Iowa ranked No. 6 in College Football News’ combined football and basketball rankings
It was a banner year across the board for Iowa athletics. The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten West division in football and finished with a 10-4 record after Wisconsin entered as the preseason favorite according to the media. In men’s basketball, Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament title and finished 26-10 during a season where the Hawkeyes were picked to finish ninth by the media in the preseason poll.
Sophomore forward Keegan Murray emerged as one of the premiere players in the nation in men’s basketball. Murray finished tops in the country among power-five players, averaging 23.5 points per game. Meanwhile, on the gridiron, quarterbacks Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla combined to send the Hawkeyes into the Big Ten championships game.
As a result, College Football News ranked Iowa No. 6 nationally in its Hoops & Helmets 2022 rankings. The rankings determine who had the best and worst combined years in major college football and basketball.
There’s a case to be made for Iowa to be even higher than this. After all, it won the Big Ten conference tournament in basketball and got to the Big Ten Championship in football. However …
It didn’t win when it really counted.
The basketball title was made instantly irrelevant after losing to a mediocre Richmond team in the first around, the 42-3 loss to Michigan in the football championship was brutal, and losing the Citrus Bowl to Kentucky hurt. – College Football News.
The No. 6 ranking represents a 10-spot rise for Iowa over 2021’s No. 16 finish. After finishing No. 71 nationally in 2018, Iowa ranked No. 18 in 2019 and No. 21 in 2020.
Michigan at No. 3 was the only Big Ten school to earn a better ranking than Iowa. Baylor was ranked No. 1 nationally, Alabama No. 2, North Carolina No. 4 and Houston No. 5 to round out the top-five schools according to College Football News.
Other Big Ten schools that finished in the top 25 of College Football News’ Hoops & Helmets 2022 rankings included Purdue at No. 8, Michigan State at No. 13, Ohio State at No. 14 and Wisconsin at No. 24.
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