IOWA CITY — As the days tick down to the 2025 Iowa football season opener, there is a growing number of voices on the national level that are identifying the Hawkeyes as a College Football Playoff sleeper team.

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel recently projected Iowa as a playoff team as the No. 9 seed. On the ESPN "College GameDay" podcast, host Rece Davis mentioned the Hawkeyes as a possible fourth playoff team from the Big Ten Conference, along with league favorites Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon.

The love around the Hawkeyes generally swirls around the idea that maybe they finally have a quarterback.

Thus, the spotlight is squarely on the play of South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski as Iowa gets set to host UAlbany in the Aug. 30 opener at Kinnick Stadium (5 p.m. CT, Fo

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