By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The 7-2 Iowa football team has climbed to No. 15 in the latest college football playoff rankings, which were released on Tuesday.

Iowa defeated Northwestern 24-10 this last Saturday in Evanston, Illinois and will face Purdue on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

It is widely believed that Iowa would have to finish 10-2 to make the 12-team college playoff, meaning there is no margin for error in the last three games against Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska, with Illinois the only road game.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has downplayed the playoff rankings, saying his only focus is the next game on the schedule.

Ferentz did say, however, that he is in favor of the decision to expand the playoff from 12 to 24 teams, which will happen next season.

“Honestly, I heard about it, but it’s kind of like an old subject right now,” Ferentz said. “I’m a little bit more focused on this weekend and this week’s game than that stuff, but I’m in favor of it.

“I was in favor of it back in May. I think there are a lot of positives to it. You know, it’s been war and peace going back and forth here, but at least finally we have a little clarity on that. So worry about that next year, but yeah, that’s a good thing.”