Iowa’s Big Ten schedule gives the Hawkeyes plenty to chew on, and the first thing that jumps out is how quickly the league throws them into the deep end.
Ben McCollum’s team opens conference play on Dec. 1 at Purdue in West Lafayette, a tricky place for Iowa to get rolling. The Boilermakers are coming off a season in which they lost a lot of production, but they still bring back talent and add a strong recruiting class. Even with that turnover, Mackey Arena hasn’t been kind to the Hawkeyes lately.
The next stop is just as demanding in a different way. On Dec.
7, Iowa hosts Indiana at Carver. The Hoosiers attacked the portal and are expected to be a much better team this season, which makes that home matchup a real early test.
Then comes the Cy-Hawk game on Dec. 10, so the Hawkeyes get a rough little stretch right out of the gate.
That opening run will tell Iowa plenty, but February may be where the schedule really starts to reveal what this group is made of. On Feb.
16, Michigan State comes to town. Tom Izzo’s Spartans have been the standard in the Big Ten for 25 years, and there’s little reason to think that changes now.
For Iowa, that home game could become a signature chance.
Four days later, the Hawkeyes head to Ann Arbor to face Michigan, the defending national champion. The Wolverines will look different this season, but they’re still the defending champs and still dangerous at home. That back-to-back could end up being one of the most telling stretches on the calendar.
And then there’s the finish.
Iowa closes the regular season in Champaign against Illinois in an Elite Eight rematch, the lone meeting between the teams on the schedule. The setting should be loud, the stakes should feel heavy, and the matchup comes with no shortage of edge.
Illinois returns a loaded roster with national championship hopes, and the Illini will be eager for another win over their border rival. Iowa, of course, will be chasing revenge after its dream run ended against Illinois.
It has all the ingredients for a classic Big Ten showdown.
In Other News...
Iowa May Have Found A New Weapon In An Unlikely Place
Boston Everitt arrived in Iowa as something of a novelty, an Australian punter learning American football and college life at the same time, but the early returns suggest the Hawkeyes may have uncovered a useful piece. He earned the starting job and has settled in quickly, averaging 43.9 yards per punt in the opening games of the 2026 season while helping flip field position when Iowa needs it most.
What has stood out just as much as the leg is the adjustment behind it. Everitt has been getting steady support from teammates and coach Kirk Ferentz, who has praised his attitude and work ethic as he continues to adapt to life in Iowa. For a program that has long valued hidden edges, the possibility of finding one in an unlikely place is exactly the kind of development worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Making Another Early Push At A Recruit Fans Will Notice
Iowas recruiting momentum from the Cy-Hawk win carried right into the next day at Kinnick Stadium, where the Hawkeyes extended a scholarship offer to 2028 tight end Israel Johnigan during his game day visit. The Kansas City, Missouri, prospect is already drawing attention as one of the more highly regarded names in his class, and Iowa made sure he left campus with a clear sense of interest.
Johnigans junior season has helped fuel that early buzz, and the offer fits the way Iowa likes to get involved with tight ends before the market gets crowded. With multiple schools already in the mix, the Hawkeyes have put themselves in position early with a recruit fans will want to track, even if the real battle for him is only beginning. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa's Passing Game Has A New Problem After Tony Diaz's Breakout
Tony Diaz has given Iowas passing game a needed spark early in the 2026 season, but the bigger picture is still about how the Hawkeyes can keep defenses honest around him. The tight end group has long been one of the teams defining matchup pieces, and DJ Vonnahme has already started to show why, catching six passes for 67 yards in two games while offering another option in the middle of the field.
Vonnahme is likely to miss the upcoming game against Northern Iowa, which adds a new wrinkle to a passing attack that is still trying to find its most reliable secondary threat. For Iowa, the intrigue is less about replacing one player and more about which tight end steps forward next, because the offense could use that play-action balance to make Diaz even harder to contain. [Read more 🡒]