Sep 27, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) throws a pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Iowa Lands New Bowl Prediction

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Connor Mardian | Last updated Oct 6, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2) (1-1) are fresh off a bye week and are now all eyes toward Wisconsin (2-3) (0-2). The Badgers are under former Ohio State and Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell spent one year as a Buckeye in 2011, where he saw a 6-7 season. After returning back to the collegiate football head coaching sphere with the Bearcats in 2017, Fickell oversaw one of the most impressive turnarounds of the 2010s.

Fickell amassed 57 wins from 2017 until 2022 with the Bearcats seeing Associated Press rankings as high as No. 2 in the nation, including a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021.

Since joining the Badgers, Fickell has gone just 15-16 and has seen just one winning season in 2023, when the Badgers went 7-6.

Even though Fickell’s record at Wisconsin may not represent the elite coaching ability that turned around the Bearcats, it is impossible to deny Fickell’s talent.

If you look past the Badgers, Iowa has recently been given new bowl projections from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach.

Last week, Iowa was projected for either the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl or the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The Pinstripe Bowl, which Schlabach nominated, still has the Hawkeyes taking on the Louisville Cardinals (4-1) (1-1) from the ACC.

However, Bonagura tips Iowa to land in the Rate Bowl against the Kansas Jayhawks (4-2) (2-1) from the Big 12.

What is the matchup history?

The Hawkeyes and the Jayhawks have met on a number of occasion’s but none as recent as 1960. Kansas holds the edge with a 6-4 record, with matchups dating all the way back to 1891, which resulted in an Iowa 18-14 win.

The Hawkeyes have never taken on the Cardinals, who are currently led by Jeff Brohm. Brohm was the former Purdue Boilermakers coach for six seasons until the 2023 season. Brohm went 4-2 against Iowa, including a shocking 24-7 Purdue win, when the Hawkeyes were sitting pretty as the No.2 team in the nation in 2021.

Obviously, it was just last week that Iowa was projected to face the LSU Tigers, so things are at best flimsy, and when you consider that some bowl tie-ins do still exist it there will be a number of moving parts as the season rolls on.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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