three snaps against North Carolina.

The 6-foot-4, 218-pound Brown has the edge in experience, as well as a considerable size advantage compared to Hecklinski, who is listed at 5-11 and 201 pounds.

And while Hecklinski moved ahead of Brown on the depth chart about midway through last season, Brown seems to have narrowed the gap during spring practice.

The loss of three standout offensive linemen from last season is certainly cause for concern.

But on the bright side, Iowa returns two of the best offensive linemen in the Big Ten, if not the country, in junior Kade Pieper, who has switched from guard to center, and junior left tackle Trevor Lauck.

Iowa also has quality depth at running back and tight end, while the Iowa defense has a reputation for consistently being among the best units in the country.

Iowa also has another star on the rise in junior defensive back Zach Lutmer, who is versatile enough to play safety, cornerback and the Cash position.

So it isn’t as if the cupboard in bare, even with all the holes to fill.

Special teams is perhaps the biggest concern because few teams rely on special teams as much as Iowa does under Kirk Ferentz.

In addition to replacing the starting kicker, starting punter and star return specialist, Iowa also has new special teams coordinator with Chris Polizzi having replaced LeVar Woods, who is now the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator under Pat Fitzgerald at Michigan State.

Woods had been Iowa’s special teams coordinator since 2017, and way more times than not, special teams were a strength under his watch.

Polizzi could also prove to be a force as Iowa’s special teams coordinator.

But for now, there is no way of knowing for sure until the games start being played.

It would have been easy to leave Iowa out of the preseason top 25 due to having so many holes that have to be filled.

But the coaches that vote in the Coaches Poll felt otherwise.

They seem to be giving Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa program the benefit of doubt, which speaks well of Ferentz and the Iowa program as a whole.

Ferentz, who turned 71 on Aug. 1, is entering his 28th season as the Iowa head coach. He is also the Big Ten’s all-time winningest head coach with 209 wins.

That level of consistency and staying power is worthy of respect as his fellow head coaches seem to be saying with how they just voted.