Where Iowa football stands in the Big Ten after its third loss of the season

IOWA CITY — Too late to dwell on Saturday night, but it’s worth looking at the bigger picture of things.

After Iowa football’s loss to No. 9 Oregon on Saturday, the wild dreams of playing for more than just a bowl game have dissipated. The Hawkeyes, instead, turn their attention to another Top 25 opponent, USC.

Iowa heads to the West Coast for its second cross-country, Big Ten road trip of the season, and the second one in two months after facing Rutgers in the conference opener in September. Iowa has faced the Trojans recently, including two bowl game battles in the 21st century.

Still, it’s only the 11th all-time meeting between these two programs, and first in Los Angeles in nearly 50 years.

Across the Big Ten, however, there’s some movement that will impact the conference standings, as well as the College Football Playoff race. Here’s what you may have missed on Saturday around the conference.

How the loss affected Iowa in the Big Ten

Iowa now sits in a tie for sixth in the conference with Minneosta, with a three-way tie for third above it. The Big Ten has five teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, and Oregon slid one spot to No. 7.

Iowa still is receiving votes — 54 this week for de facto No. 29 — and was listed as high as No. 20 by three AP voters. The College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed Tuesday evening on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. CT.

There’s still a chance Iowa earns a spot in the committee’s top 25 this week, especially after losses from Washington and the ACC’s Louisville and Virginia.

Notes on Iowa

The Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) didn’t have any notable changes to their depth chart this week. Iowa didn’t have any major injuries of note against the Ducks, but the team’s third loss of the season effectively eliminates any College Football Playoff potential or a chance to finish inside the top three in the Big Ten.

Despite that, the Hawkeyes still can have a 10-win season with the inclusion of a bowl game. All three of Iowa’s losses this year are by a combined 10 points, with two of the three losses coming via a game-winning field goal in the final opposing drive.

This weekend’s matchup is Iowa’s first game against USC in Los Angeles since 1976 under former head coach Bob Commings, and head coach Kirk Ferentz will make his first appearance in the Coliseum since he was with the Cleveland Browns in 1993. It’s also the first time these two teams play against one another as Big Ten foes.

Notes on USC

The Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) welcome the Hawkeyes after a 38-17 win over Northwestern on Friday night. The game included the Trojans using third-string quarterback Sam Huard as part of a trick play in a fake punt.

The Big Ten later issued a statement that the play should’ve been called back because Huard and the team’s punter both lined up in that position with the same jersey number, a violation of NCAA fair play rules.

USC is 5-0 at home this year, including a 31-13 win over Michigan on Oct. 11.

Game of the week

The matchup of who-gets-the-first-conference-win takes the national stage with Penn State and Michigan State. The Nittany Lions nearly knocked off Indiana in the final minutes after a second half comeback attempt was cut short with Omar Cooper Jr.’s touchdown catch heard around the country.

One game of note, although it won’t directly impact Iowa, is Michigan at Northwestern. The Wildcats have found ways to make it a close game between higher-ranked conference foes, despite losing to the Trojans Friday night.

Wisconsin, fresh off its first ranked win of the season, is heading to No. 2 Indiana to see if it will be the first program to take the wheels off the Hoosiers, and No. 9 Oregon welcomes Minnesota to Eugene for a Friday night contest.

Iowa’s game against Michigan State on Nov. 21 will be at either 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. or 3 p.m. CT, with an exact time and channel determined following the end of this weekend’s matchup.

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