Iowa Football’s 2026 Big Ten Schedule Drops: Early Gauntlet, Big-Time Questions, and a New-Look Roster
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The countdown to the 2026 college football season is officially on, and for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the path forward is starting to take shape. The Big Ten released its full conference schedule on Tuesday, and let’s just say: Iowa’s going to be tested early-and often.
Here’s the full Big Ten slate for the Hawkeyes:
- 9/26: @ Michigan
- 10/3: vs.
Ohio State
- 10/10: @ Washington
- 10/17: BYE
- 10/24: @ Minnesota
- 10/31: vs. Wisconsin
- 11/7: @ Northwestern
- 11/14: vs.
Purdue
- 11/21: @ Illinois
- 11/27: vs. Nebraska
Let’s start with the obvious: those first three games are brutal. Road trips to Michigan and Washington, sandwiched around a home showdown with Ohio State?
That’s a trial by fire. Iowa has long been a program that tends to build momentum as the season wears on, leaning into its identity and sharpening execution week by week.
But in 2026, they won’t have the luxury of a slow start. If this team wants to make noise, it’s going to have to be ready right out of the gate.
Michigan, under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, will be a fascinating early test. The Big House is never an easy place to play, and while Whittingham is new to the maize and blue, he’s no stranger to winning big games. Then comes Ohio State-a perennial powerhouse-and a cross-country trip to face Washington, one of the newest members of the Big Ten with a style of play that can stretch even the most disciplined defenses.
After the bye week, things settle into a more familiar rhythm with divisional rivals and classic matchups. It’s a stretch that includes border battles, trap games, and a Black Friday finale against Nebraska that always carries weight, regardless of records.
But this Iowa team isn’t just dealing with a tough schedule-it’s also navigating major roster turnover. The Hawkeyes are replacing key contributors on both sides of the ball, and the special teams unit is undergoing a full reset. That said, the transfer portal has been kind to Iowa this offseason.
Three names jump off the page: safety Tyler Brown, wide receiver Tony Diaz, and defensive tackle Brice Stevenson. All three are expected to be plug-and-play additions, and their arrival signals a more aggressive approach in the portal from Kirk Ferentz-something we’ve seen evolve over the past few seasons.
Ferentz, now the longest-tenured head coach in college football, continues to adapt in a sport that’s changing faster than ever. Between NIL, the transfer portal, and a shifting conference landscape, the college game doesn’t look much like it did even five years ago. But Ferentz remains grounded in his philosophy.
“College football has changed so much, and I've seen it for a long time,” Ferentz said. “If you have the right guys, it hasn't changed. That's what you enjoy about it.”
That mindset-focusing on the fundamentals, the locker room culture, and the love of the game-is part of what’s kept Iowa competitive through so many eras of change. Ferentz isn’t blind to the challenges players face in today’s environment, and he’s made it clear he wants to protect what makes college football special.
“We've created an environment-we, the adults-where it's really hard right now for players,” he said. “It’s hard for the people that are raising those players. If we're not careful, we're going to strip away what's really good about college football and what's great about competing.”
Before that daunting Big Ten stretch begins, Iowa opens the season with three straight home games: Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa. Those non-conference matchups will be crucial for building chemistry, testing out new pieces, and figuring out who this team really is before the schedule turns into a gauntlet.
The 2026 season is shaping up to be a defining chapter for the Hawkeyes. New faces, a challenging schedule, and a head coach who continues to evolve while staying true to his roots. There’s a lot to unpack-and a lot to look forward to.