Last week I thought Iowa would be favored in five of their first six games. I predicted the Hawks over Indiana, Kent State, Colorado State, Maryland and Penn State. Iowa State is an early eight-point favorite.
This week I’ll talk about the final six games.
October 18 —
Purdue BoilermakersThis was a tough loss in the opening game last year as Iowa had a 17-14 lead at half, but lost 24-20 on a touchdown pass to David Bell with 2:15 left in the game. Bell, who had first committed to Iowa, caught 13 passes for 121 yards and three scores that day. Bell is back along with six other starters but Purdue has to find a new quarterback. The Boilermaker offense averaged 27 points and 390 yards per game last fall as Purdue played only six games and finished 2-4. The defense has six starters back and gave up an average of 29.8 points per game. Iowa should be favored by a couple of points.
October 23 — ByeOctober 30 — at Wisconsin BadgersThe Badgers finished 4-3 last year losing to Iowa 28-7 snapping a four-game losing streak. Spencer Petras had a good game going 14-25 with two touchdown passes to Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The Hawks led 21-7 late in the fourth quarter when they came up with two big plays.
Wisconsin was inside the Iowa 10 when Jack Campbell intercepted a pass in the end zone.
On the first play from scrimmage, Tyler Goodson broke up the middle to the house for an 80-yard score.
Game, set and match.
The Badgers return six starters on offense, including quarterback Graham Mertz, who passed for 1,238 yards and nine touchdowns. They averaged 25 points and 345 yards per game last season on offense. The Wisconsin defense has eight starters back including all four linebackers. The defense gave up an average of 17.4 points which was ninth best in the nation.
Wisconsin allowed only 299.8 yards total defense per game last fall which was fifth best in the country. Iowa trails the Badgers in the all-time series record 44-48-2 and Wisconsin has won seven of the last nine.
It’s tough to win in Mad Town (Madison) and the Badgers will probably be favored.
November 6 —
at Northwestern WildcatsThe Cats won their first five games last year finishing 7-2 losing to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship. They beat Auburn 35-19 in the Citrus Bowl. This was another heartbreaking loss for the Hawkeyes as Iowa jumped out to a 17-0 lead but lost 21-20. Spencer Petras threw three interceptions in the second half and the Hawks couldn’t stop the Wildcat running game. The Cats ran for 143 yards and controlled the clock 33:33 possession time to Iowa’s 26:27.
Northwestern has four starters back on offense and have to replace all four wide receivers. They averaged 24.7 points and 360 total yards per game last fall. The Wildcats have five starters back on defense and gave up an average of 15.9 points per game last season which was fifth best in the nation.
They are led by defensive end Samdup Miller, a three-year starter.
Back in 1974, when I was a football manager for the Hawkeyes, Iowa started a 20-game winning streak against the Wildcats. That was a great time, but Northwestern has built a solid program since then. Iowa leads the all-time series 51-28-3.
The Hawks should be favored but it could be a close game.
November 13 — Minnesota GophersThe Gophers finished 3-7 last year including a 35-7 loss to Iowa. The Hawks jumped out to a 35-0 lead as Minnesota scored with 14 seconds left in the game. Tyler Goodson ran for 142 yards scoring twice as Iowa racked up 235 yards on the ground.
Minnesota has nine starters returning on an offense that averaged 27 points and 391 total yards per game last fall. The defense has six starters back and they gave up an average of 30 points and 415 yards per game last year. Iowa has won the last six games and should be favored.
November 20 — Illinois Fighting IlliniIllinois finished 2-6 last year including a 35-21 loss to Iowa. Illinois jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Hawks exploded with 35 straight points. Two touchdowns and 92 yards rushing by Tyler Goodson led the way for the Hawks. Spencer Petras was 18-28 for 220 yards and three touchdown passes. Illinois has seven starters back on offense, including quarterback Brando Peters.
The offense averaged 20 points and 349 yards per game last fall. The Illinois defense has six starters back and gave up an average of 34.9 points per game. Iowa has won the last seven games in the series, but Bret Bielema has taken over as head coach. Bret had good luck against Iowa when he was coaching at Wisconsin.
Illinois will be better, but the Hawks should be favored by a couple of points.
November 26 —
at Nebraska CornhuskersThe Huskers finished 3-5 last year including a 26-20 loss to Iowa. The game went back and forth as the Hawks jumped early to a 10-0 lead. Nebraska led 20-13 late in the third quarter before Mekhi Sargent scored a TD to tie the game 20-20. Keith Duncan kicked two field goals for the Hawks sixth win of the season. Duncan kicked four field goals for the game as Iowa won its sixth straight against the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska returns six on offense including quarterback Adrian Martinez, who is a three-year starter. The Husker offense averaged 23 points and 391 total yards per game last fall. The defense has eight starters back including three linebackers. Nebraska gave up an average of 29 points and 386 total yards per game last season.
Six straight wins for the Hawkeyes, but Nebraska leads the all-time series 29-18-3. Iowa should be favored, but it could be another close game.
According to my preseason picks the Hawkeyes could finish anywhere from 10-2 to 8-4
Injuries and luck either way will factor in, but I’m looking for a good season for Iowa.

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Brian Ray

Iowa Hawkeyes running back Tyler Goodson (15) scores against the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday, November 21, 2020 at Beaver Stadium in State College, PA. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)