Iowa’s Halloween date with Wisconsin at Kinnick Stadium comes with plenty of unfamiliar faces on the other sideline.
After a bye week and a trip to Minnesota, the Hawkeyes finally get back home for a three-week break in the schedule to host the Badgers on Halloween and Homecoming. Wisconsin is trying to climb out of a 4-8 season that ended with a 37-0 loss to Iowa at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers have spent the offseason tearing things down and building again. Head coach Luke Fickell brought in quarterback Colton Joseph from Old Dominion, and Wisconsin added more than 30 players through the transfer portal. The staff has been reshaped, too, with Ari Confesor taking over as wide receivers coach, Bob Ligashesky hired as special teams coach, and former NFL executive Morocco Brown coming in as general manager.
Wisconsin also has a new athletics director. Shawn Eichorst was announced in July, after spending eight years at Texas as deputy athletics director from 2018-26 and five years as Nebraska’s AD from 2013-17.
The overhaul comes at a time when Fickell’s stock is under the microscope. USA Today’s Paul Myerberg recently named him among the worst coaches in the Big Ten entering the 2026 season, describing his run since leaving Cincinnati as a “bellyflop.”
There were a few bright spots in Wisconsin’s rough 2025. Two of its four wins came against ranked teams, Washington and Illinois.
But the schedule looks far friendlier this time around than it did a year ago, when the Badgers had four straight weeks against ranked opponents, including back-to-back games against Ohio State and Indiana. Wisconsin’s bye week is Oct. 10, and the trip to Iowa City is the shortest road trip the Badgers will make until they head to Purdue in November.
Joseph is expected to be the new starting quarterback, and he arrives with a strong resume. He was the 2025 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year after leading Old Dominion to just its second winning season in program history. In 12 starts, he threw for 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while also piling up 1,007 rushing yards and 13 scores on the ground.
His 2024 season was productive, too. Joseph started eight games that year and posted 1,600 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. His ability to hurt defenses both through the air and on the ground gives Wisconsin a different kind of threat, especially with a revamped receiving group around him.
The Badgers also added Iowa State transfers Abu Sama III at running back and Carson Van Dinter at safety. On defense, Wisconsin kept linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, along with defensive lineman Charles Perkins. Still, only about 30 percent of the defense’s snaps from last season are back, which makes the portal-heavy rebuild even more important.
Iowa won’t know many of the names on this Wisconsin roster, but the matchup still carries a familiar prize. The Hawkeyes can go after the Heartland Trophy again in 2026, and the Badgers arrive with plenty of questions after Fickell’s uneven 2025.
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Another Iowa Receiver Development Has Fans Worried About This Room
Iowas receiver room took another hit this week with news that Terrence Smith will not be available for the upcoming fall season, according to multiple sources and an Iowa spokesperson. A member of the 2025 recruiting class, Smith arrived as one of the early commitments Jon Budmayr landed after taking over as the Hawkeyes wide receivers coach, and the expectation was that he would be part of the long-term rebuild at the position.
Instead, Smiths Iowa career has yet to get off the ground in game action after a redshirt freshman year, and the uncertainty now extends beyond this season. For a program already trying to stabilize and add depth at receiver, losing another young prospect from the mix only adds to the concern about how quickly that room can develop. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa May Finally Have The Interior Answer Fans Have Wanted
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McKeever also brings a little more than just bulk. He said he is adjusting to Iowas more active offensive style, which should ask more of him than simply camping near the rim, and he pointed to the Hawkeyes recent success and Ben McCollums winning reputation as major reasons he chose to transfer. For a program trying to reshape its frontcourt, that kind of fit matters almost as much as the size itself. [Read more 🡒]
Ben McCollum Just Sparked New Buzz About Iowas Next Breakout Returnee
Ben McCollums latest comments on Iowa mens basketball offered a little more context around why the program feels better positioned than its regular-season record might have suggested. He pointed back to the Hawkeyes Elite Eight run as proof that the foundation was there, and he made clear that the teams struggles had more to do with finishing games than with a lack of belief in what it could become.
He also touched on the practical side of building momentum, noting that Iowa has tried to bring nonconference games closer to home to give more fans a chance to show up and feel invested early. And while McCollum praised offseason growth across the roster, one returning player in particular has started to generate the kind of buzz that can change expectations quickly once the season opens. [Read more 🡒]