Initial Takeaways From Iowa's 2026 Schedule

Iowa's first three games are all at home, including the yearly Cy-Hawk battle. Iowa State has certainly had Iowa's number lately, but this year things should be much different. With Kinnick Stadium behind them, there's no reason to believe the Cyclones will beat the Hawkeyes.

Starting the year at home against Northern Illinois, Iowa State and Northern Iowa still won't prepare them for what's to come. Iowa's first road game is at the Big House in Michigan against the Wolverines. No one knows exactly how this new Michigan team will look, but at the end of the day they're still the Wolverines.

There's only one period this year where Iowa has back-to-back road games, but that should be taken with a grain of salt as there's a Bye week in-betwee. Iowa will play at Washington on October 10 and then be at Minnesota on the 24th. After that, they alternate being at home and on the road.

November Is As Easy As It Gets

On paper, Iowa couldn't have asked for an easier final four games. They'll be at Northwestern (7-6), host 2-10 Purdue, travel to 9-4 Illinois, and then host 7-6 Nebraska for their yearly season finale.

Playing at the Fighting Illini will be the toughest game of that stretch, but that's still a far cry from how tough it'll be playing teams like Michigan or OSU. Once Iowa gets past that two-game stretch though, it's up to them to determine just how far they'll go.

Quarterback play will likely define their season as it seems like Hecklinski is going to get the nod. As long as he gets settled in during their first three home games, this team should have nothing to worry about as they eye a 10-win regular season for the first time since 2023.