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Some fans may
harp on Kirk Ferentz and his steady-handed approach with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Others seem to love knowing what they will
get. Either way, the approach has the Hawkeyes with a 24-11 record so far this
decade over three seasons.
Included in
that are three bowl bids and a Big Ten conference record of 18-8. You would be
hard-pressed to find fanbases, aside from maybe 10 others, that wouldn’t take
that output in a heartbeat.
Nonetheless, the performance from the Hawkeyes through the 2020s,
albeit still early on, has them among ESPN’s top 10 teams of the decade to this
point. ESPN ranked the teams based on the SP+ metric. The Hawkeyes come in as
the No. 8 team of the 2020s.
While Iowa didn’t crack any of the best offenses
of the 2020s, they are
tied with the Georgia Bulldogs with a pair of
top-five defenses already this decade. The 2020 and 2022 Iowa defenses both
reached that lofty mark. Just missing the turn of the decade was the 2019 Iowa
defense which was the fifth-best defense of the 2010s decade.
While not a
top-10 overall team, the Hawkeyes do have a renaissance era of being an elite
offense. Back in the 1960s, the Hawkeyes’ 1960 offense was the top-rated one of
the entire decade.
That’s right,
there was a time when Iowa was known for elite offense. In 1960, quarterback Wilburn
Hollis and halfback Larry Ferguson helmed an attack that ranked fifth in
scoring offense (26.3 PPG) despite playing an incredible eight straight ranked opponents. – Bill Connelly, ESPN
The rest of the top 10 joining Iowa in the 2020s is mostly comprised of your usual suspects.
- Alabama
Crimson Tide
- Ohio
State Buckeyes
- Georgia
Bulldogs
- Michigan
Wolverines
- Clemson
Tigers
- Oklahoma
Sooners
- Notre
Dame Fighting Irish
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Utah
Utes
- Cincinnati
Bearcats
