Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) hands off the ball to running back Jaziun Patterson (4) during the fourth quarter in the Cy-Hawk football at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa Looks to Extend Streak vs. MAC Opponents

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 11:30 AM ET

A pair of lengthy streaks will go up against each other at Kinnick Stadium. Saturday, September 13 marks Week 3 of the college football season. Iowa and UMass are set to do battle at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The Hawkeyes return home with a 1-1 record. Their Week 1 victory over Albany wasn't close, 34-7 in favor of the Hawkeyes. As for last week, Iowa wasn't able to get past No. 16 Iowa State. Their three-point loss marked the second season in a row they lost to the Cyclones. Last year, they fell, 20-19. While they've only lost by four-combined points in the last two seasons, these are still key losses that don't sit well with HC Kirk Ferentz.

Ferentz has been with Iowa since 1999. The 70-year-old head coach most recently won the Big Ten West in 2023 with his Hawkeyes finishing the 2024 season 8-4 (6-3). While Big 10 play has yet to begin, the legendary HC has a different streak that he'd love to keep alive.

Omar-Rashon Borja of the Mid-American Conference wrote, "The Hawkeyes have not lost to a MAC school since 2013, when a Jordan Lynch-led NIU Huskies squad scored 10-unanswered points with five minutes remaining to take a 30-27 win at Kinnick Stadium."

He added that Iowa had also lost to Central Michigan the year prior, 32-31, marking back-to-back MAC losses for the Hawkeyes. Since falling to the Huskies by three-points in 2013, Iowa hasn't looked back. They remain perfect against a conference that no Big 10 team has any right losing to in the first place.

As for the Minutemen, UMass has a streak of their own that they'll bring to Kinnick Stadium, "The Minutemen have not defeated an Autonomous/Power conference team or an automatic qualifying team since beating Boston College in 1981," Borja said.

Borja spoke highly about Iowa, but he knows that anything can happen in college football, "Sure, the conventional wisdom says the Minutemen stand no chance over the reliably consistent Iowa Hawkeyes, but Iowa has been the type of team to let an underdog hang around and stay in the game in the past due in the part to their style of play under long-time head coach Kirk Ferentz."

Both streaks will go head-to-head in a Saturday night showdown that could see UMass shock the world. Iowa is far from a perfect team, but on paper, they should have no issue getting past 0-2 UMass. Borja predicted a 27-11 Iowa victory, you can find On SI's score predictions here.

If UMass is able to get their biggest road victory in recent memory, it would snap their 44-year drought. Not only that, but it would snap a 10-year streak for Iowa that the Hawkeyes have no plans on dropping anytime soon.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!