IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa won 10 football games last season to conclude the best five-year stretch in the program’s history. But coach Kirk Ferentz says it wasn’t easy. At his postseason news conference Monday, Ferentz says there are no “easy outs.” The Hawkeyes’ three losses last season were by a combined 14 points.

They finished the season with four consecutive wins including a 49-24 victory over Southern California in the Holiday Bowl. But there is a lot of work ahead for the Hawkeyes. They lose senior quarterback Nate Stanley, a three-year starter. And four players are leaving college early for a shot at the NFL. The Hawkeyes return all four of their top receivers.