Big Ten football: 3 teams with breakout potential in 2022

2. Iowa

Iowa football has been in a weird spot lately. Since 2015 the Hawkeyes have had three 10-win seasons, won two division titles, three bowl games, and have finished ranked in five of the past seven seasons. Not too bad for a program like Iowa, though it still feels as if the Hawkeyes are missing something.

Since 2015 Iowa has one top-10 finish, meaning that Iowa has seemingly underperformed outside of their 12-2 campaign in 2015. In 2021, it looked as if Iowa football might be having their breakout season, though the program’s 6-0 never amounted to much, and saw the Hawkeyes finish their final eight games with a 4-4 record.

With Wisconsin having a down season, the 10-2 (6-3 Big Ten) Hawks found a way to advance to the conference title game, a game that Iowa lost 42-3 at the hands of Michigan. This loss means Iowa has still not won a Big Ten title since 2004 — one of the most prolonged droughts in the conference.

In year 23 of Kirk Ferentz, Iowa will need to see some progress. The Hawkeyes have seen some success on the field but it has been nearly two decades since the program’s last conference title and almost 15 seasons since its last New Year’s Six bowl win. Heading into 2022, look for Iowa to finally have its breakout season.