Iowa is 5-1, and now the Hawkeyes are headed into the part of the season that so often defines a Kirk Ferentz team: the stretch run. The early work is done. The second half is where this thing gets judged.
There’s no true breather left on the board, but Iowa’s path does look manageable compared with what some other teams are dealing with. The catch is simple enough - manageable does not mean easy. The Hawkeyes still have six Big Ten games in front of them, and if they want a College Football Playoff run, they’ll have to earn it the hard way.
A few of those matchups stand out right away. Iowa gets Wisconsin, Purdue, and Nebraska at home, while trips to Minnesota, Northwestern, and Illinois bring their own problems. Ranked from easiest to hardest, here’s how the remaining schedule shakes out.
Purdue sits at the friendly end of the list, even after what the Boilermakers did to Minnesota. They didn’t just beat the Golden Gophers - they dominated them and hung 41 on them.
Still, this one looks like a mismatch, especially with Kinnick Stadium in November working in Iowa’s favor. The Hawkeyes look better in all phases.
Illinois lands near the easier side too, though it looked like a much tougher game before the season. Bret Bielema had the Illini trending in a promising direction, so their step back has been one of the bigger surprises in the Big Ten. The road trip matters, and the weather could be brutal, but Iowa usually handles that kind of environment well.
Minnesota moves up a notch after what happened against Purdue. That result was a stunner.
This one is on the road, and both teams come in off a bye, so Iowa can’t afford to drift through it. If the Hawkeyes execute, they should leave with a win.
Wisconsin is starting to look like a different team than the one people have watched in the Luke Fickell era so far. The Badgers are 4-1, and the real read on them starts with a run of UCLA, UCLA, and Iowa.
By the time Halloween arrives and this game kicks off, we should know a lot more about Wisconsin. Right now, the Badgers look competitive.
Nebraska is Nebraska - dangerous enough to make life interesting, and maddening enough to find a way to blow it. The Cornhuskers nearly pushed Indiana over the edge before their fourth-quarter collapse, and they did hang around in a way that should get Iowa’s attention.
Kinnick helps, though, and that matters. Win-and-in for the College Football Playoff?
That’s the kind of dream scenario Hawkeyes fans can at least entertain.
Northwestern is the toughest of the bunch and maybe the most surprising Big Ten story out there. The Wildcats have been excellent on offense, with Chip Kelly reinventing modern formations of American football, and they’re always a team that can make a game messy.
Iowa has to go to the new Ryan Field for this one, so it’s not hard to see why this is the most dangerous test left. Get ready for a fight.
In Other News...
Iowas Playoff Push Is Starting To Reveal What This Team Really Has
Iowas 5-1 start has put the Hawkeyes squarely in the top 20 and kept them in the College Football Playoff conversation, but the bigger story is what that record is beginning to reveal. Through six games, this team has not leaned on the same type of star power every week so much as a different set of contributors rising to the moment, whether it has been Tony Diaz as a leading receiver, Cam Buffington making his presence felt on defense or Braeden Jackson helping drive the run game.
The picture gets even more interesting when the opponent and the stage change. Tim Lesters play-calling helped shape the road win at Michigan, while specialists Caden Buhr and Boston Everitt still found ways to matter even in the loss to Ohio State, which is the kind of detail that speaks to a team with more layers than a simple ranking suggests. With Iowa still in the hunt, the real question is not just where the Hawkeyes are headed, but which version of this team will show up when the path gets even tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Finally Looked Like The Team Hawkeyes Fans Have Wanted
For one afternoon, Iowa looked like the balanced team Hawkeyes fans have been waiting to see. The 41-24 win over Washington had everything working in sync, with the defense bringing constant heat, the offense moving with efficiency and the special teams quietly doing their part to keep control of the game.
Washington never found an answer for Iowas front, which piled up six sacks and held the Huskies to negative rushing yards. Kamari Moulton powered the ground game with a career-high 208 rushing yards, and Jeremy Hecklinski kept the passing attack efficient, giving the Hawkeyes a performance that felt less like a one-off and more like the kind of formula they have been trying to build around. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Just Reopened A Quarterback Debate Fans Werent Expecting
An injury to the starter pushed Jeremy Hecklinski into the lineup, and Iowa got a steadier-than-expected answer in a 41-24 win over Washington. The backup settled in well enough to earn Manning Award Star of the Week recognition, while the Hawkeyes leaned on a defense that squeezed Washington into negative rushing yards and a ground game sparked by Kamari Moultons 208 yards.
The result did more than just add another win to the ledger. It gave Iowa a fresh look at a position battle most fans thought was settled, and it came at a time when the program could use some clarity with conference play moving along. Even with the offense finding a rhythm behind a backup, the bigger question now is whether the performance changes how Iowa approaches the quarterback spot going forward. [Read more 🡒]