Iowa Football: Game-by-game predictions for Hawkeyes in 2021

Games 9-12

Northwestern: Win

The Wildcats of Northwestern, similar to the Wisconsin Badgers, are no pushovers. But NW is a very hot and cold team, which leaves a strong chance of them worsening in 2021 after such a good season last year.

Iowa will be at home, after already having beaten Penn State and Wisconsin, the latter of which being on the road. The Hawkeyes falling to Northwestern at this point just seems a tad too difficult to believe.

Minnesota: Win

The Golden Gophers got everyone’s hopes up after ripping off a spectacular run in 2019. Unfortunately, after the letdown season that followed, it just feels like a one-season wonder in retrospect.

Minnesota will be on the road, and if Iowa plays as well at home as they have all season, this game should be over before it even begins.

Illinois: Win

The Fighting Illini have not been doing much fighting in recent memory. This will be the Hawkeyes’ final game of 2021 in Kinnick Stadium, and the domination in their win over Illinois will depict just that.

Nebraska: Win

In the beginning, we talked about trap games in the Big Ten. Well, this is one of them, assuming that Iowa isn’t careful.

The Cornhuskers are Iowa’s biggest rival in the conference, and they will be hosting the Hawkeyes in hopes of dismantling the monster season that they have constructed.

But Iowa football will have the better players, coaching, and momentum in a physical battle that will ultimately leave Nebraska wallowing in defeat and Huskers head coach Scott Frost packing his bags.

Iowa will finish their 2021 regular season with an unbeaten conference record of 9-0 to accompany an 11-1 record overall.

The Hawkeyes will head to the Big Ten title game, where they will fall to the Ohio State Buckeyes by a convincing margin. But despite such a sobering defeat, the Hawkeyes will still find themselves in an esteemed New Year’s Six bowl game versus a worthy adversary.