Key B1G Win Stands in Iowa’s Way

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI | By Lane Mills | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 7:00 AM ET

For the better part of the last two weeks, the Iowa Hawkeyes have had their eyes set on the Oregon Ducks in the third-place-spot in the B1G — looking up from their own position in fourth — circling the upcoming duel as a chance to force their way into pedestal placement in the conference.

Watching From the Sidelines

Of course, all that would have to come after the team's current bye week. Since Iowa has been restricted to the sideline for an additional seven days, their tied-for-fourth place counterpart, the Michigan Wolverines, have shifted the conference's upper landscape in an unfavorable way for the black and gold.

Oregon, also on a bye, watched helplessly alongside the Hawkeyes as Michigan (now ranked 21st nationally) squeaked out a home win over the unranked Purdue Boilermakers, 21-16. Despite the questionable closeness of that matchup for a team that, according to the AP Poll, is better than Iowa, the technical win still moved the Wolverines beyond both the Hawkeyes and the Ducks into sole possession of the conference's bronze spot.

Much of that discrepancy has to do with the difference in games being played, given Michigan didn't have to take the week off, but the win regardless situates the Wolverines in higher standing than an Iowa team that needs a win more now than ever.

Win, or Fall Fast

At 6-2, 4-1 (compared to Michigan's 7-2, 5-1), the Hawkeyes have quickly recovered what was a meandering 3-2 start previously. Coming off perhaps the team's most dominant win of the season over their in-conference counterpart Minnesota Golden Gophers, 41-3, Iowa appears more suited than ever to make a run at higher competition in the B1G.

Yet now over the midseason hump and turning a corner into the final stretch, it's truly a win or drop situation for a Hawkeyes team looking to surpass last season's comparatively middling 8-5 finish. A win over Oregon next weekend puts Iowa in a prime position to finish in, or at least come close to, the conference's top three spots. A loss, on the other hand, guarantees a multi-spot drop and saps the program of all the momentum they'd garnered up to this point.

If Iowa has any benefit over the Wolverines, it's that only Michigan has to play top-ranked Ohio State before the season ends. If the Hawkeyes can beat the Ducks and take care of business from there on out, the black and gold would be in a prime position to make the sort of lasting conference impact that defines a good year.

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

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