RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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With the 2026 Iowa football season under two weeks away, CBS Sports' Brad Crawford released his preseason bowl game predictions , including where they believe the Hawkeyes will play at the end of the upcoming campaign.
Iowa had one of its best offensive seasons in quite some time last year thanks to the talent of quarterback Mark Gronowski and thanks to the Hawkeyes' Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, which supplied ample protection and carved out avenues in the run game.
With the blueprint for success laid out, the Hawkeyes look to build on it with a new name under center, along with added talent at receiver and in the backfield, in hopes of making their first College Football Playoff appearance.
Unfortunately, those dreams of a CFP berth did not materialize in Crawford's mind, as he predicts the Hawkeyes to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl for a second consecutive season. It would mark another successful season, though, if that comes to fruition.
In Crawford's projection, Iowa would meet SEC foe Alabama to close this season at Raymond James Stadium.
My preseason bowl projections + College Football Playoff picks are out 👀 https://t.co/Z0pP2MPnSM
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) August 20, 2026 Iowa and Alabama have never faced each other, so it would mark the first all-time meeting if CBS' bowl prediction were to come true.
Given that it's entirely way too early to take bowl predictions seriously, the Hawkeyes will look to prove Crawford wrong when they open their regular season by hosting Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium for a 3:15 p.m. CT kickoff on Sept. 5 on the Big Ten Network.
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: CBS Sports preseason bowl predictions: Where does Iowa football land?
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