The Iowa Hawkeyes lost a tough one at Maryland last week. It was emblematic of the grind of the Big Ten season. Iowa went to College Park to take on a top-15 opponent, sandwiched between a pair of home games against top-25 opponents. Such is life in this conference.
The loss, though, was outweighed by the two wins in those other two matchups. The Hawkeyes downed Rutgers and Illinois by margins in line with their loss at Maryland. Today, they’re being rewarded with yet another rise up the national polls as a slew of other top-25 teams suffered worse or more numerous defeats without those key wins.