Eventually, 7-2 is 7-2 regardless of how a team gets there and the record is applauded because winning college football games in the Big Ten is just really, really hard to do consistently.
That is what we have with the Iowa Hawkeyes. They control their destiny by having a path to the Big Ten Championship in the palm of their hands and are going to unapologetically play their style of football every week.
They slugged their way to a 10-7 win over Northwestern and have seen some rankings reward them for that. Committees seem to be rewarding late season wins over style points and that benefits the Hawkeyes.
In the USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank 1-133, the Hawkeyes are on the cusp of cracking the top 25. They sit at No. 28 with zero movement up or down. Upcoming opponent, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, sit at No. 44, a two-spot jump this week.
In the CBS Sports 133, Iowa got a bit of a bump and find themselves at No. 33 in these rankings with a two-spot climb after their recent win. Rutgers is much closer to Iowa in these rankings coming in at No. 35, just two spots back after they moved up three positions.
The two get things underway this Saturday, Nov. 11, at a sold-out Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and is suddenly an intriguing matchup of two bowl-eligible teams, Iowa 7-2, and Rutgers, 6-3.
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