Will 2025 be any different for the Iowa Hawkeyes? In 2023, Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz had to swallow the bitter pill of personal loss and humiliation. Athletic director Beth Goetz fired Kirk Ferentz’s son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator. It was a long time coming. Kirk and former athletic director Gary Barta found ways around the Iowa nepotism law. When Goetz took over, she had no ties to that past or Brian. Most important of all, Iowa had one of the worst offenses in college football for the past several years. Thus, the NCAAF future odds arrangement became indefensible.
2025 SBG College Football Futures Iowa Hawkeyes
| Odds to Win National Championship: | +20000 |
|---|---|
| Odds to Win Big Ten Championship: | +4000 |
| Over/Under Win Total: | 7.5 |
2025 Iowa Schedule
- Aug 30 vs. U Albany
- Sep 6 at Iowa State
- Sep 13 vs. UMass
- Sep 19 at Rutgers
- Sep 27 vs. Indiana
- Oct 4 OFF
- Oct 11 at Wisconsin
- Oct 18 vs. Penn State
- Oct 25 vs. Minnesota
- Nov 1 OFF
- Nov 8 vs. Oregon
- Nov 15 at USC
- Nov 22 vs. Michigan State
- Nov 28 at Nebraska
In 2024, Tim Lester took over as the new OC. For 2025, he is charged with producing a mid-level offense. If he does, Iowa could be a truly dangerous sportsbook team. The Hawkeyes will need improvement, as the Big Ten has eliminated divisional play. Now, Iowa has nowhere to hide like it used to in the former Big Ten West. Unfortunately, the results under Lester showed marginal improvement. Hence, Iowa slipped to 8-5 in 2024.
The 2025 college football futures tragedy for Brian Ferentz’s offense was that if it had been mediocre, Iowa could have won multiple Big Ten championships. In 2023, Brian’s final season, with no offense at all, Iowa finished 10-4. Iowa’s best player was punter Tory Taylor. While that fact became the source of considerable humor, it was indicative of Iowa’s plight. Iowa had championship-level defense and kicking teams. But it had no offense to complement them.
Correlate that Iowa has won ten or more games in a season 11 times. Eight of them have been under the guidance of Kirk Ferentz. Appearances in good bowl games have become the norm. The team committed the fewest penalties per game in all of college football. To show, only the Air Force was flagged for fewer yards. There were no problems with turnovers, yet Iowa still lost to UCLA and Michigan State. If last year’s team had beaten the Bruins and Spartans, both of whom finished with losing seasons, it would have been a ten-win campaign.
Although the Hawkeyes were strong in 2024, five of their eight wins came against teams that finished with a record under .500. Additionally, another win was against Illinois State from the FCS. Additionally, another was against a mediocre Nebraska squad. And that’s been part of the formula for Iowa. It usually beats all of the teams it’s supposed to.
Accordingly, in 2025, Oregon will finish with more than seven wins. So too will Penn State, and so will a few other good teams on the Iowa slate. Thus, Iowa might not reach ten wins without a little help. For a program overdue to make the College Football Playoff and put itself in a position to win every year, it might just play its way into something special.