Iowa football drops outside of top 20 after Wisconsin heartbreak
Iowa's third one-score loss to a ranked Big Ten Conference opponent this season brings with it a double punishment.
The fact that the Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten Conference) dropped four spots, to No. 22, in the latest USA TODAY Amway Coaches' Poll released Sunday is merely a secondary blow to the essential death knell dealt to their West Division chances with Saturday's 24-22 loss at now-No. 15 Wisconsin (7-2, 4-2).
Barring a remarkably unlikely sequence of events that includes unbeaten and seventh-ranked Minnesota losing on the road at league bottom-feeder Northwestern and the Badgers falling to both Nebraska and Purdue, Iowa's regular season will conclude with the Black Friday trip to Lincoln to face the Cornhuskers.
The damage was done in The Associated Press poll as well, with the Hawkeyes falling to No. 23 from No. 18.
Iowa hosts the division-leading Golden Gophers at 3 p.m. this Saturday.
LSU is the new No. 1 in the coaches' poll after unseating top-ranked Alabama 46-41 on Saturday. Ohio State, Clemson, the previously mentioned Crimson Tide and Georgia round out the top five.
FULL COACHES' POLL
- LSU, 1,591 points, 55 first-place votes
- Ohio State, 1,523 (5)
- Clemson, 1,491 (4)
- Alabama, 1,356
- Georgia, 1,327
- Oregon, 1,269
- Minnesota, 1,154
- Oklahoma, 1,128
- Utah, 1,096
- Baylor, 1,028
- Penn State, 942
- Florida, 937
- Auburn, 863
- Michigan, 731
- Wisconsin, 670
- Notre Dame, 659
- Cincinnati, 590
- Memphis, 517
- Boise State, 452
- SMU, 326
- Navy, 249
- Iowa, 187
- Texas, 163
- Appalachian State, 133
- Indiana, 123
Dropped out: No. 20 Wake Forest; No. 22 Kansas State; No. 24 San Diego State.
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State, 49; Wake Forest, 45; Louisiana Tech, 43; Kansas State, 38; San Diego State, 32; Texas A&M, 31; Air Force, 25; Virginia Tech, 17; Virginia, 12; Wyoming, 1; UL-Lafayette, 1; Central Florida, 1.
FULL ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
- LSU, 1,542
- Ohio State, 1,480
- Clemson, 1,441
- Alabama, 1,312
- Georgia, 1,267
- Oregon, 1,224
- Minnesota, 1,164
- Utah, 1,099
- Penn State, 1,003
- Oklahoma, 1,000
- Florida, 934
- Auburn, 871
- Michigan, 744
- Wisconsin, 657
- Notre Dame, 593
- Cincinnati, 567
- Memphis, 510
- Boise State, 371
- SMU, 346
- Navy, 228
- Texas, 199
- Iowa, 197
- Indiana, 108
- Oklahoma State, 77
Others receiving votes: Appalachian State, 73; Kansas State, 67; Texas A&M, 42; Wake Forest, 38; Louisiana Tech, 25; Virginia, 12; San Diego State, 7; Iowa State, 4; Virginia Tech, 4; Washington, 3; Pittsburgh, 2; UCF, 2; Air Force, 2; USC, 1; Illinois, 1.