July 27, 2007
IOWA CITY — `We’re No. 25!”
The University of Iowa football program, over the past decade, is ranked 25th out of 119 Division I-A schools, ESPN.com announced Friday, July 27.
Fifteen college football experts and analysts ranked all the programs in the nation, taking into account record, traditions, recruiting, facilities, coaches, attendance and support.
The Hawkeyes have compiled a record of 65-56 during the past 10 seasons, winning Big Ten championships in 2002 and 2004 and compiling a record of 3-4 in bowl games. From 2002-04, Iowa was 31-7 overall (.816) and won the Outback Bowl (37-17 over Florida) on Jan. 1, 2004 and the Capitol One Bowl (30-25 over LSU) on Jan. 1, 2005.
“Kirk Ferentz has molded the Hawkeyes into a reflection of their fans: hardworking and straightforward. From the depths of the end of the Hayden Fry Era, the Hawkeyes won a share of two Big Ten championships and have played in bowls for six consecutive seasons,” wrote ESPN.com.
There were five Big Ten programs listed in the top 25 — Ohio State (second), Michigan (sixth), Wisconsin (tied for 13th), Penn State (21st) and Iowa. Purdue was ranked 33rd, followed by Minnesota (tied for 52nd), Michigan State (55th), Northwestern (68th), Illinois (84th) and Indiana (94th).
The Hawkeyes open the season Saturday, Sept. 1, against Northern Illinois at Chicago’s Soldier Field. It is the first regular-season football game played by Iowa on a neutral site since falling to Kansas State 27-7 in the Eddie Robinson Classic on Aug. 26, 2000 in Kansas City, Mo.
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