Iowa has put a rare wrinkle into its 2027 schedule, and it starts before the season even gets rolling. The Hawkeyes announced they will open against North Dakota on Aug. 28 in Week Zero, a move that breaks from the program’s usual rhythm and gives Kirk Ferentz’s team an extra game before the Big Ten grind begins.
The rest of the nonconference slate is set around it: Ball State comes to Iowa City on Sept. 4, then Iowa State on Sept. 11. That means Iowa is now lined up for a schedule that could feature four games before conference play, depending on what happens with the College Football Playoff format.
That part is still unresolved. The source of the uncertainty is the possibility that the CFP could expand to 24 teams and push all regular-season games up a week, which would turn Week Zero into Week One. For now, though, Iowa has acted as if the current calendar is staying put, and it has added a game that hasn’t been on the program’s usual menu.
This is also a notable matchup simply because of how long it has been since the teams last met. North Dakota and Iowa have not played in over 100 years, and the Hawkeyes are bringing back a series that has sat untouched for generations.
North Dakota arrives with a different kind of profile than the one many fans might remember. The Fighting Hawks have been more associated with hockey in recent years, but they were a strong football program in the early 2000s in the North Central Conference. They won four conference titles in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 before moving on to the Great West Conference in 2011, the Big Sky in 2016 and the Missouri Valley in 2020.
Under new head coach Eric Schmidt, North Dakota went 7-5 last season and has opened 2026 at 3-0.
For Iowa, the bigger picture is simple: the Hawkeyes have their 2027 opener locked in, and it comes earlier than usual. What happens with the playoff format will determine whether that game is a true Week Zero start or just the first piece of a schedule that gets shifted around later.
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Iowa Just Gave Fans A Reason To Believe This Team Is Different
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The broader takeaway is what will keep Iowa fans talking. The matchup still exposed some unevenness, from special teams issues to the passing games stretches of inconsistency, but it also showed a team that could absorb pressure and keep answering. Hank Browns performance and the defensive standouts gave the Hawkeyes evidence that this group may have more staying power than past versions, even if there are still parts of the operation that need cleaning up. [Read more 🡒]