Who will make 2025 Big Ten Championship Game?
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Iowa football 2025 schedule preview: Week 4 vs Rutgers
Following a home contest against UMass in Week 3, the Iowa football team will pack their bags for Piscataway, New Jersey, for the Big Ten opener against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This isn't your parents' Scarlet Knights football program. Greg Schiano has found a way to breathe new life into a program that needed a spark. After an 8-5 record and a bowl win in 2014, their first season in the Big Ten, Rutgers went 13-47 across the next five seasons, including a disastrous tenure for Chris Ash. Following the 2019 season, Rutgers fired Ash and brought back Schiano, who had previously coached the Scarlet Knights from 2001-2011 and won five bowl games. The move has paid off. Since Schiano returned to Piscataway, Rutgers is 26-34 with three bowl game appearances and a victory in the 2023 Pinstripe Bowl over Miami (FL). And the hype around the team is high entering the 2025 season. After back-to-back seven-win seasons, Rutgers is looking to take the next step. And they return some really talented players. Let's take a deeper dive into the 2025 Rutgers football team. Who are some of the key returners for Rutgers? Who are some exciting newcomers for the Scarlet Knights? History between the Hawkeyes and Scarlet Knights Iowa and Rutgers have played each other four times on the gridiron, with the Hawkeyes winning all four games. In those games, Iowa has outscored Rutgers 96 to 17, including a 22-0 victory in the last matchup between the two teams on November 11, 2023. The closest game in the series was the first game between the two back in 2016, a 14-7 Iowa victory on the road. While Rutgers lost star running back Kyle Monangai to graduation, they still have a talented team that will provide Iowa with a great test to begin their 2025 conference slate. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on September 19 at SHI Stadium. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Where does James Franklin rank in 2025 Big Ten coach rankings?
The pressure is on like never before for Penn State head coach James Franklin heading into the 2025 season. With raised expectations for the Penn State program and strong preseason power rankings placed upon them, the Nittany Lions are roaring into the new college football season believed to be a strong Big Ten and national title contender. But where does Franklin rank among his peers in the conference? CBS Sports released its annual Big Ten coach power rankings this week as the Big Ten football media days got underway this week. Not surprisingly, Franklin was among the top-ranked coaches in the Big Ten but did not land the top spot in this year's rankings. Franklin ranked third on the list from CBS Sports behind Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning. That would seem to be a fair assessment given Day is coming off his first national championship with the Buckeyes and Lanning guided Oregon to a Big Ten championship, at the expense of Franklin and Penn State, and a no. 1 seed going into the College Football Playoff last season. Penn State's head coach moved up one spot in the Big Ten coach rankings from CBS Sports this year. Franklin swapped places on the ranking with USC head coach Lincoln Riley. The biggest move in the Big Ten coach rankings came from Indiana's Curt Cignetti, who jumped up to no. 6 from no. 14 following a brilliant debut season in Bloomington with the Hoosiers. Luke Fickell of Wisconsin tumbled from no. 5 in the Big Ten to no. 11 after a rough 2024 season. Michigan State's Jonathan Smith took a similar fall from no. 7 down to no. 13. The spotlight is on Franklin this season, more so than ever before. The expectations are higher than ever. Will this be a year where Franklin breaks from the narrative of coming up short in the biggest of moments when the lights are the brightest? That remains to be seen, and soon enough we will begin witnessing the results for better or worse. You can check out the Big Ten coach rankings from CBS Sports to see how everyone compares. Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Jeremiah Smith says there was thought of flipping to Miami before national signing day
How close was Jeremiah Smith to flipping from Ohio State to the Miami Hurricanes in the final hours before signing day? According to Smith himself, it was a strong consideration. We all remember Ryan Day looking like he was about to pass out in relief when Smith's paperwork finally came through the fax machine with his signature to play for the Buckeyes. Day was in the middle of a press conference when he got the news and somewhat jokingly got weak in the knees, maybe with good reason. Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman caught up with Smith at Big Ten Media Days and asked how close he actually was to staying closer to home in South Florida. Smith shared with the sports writers that he had a conversation with newly minted quarterback Cam Ward, who recently signed with Miami out of the transfer portal. Ward was trying to sway Smith to join him at "The U". "That night I definitely talked to Cam Ward. Smith said. "I didn't really tell him. We just got on the phone, and he was like, 'What are you going to do?' and I was like, 'I don't know.'" It sounds like it came down to the final hours before Smith fully committed, and Buckeye Nation is glad he did. Ohio State may still win the National Championship without his services, but that road would have been significantly harder. Ultimately, it worked out great for both the Buckeyes and Smith, who will go down as one of, if not the greatest, wide receiver to ever come through Columbus.
