The 2023 college football season -- the final one before the latest realignment developments dramatically transform the landscape of the sport (again) -- gets underway in just under three weeks. That means that it's time for the official preseason polls to roll out. First up, the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll, which released its preseason Top 25 today.
Iowa did not make the Top 25 of the Coaches Poll, though the Hawkeyes just missed out -- they're the first team listed in the "Others Receiving Votes" category, making them effectively the 26th ranked team in the nation.
The full Top 25 is available below:
Four current Big Ten teams are ranked in the preseason Top 25, with three (Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State) clustered inside the top 7. Wisconsin is the only other Big Ten team ranked, at #21. Three incoming Big Ten teams are also ranked in the Top 25: USC at #6, Washington at #11, and Oregon at #15.
Preseason polls often have poor predictive value for the season to come -- they're most useful in terms of providing a snapshot for which teams are expected to be good at a given moment. Those expectations are typically based on the previous year's performance, as well as historical pedigree and brand notoriety (see: Texas' perpetually high preseason rankings).
Iowa was also unranked in the preseason polls ahead of the 2022 season, which snapped a three-year streak of the Hawkeyes being ranked in preseason polls. Coincidentally, the Hawkeyes were also the top team in the "Others Receiving Votes" category in the 2022 Coaches Poll preseason Top 25. Iowa also ended the 2022 season unranked, which snapped a four-year streak of the Hawkeyes being ranked in the final poll of the season.
Given the up-and-down nature of Iowa's season a year ago, as well as the historically poor results from the Iowa offense, and some notable departures on the defensive side of the ball (Jack Campbell, Lukas Van Ness, Riley Moss, among others), it's not a stretch to see why Iowa would be left out of the preseason poll. This year's Iowa team has a fair amount to prove on the field, which they'll be able to do beginning September 2, against Utah State.
