College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 final rankings

A rise in COVID-19 cases at Missouri prevented the Tigers from playing in the Music City Bowl, leaving Iowa without a postseason opponent in 2020. Without the chance to make a final impression to voters, Iowa will remain locked somewhere in the mid to high teens of the final AP Top 25 this season after a 6-2 campaign under trying circumstances.

A big part of Iowa’s success was due to a Hawkeyes defense that ranked in the top 10 nationally, allowing only 16 points and 314 yards per game. They were equally good against the pass (seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense) and against the run (10th nationally, allowing 107.6 yards per game). That took the pressure off an offense that was solid but hardly spectacular throughout their eight-game campaign.

After losses to Purdue and Northwestern by a combined five points to start the season, Iowa rattled off a half-dozen wins in a row. Northwestern locked in the Big Ten West title by virtue of their head-to-head win over the Hawkeyes, but Kirk Ferentz’s team nonetheless was the darling of the computer rankings and steadily crept up the human polls throughout the season. They won’t jump into the top half of the AP Top 25 but will fall easily inside the top 20 of the final poll.