I note this is one of the obvious problems with rankings–they imply a zero-sum game when of course educational quality is not in fact a zero-sum game.
So while I do think it is understandable that a university in Iowa is maybe going to face some competitive issues in an increasingly nationalized college search landscape, that doesn’t mean Iowa won’t still provide a great education–potentially at a competitive cost–for its students. And being lower in this ranking does not imply otherwise.