In most college football dictionaries, the words “Iowa” and “problematic” are synonymous, as despite being far from contenders, the Hawkeyes are notorious for their tendency to be one of the trickiest squads in all the land.
Such an aura has engulfed them over the course of several years now, and when looking back at the campaign they just concluded, I’d have to say they've proven that it isn’t leaving them anytime soon.
The slate involved six games against teams that finished with eight wins or more, and I’d be lying if I said those meetings didn’t expose Iowa’s lower-hanging ceiling, as the Hawkeyes went 2-4 in them. However, there’s much more to that tally than meets the eye, starting with the fact that half of those guys hit well above that eight-win mark.
The three I’m referring to are Indiana, Oregon and Vanderbilt. If we were discussing virtually any other season in CFB history, those guys wouldn’t tip the scale much, but this time around saw the Hoosiers go undefeated en route to a national title, the Ducks make the semifinals and lose to no one but the Hoosiers, and the Commodores win 10 games under the command of Heisman Finalist Diego Pavia.
How did the Hawkeyes perform against these giants? They lost to IU by five, Oregon by two, and actually managed to beat Vandy. As for the less-memorable half of the gauntlet, they lost to rival Iowa State by three on the road, crushed Minnesota 41-3, and lost at a ranked USC by five. So again, not great, yet it makes the statement that Iowa still has what it takes to give a variety of teams a scare, even if they're literally "perfect."
But if Iowa’s already known to do this, and there’s no concrete signs of some major breakthrough for the 2026 Hawkeyes being in store, then why are we talking about this? Well, that falls on who all they face, as their schedule includes its own heaping spoonful of troublesome opponents, including not only familiar faces like ISU and Minnesota, but also Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan, and Washington.
To the average football viewer, those may sound like nothing more than games worthy of a watch, but to anyone who just witnessed the true extent of Iowa’s threatening presence, they’re promising opportunities for the Hawkeyes to tarnish a quality season.
In other words, if you’re a fan of one of the names I listed, and they haven’t yet learned to never overlook Iowa, then you might want to get an early start on bracing for heartache.