4thand4cast

Search the site.

Try , , or .

Powered by Pagefind

Iowa

Hawkeyes · Big Ten

Head coach Kirk Ferentz

Season Projection · 2026 W0

10,000 sims
8.4
Expected wins
8-4
Proj record
5 to 11
Win range (90%)
#14 (5–28)
Final rank (90%)
43%
Make playoff
5%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

43%

Baseline projection.

  • at Illinois
    Away · Nov 21
  • at Northwestern
    Away · Nov 7
  • at Minnesota
    Away · Oct 24
  • at Washington
    Away · Oct 10

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2026

37 score
  • Quarterback 5% (4/6 )
  • Offensive line 72% (13/18 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 63% (20/28 )
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 24% (21/32 )
  • Secondary 50% (10/19 )
  • Special teams 0% (2/6 )

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

-0.2 rating

14 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

  • L.J. Phillips Jr. RB ← South Dakota 142 impact
  • Tyler Brown DB ← James Madison 140 impact
  • Evan James WR ← Furman 79 impact
  • Lance Ingold DL ← Northern Illinois 46 impact
  • Anthony Hawkins DB ← Villanova 29 impact
  • Xavier Styles DB ← Robert Morris 11 impact

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 40.1% 70th — strong
  • Red-zone TD rate 18.7% 83th — strong
  • 4th-down aggression 27.4% 14th — bottom tier
  • Late & close 5.5 yds/play 61th — average

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    Iowa: 2025 Week 16 recap

    Iowa sits at No. 12 in GIE's ratings after a dominant 40–16 road win over Nebraska in Week 14, a performance that underscored the Hawkeyes' defensive identity and offensive efficiency. The 9–4 record reflects a team that's navigated Big…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.