Iowa ranked among USA TODAY Sports' top 25 college football programs

For the better part of 45 years, the Iowa football program has been as consistent as most other premier schools.

The Hawkeyes have only had seven losing seasons since 1981. Hayden Fry rescued a program that was in serious trouble and turned things around. When his tenure ran its course, Kirk Ferentz took over and has led Iowa to plenty of prosperity.

While Iowa hasn’t won a national championship in that timeframe, they’ve been among the best college football programs in the country in terms of consistent success. That may have flown under the radar nationally for a while. It isn’t anymore.

USA TODAY Sports compiled a list of the top 25 college football programs in the country. It factors in recent success and history of each program to come up with the ranking. The experts ranked Iowa as the 23rd-best program in the entire country. Here’s what they had to say about the Hawkeyes:

"Iowa has been a model of consistency dating to the end of the Hayden Fry era. When a then-44-year-old Kirk Ferentz replaced a retiring Fry, the Hawkeyes found greater success. They have just one losing season since 2006 and qualified for bowl games in the last 24 of his 25 seasons. The current run is the best of the Ferentz era: Iowa has won at least seven games in every year since 2013 and has played for two Big Ten crowns since 2021." – USA TODAY Sports

Iowa is the ninth Big Ten team on the list, which showcases how deep the conference is right now. Even in a tough conference, the Hawkeyes find ways to win every single year. That’s a testament to the program built by Fry and Ferentz.

The Hawkeyes will look to find themselves on next year’s list by having another strong season in 2026. With Ferentz at the helm, there’s a better chance than not of that happening.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa ranked among USA TODAY Sports' top 25 college football programs