With rumors mounting and talks of Ferentz being on the hot seat, the Hawkeyes did not have high expectations leading into the 2015 season. The Hawkeyes started out strong and beat a Pittsburgh team with a last second 57-yard field goal by Marshall Koehn. Iowa went on to beat #19 Wisconsin to break into the Top 25. Iowa finished the regular season 12–0, 8–0 in the Big Ten, with speculations that Iowa might appear in the College Football Playoff reaching #4 in the National Rankings. Iowa lost to #5 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship 13–16. They were knocked out of the College Football Playoff, but did get invited to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. #6 Iowa lost to #5 Stanford in the Rose Bowl 16–45. Iowa finished the 2015 season 12–2, 8–1 in the Big Ten, and #9 in the AP.