Iowa’s path through the opening stretch of 2026 looks manageable on paper, and the second week brings the kind of game that can set the tone fast: the annual Cy-Hawk meeting at Kinnick Stadium against Iowa State.
The Hawkeyes begin with Northern Illinois at home, then stay put for the showdown with the Cyclones. Iowa State has won the last two meetings, with 2023 negated due to Iowa recruiting violations, and six of the last 10 have been decided by seven points or less. But this version of the matchup has a very different feel.
That’s partly because Iowa has its own unresolved issues. The biggest ones are obvious: who takes over at quarterback, and how the defensive line handles its lack of proven depth.
Those are real questions. Still, Iowa enters with more certainty in key spots, including running back, linebacker and along the offensive line.
Iowa State, meanwhile, is dealing with a complete reset. Jimmy Rogers arrives from Washington State after Matt Campbell left for Penn State, and the roster turnover has been massive.
Quarterback Rocco Becht is gone with Campbell, along with running back Carson Hansen, wide receivers Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell, and tight ends Ben Brahmer and Gabe Burkle. Wideout Xavier Townsend is now at Purdue, and running back Abu Sama III is at Wisconsin.
In all, Iowa State must replace 2,584 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns, 1,684 rushing yards from Sama and Hansen, and 2,017 receiving yards after its top six pass catchers moved on from Ames.
That kind of turnover matters in a game like this, especially against an Iowa defense that should only get sharper after a Week 1 tune-up. The Hawkeyes may be a little loose against Northern Illinois, but a week of film should help Phil Parker clean things up. That’s usually how it goes with a coordinator who consistently puts out a top-10 unit and has a case as the best defensive coordinator in America.
The challenge for Iowa will be containing Jaylen Raynor, who threw for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns at Arkansas State last season while adding 423 rushing yards and seven more scores. But Raynor also brings the kind of risk Iowa loves to hunt.
He threw 11 interceptions last year and has 28 over the last three seasons. If Iowa can force him into obvious passing downs, the Hawkeyes have a real chance to turn mistakes into points.
The game should be slow, and Iowa won’t mind that one bit. Kirk Ferentz is comfortable in a first half that feels like a grind, especially with what Iowa brings in the trenches. The Hawkeyes also know Iowa State is replacing all seven of its leading tacklers from last season, including four defensive backs and three linebackers.
That sets the table for the kind of Iowa game plan fans know well: lean on long drives, win field position, squeeze the life out of possessions, and let the defense keep snapping the rope on the other side. If the Hawkeyes stay away from turnovers, the kind that have burned them before, they have a strong shot to move to 2-0 with a low-scoring win by 10-14 points that feels even bigger than that.
In Other News...
Former Hawkeyes Made Their Mark Across The NFL Saturday
Saturday brought a strong reminder of how much Iowa football has spread across the NFL. Several former Hawkeyes turned in notable performances, with Tyler Goodson breaking loose for a 49-yard touchdown for the Atlanta Falcons, Drew Stevens handling kicking duties for the Washington Commanders, and Tory Taylor staying busy for the Chicago Bears with six punts that pinned down field position all afternoon.
Anthony Nelson also made his presence felt for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 1.5 sacks and four tackles, while TJ Hall added six tackles and a pass defended for the New Orleans Saints. For Iowa fans, it was the kind of snapshot that keeps showing up on pro weekends, with former Hawkeyes making plays in different ways and in different uniforms, even as their biggest next chapter remains to be written. [Read more 🡒]
Big Ten Just Changed A Roster Rule Iowa Fans Needed To Notice
The Big Ten is on the verge of making a roster tweak that could matter more than it first appears for Iowa and the rest of the league. Under the expected rule, players who declare for the NFL Draft and then either appear on an NFL roster or sign a pro contract would no longer be allowed to return and play college football for a Big Ten school.
For Iowa, the change is another reminder of how the league is drawing a harder line between college and pro football at a time when roster management is already complicated enough. The rule would only apply inside the Big Ten, so schools in the SEC, Big 12 and ACC would not be bound by it, but it could still shape how teams around Iowa evaluate players weighing a draft move against one last season in college. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Butt Thinks Iowa Could Be Better Than Fans Realize
A training camp visit from former Michigan tight end Jake Butt turned into an unexpectedly glowing scouting report on Iowa football. Butt came away impressed with how the program is run, pointing to its professional organization, player development, offensive line and defense as signs of a team built to compete in the Big Ten, even if the national chatter has not always treated it that way.
The one area Butt left open was the quarterback situation, which is the natural place for skepticism to linger before the season settles in. Still, his overall view was that Iowa looks well-prepared and has the kind of structure that can let it outperform preseason expectations, a familiar theme for a program that has often been more difficult to measure from the outside than the rankings suggest. [Read more 🡒]