The Iowa Hawkeyes are sitting pretty at No. 3 in the latest Big Ten power rankings from Yahoo Sports, and the path ahead looks about as favorable as it gets. After a 41-24 demolition of Washington in Seattle, Iowa heads into its bye week at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play, with a projected finish of 10-2 according to the rankings.
That's right, 10-2. ESPN's FPI model has Iowa at 9-3, but the power rankings lean toward an extra win, and a closer look at the remaining schedule explains why.
What's left on Iowa's schedule?
Here's the rest of the road for the Hawkeyes: at Minnesota, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, Purdue, at Illinois, and Nebraska to close the regular season. Not a single team on that list is currently ranked higher than Iowa in the power rankings. Wisconsin sits at No. 9, Northwestern at No. 5, and the rest are all in the bottom half of the league.
The Hawkeyes made their statement last Saturday in Seattle. Washington's defense didn't just lose to Iowa, it capitulated. The power rankings called the defensive collapse against the Hawkeyes