Iowa ranked inside preseason AP Top 25 college football poll

Iowa finds itself inside the preseason AP Top 25 college football poll. After missing out on inclusion in last year's preseason top 25, Kirk Ferentz's team is back in the coveted AP Top 25 poll.

The first AP Poll was released on Monday morning in anticipation of the upcoming 2026 college football season. The Hawkeyes are ranked 22nd. Iowa is the eighth and final Big Ten team to open the season inside the top 25 of the AP Poll.

Preseason AP Poll ➡️ 22 pic.twitter.com/bgaGXhzW2R

— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) August 17, 2026

The Hawkeyes have three opponents on their schedule that begin the season ranked in the top 25 as well. Ohio State is the nation's top-ranked team, Michigan is No. 16 and Washington is No. 17.

Coincidentally, those are the first three conference games for Iowa this season. It's just another indication of how difficult the early Big Ten slate is for Ferentz and his team.

Iowa's inclusion at 22nd says a lot about how the country views the program as a whole. Even with massive questions at quarterback and along the defensive line, the voters still chose to rank Iowa. It's indicative of the respect Ferentz has garnered over the years for how he builds his program.

Iowa will look to rise in the rankings when its season kicks off in just under three weeks against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.

Here's the full preseason AP Top 25:

RankTeamRecordPTS1stPrevChg1Ohio State0-0167240NR-2Oregon0-0159714NR-3Georgia0-015130NR-4Notre Dame0-015106NR-5Texas0-014830NR-6Indiana0-014408NR-7Miami (FL)0-013791NR-8Texas A&M0-011310NR-9Ole Miss0-011020NR-10Oklahoma0-010470NR-11LSU0-09880NR-12Texas Tech0-09830NR-13Alabama0-09040NR-14USC0-08390NR-14BYU0-08390NR-16Michigan0-07180NR-17Washington0-05010NR-18Penn State0-04820NR-19SMU0-04340NR-20Tennessee0-03940NR-21Utah0-03040NR-22Iowa0-02600NR-23Houston0-02520NR-24Louisville0-01940NR-25Missouri0-01170NR-Others Receiving Votes

Clemson 112; Florida 51; Boise State 43; Arizona 32; TCU 11; South Carolina 10; Navy 10; Illinois 9; Oklahoma State 8; Vanderbilt 8; Pittsburgh 7; Virginia Tech 6; Minnesota 5; New Mexico 4; Georgia Tech 4; Louisiana 4; UNLV 4; Auburn 3; James Madison 3; California 2; Memphis 2; Virginia 1; Liberty 1; Tulane 1; Western Michigan 1;

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa ranked inside preseason AP Top 25 college football poll