Northern Illinois comes into Week 1 with enough firepower to make Iowa sweat if the Hawkeyes lose focus for even a few snaps.
That’s the warning sign for a game that should look routine on paper. Iowa has usually handled Group of Five teams, but the Troy game in 2024 showed how quickly things can get uncomfortable. The Hawkeyes still won 38-21, yet they were trailing 14-10 at halftime and had to deal with Devonte Ross ripping off 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Northern Illinois has the kind of pieces that can create that same sort of tension, starting with quarterback Taron Dickens. The Western Carolina transfer put up absurd numbers last season: 3,508 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, only two interceptions, and a 74.2% completion rate.
Over his career, he has 51 touchdown passes and just five picks. The message there is simple - he’s accurate, he’s efficient, and he doesn’t hand out many freebies.
Against Iowa, that means the Hawkeyes have to make the most of every chance they get to force mistakes.
Dickens also showed just how overwhelming he can be in the right matchup, going 53-for-56 for 378 yards and three touchdowns against Woffed in a win last year. Whether that kind of production carries over to the FBS and into a Big Ten defense is the big question, but the track record says he’s more than capable of causing problems if Iowa lets him settle in.
The Huskies also bring back Telly Johnson Jr., and he gives them a different kind of threat. Johnson logged only 124 carries in 2025, but he turned them into 712 yards, good for 5.7 yards per attempt.
At 5-foot-11 and 209 pounds, he has the build to run through weak tackling, and if he finds space, he can take it the distance. That makes him an early-season test for Iowa’s linebackers, especially with Phil Parker surely wanting no part of a Week 1 burst play from the backfield.
DeAree Rogers is another name the Hawkeyes have to keep in view on every snap. He led Northern Illinois’ returning receiver production after finishing 2025 with 46 catches for 506 yards and three touchdowns.
At 5-foot-11, he’s not the biggest target, but he knows how to find space and make himself available. Much of his success came from the slot, which matters because Iowa’s secondary is dealing with some moving parts right now.
That shuffling could put Zach Lutmer in a different role than usual. Normally, he would handle CASH responsibilities and see plenty of Rogers, but with Tyler Brown questionable at best, Lutmer may have to slide back to safety. If that happens, Rogers could find himself matched up with another defensive back instead.
Cam Thompson is the final Huskies weapon to watch. The transfer portal returnee is back at Northern Illinois after spending 2023 and 2024 there before a brief stop at Mississippi State in 2025.
He brings 30 career catches for 401 yards and three touchdowns, all from before last season. Even without recent production, he still has the traits that once made him an SEC target, and Iowa will need to account for him as part of the full picture.
In Other News...
Former Hawkeyes Late NFL Move Changed Everything At Cutdown Day
The NFLs roster deadline always creates a sharp divide, and this year it left several former players still waiting for their next opportunity while others quickly found new footing on practice squads. For Iowa fans, though, the big twist came when Kaleb Johnson was moved from Pittsburgh to Green Bay before cutdown day, a late trade that put the former Hawkeye directly on the Packers active roster and changed his immediate path heading into the season.
Johnsons move was only part of a broader picture for Iowa alumni around the league, with several former Hawkeyes landing on 53-man rosters or practice squads for the 2025 season. It was another reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift at the deadline, where one transaction can reshape a players role in a matter of hours and leave the rest of the leagues former college standouts chasing their own opening. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hawkeyes Cut On NFL Roster Day Already Face A New Race
Even after NFL roster cutdown day trimmed every team to 53 players, Iowa still has a sizable footprint around the league. Nearly 40 former Hawkeyes remain on active rosters, a reminder of how often the program keeps sending familiar names into September football, even as the path gets tougher for some of the newest pros trying to stick.
Thirteen former Hawkeyes were waived in the latest wave, and nine of them already found their way onto practice squads, leaving four still unsigned as the next scramble begins. Geno Stone stands out among the group, too, with a strong chance to be on an opening day roster after landing with the Buffalo Bills practice squad, but for the rest of Iowa's cut players the real race now is finding the next opening before the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa High School Football Just Took Another Troubling Hit
Another Iowa high school football game has disappeared from the schedule, and this one will not be made up. Meskwaki Settlements varsity matchup with Gladbrook-Reinbeck, set for Sept. 4, was canceled because of low numbers and injury concerns on the Meskwaki side, leaving Gladbrook-Reinbeck to take a forfeit victory on the record.
For a state that has already watched several eight-player programs announce they will not compete in 2026, the latest cancellation is another reminder of how fragile some small-school football schedules have become. When one team cannot safely field enough players, it affects not just a single Friday night but the rhythm of a season, the opponents schedule and the broader picture of where the sport is headed in rural Iowa. [Read more 🡒]