Big shake-up across Big Ten gives Iowa football a chance to move up in standings against Wisconsin

IOWA CITY — Oh how quickly things can change.

While Iowa football had its first bye week of the season, the Hawkeyes got to watch chaos slowly reign down on the Big Ten.

Though Iowa turns toward Wisconsin this week, there’s still some big picture changes Week 7 has. Here’s how they’ll impact the Hawkeyes now, and later.

How the bye week affected Iowa

Well, it will affect the Hawkeyes in some capacity.

Penn State is left unranked from the AP poll for the first time since 2022, and sit at the bottom of the conference standings with Wisconsin, Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan State. Iowa has two weeks before it hosts the recently fallen Nittany Lions.

There’s now five Big Ten programs ranked inside the AP Top 25 poll this week, with three inside the top 15. Penn State received 97 votes, with Nebraska, USC and Washington also collecting some votes this week.

Within the conference standings, Iowa still sits in sixth place. However, USC is the only program above Iowa the Hawkeyes will play this season. It doesn’t mean much, but the Hawkeyes could see the conference standings change significantly over the next few weeks, both because of how Iowa plays and what happens around it.

Notes on Iowa

The Hawkeyes had at least some good news in this week’s depth chart post-week off: quarterback Mark Gronowski was listed at the top of the team’s depth chart. Both quarterback Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski share an “OR” for the second-string spot.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz hasn’t provided any updates on Gronowski since his injury against Indiana. Offensive coordinator Tim Lester said it was “cloudy” if Gronowski would be available against the Badgers.

Iowa didn’t list wide receiver Reece Vander Zee on its depth chart again this week. Ferentz had said he’d hoped the sophomore receiver would be available following the team’s first bye. Vander Zee suffered a foot injury at the end of preseason and hasn’t played in a game this year.

Linebacker Jaden Harrell also is missing from the depth chart. In his place, Jayden Montgomery takes over at middle LB and Jaxon Rexroth is now listed at Mike and Will LB spots.

On the positive front, running back Xavier Williams made his return to the depth chart after missing the last two games with an upper body injury. Williams is the second-leading rusher this season, recording 189 yards on the ground.

The Hawkeyes also announced its game time against Penn State will be at 6 p.m. CT, streaming on Peacock. It’s Iowa’s fifth night game of the season.

Notes on Wisconsin

The Badgers begin their toughest stretch of the season with Iowa kicking it off. Wisconsin hosts four ranked opponents over the next six games, including back-to-back weeks with the country’s top two programs.

Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) also hasn’t played with graduate quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. for most of the season. He’s missed games with a knee sprain, including against Michigan on Saturday. The Badgers have redshirt senior Hunter Simmons listed as the top quarterback in their depth chart.

Saturday’s game at Michigan was Simmons’ first Wisconsin start at quarterback.

Wisconsin’s starting center, Jake Renfro, also was not listed in the top two spots on its depth chart. Renfro suffered a leg injury in the Badgers’ nonconference game against Alabama on Sept. 13.

Game of the Week

For Hawkeye fans looking to circle another Big Ten game on the calendar, look no further than No. 3 Oregon hosting No. 7 Indiana.

A game that’s now become a watch party for two Big Ten championship contenders, both programs are undefeated this season and coming off bye weeks themselves. Oregon’s last game was the double overtime thriller against then-No. 2 Penn State, while Indiana’s was the game at Iowa.

The two head coaches also are playing against each other for the first time.

Outside the marquee matchup, No. 1 Ohio State hosts No. 17 Illinois. Illinois is 2-0 since falling to the Hoosiers in a 50-point loss. The Buckeyes haven’t played a ranked opponent since the 14-7 win over then-ranked Texas in Week 1.

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