Iowa among CBS Sports' College Football Playoff bubble watch

As No. 14 Iowa (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) passes the halfway point of its 2026-27 season, CBS Sports included the Hawkeyes among its College Football Playoff bubble watch .

Iowa was featured alongside fellow Big Ten foes Oregon , Wisconsin , and USC .

Two road tests (at Minnesota , at Northwestern ) along with Wisconsin and Nebraska at home stand between the Hawkeyes and 11 regular-season wins. There's a chance Kirk Ferentz's team gets to that magic CFP number without a ranked victory, however. We don't foresee a scenario in which an 11-win Big Ten at-large team gets passed in favor of a team with a worse record and better resume, but it's possible. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, the opportunity to impress was Oct. 3 against Ohio State and they were out-classed by the Buckeyes. - Brad Crawford, CBS Sports

It's the latest indication that Iowa's path to its first-ever College Football Playoff berth is well within the Hawkeyes' control.

Other teams in the bubble grouping include Wake Forest and LSU .

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz revealed on Tuesday that the Hawkeyes will start quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski this week at Minnesota (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten).

"You can build a case for both players because they're both really good guys. They're both, I think, potentially really good quarterbacks. We've seen our team have success with both guys. At this given point, we just feel like it's the best thing to do forward, but we have confidence we have two really good players there," Ferentz said of Iowa's decision to start Hecklinski.

Iowa will look to continue its successful season with a rivalry win on Saturday at Minnesota in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on FS1.

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