Iowa Makes BIG Move in College Football Playoff Rankings [VIDEO]

I expected the Hawkeyes to move up a couple of spots when the second installment of the rankings were released tonight. Iowa got those spots and much more!

Iowa leapt from ninth to fifth in the College Football Playoff standings. That's just ONE spot from the four-team playoff. ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said something that definitely excites Hawkeye fans:

I love it! And not just because he shares the first name of the Hawkeye head man. Iowa has tough games ahead of them that get only tougher with this lofty ranking. Minnesota, Purdue, and Nebraska all have to be licking their chops at the prospect of beating Goliath, aka Iowa. Iowa and Goliath in the same sentence? Is this real?! The so-called experts seem to agree. Iowa, if they win out, including a victory in the Big Ten Championship game, will be in the College Football Playoff. In the nation's TOP FOUR! Iowa!? Did you honestly ever believe we'd be in this discussion? I'm trying to contain my excitement, but it's obviously not working.

One thing that scares me is the Baylor Bears. They're 8-0 and just one spot behind Iowa in the standings but have yet to play a team with a better than .500 record. However, Baylor plays Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU in the next three weeks. Should they win all of those games AND also beat Texas in the season finale, they're deserving of top four. However, winning those first two, especially, is a very tall order. The Sooners and Cowboys are a combined 17-1.

The full Top 25 is listed at the bottom of this story if you want to take a peek. The top four as of today would feature semifinal matchups of Clemson versus Notre Dame and Alabama against Ohio State. Based on today, the prognosticators have Iowa playing Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

Dear Kirk and the Hawks: Please keep winning. This is SOOO much fun. Go Hawks!

Here's this week's Top 25:

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Ohio State

4. Notre Dame

5. Iowa

6. Baylor

7. Stanford

8. Oklahoma State

9. LSU

10. Utah