Early takeaways from Iowa football’s 2026 schedule

IOWA CITY — Twenty-four hours since Iowa football learned its 2026 schedule, and the reality is sinking in — the countdown to watching Iowa on the gridiron again has begun.

The No. 17 Hawkeyes finished the 2025 season 9-4, including a win over Vanderbilt, who finished No. 15 in the AP poll. With that chapter closed, Iowa’s announced next season’s 22 incoming freshmen and 16 transfer portal additions, and spring practices will start in the coming months.

Though Iowa has to answer some positional questions to really understand its ceiling in 2026, there are some immediate takeaways from Tuesday’s schedule release.

Here’s a quick look at three key factors in head coach Kirk Ferentz’s 28th season leading Iowa:

Quarterbacks will learn quickly

Offensive coordinator Tim Lester and Ferentz have a big decision to make this spring — choosing a new starting quarterback.

Lester said during Iowa’s bowl game prep in Tampa that he’s been impressed with how Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown have handled increased workloads. He also said the two will truly battle it out for the starting spot this offseason, and it’s why the Hawkeyes didn’t seek a quarterback out in the portal.

Regardless of who it is, they’ll be thrust into some of the Big Ten’s heavyweights quickly. The new starter will be in Year 2 under Lester’s system, and have games against Northern Illinois, Iowa State and UNI to get acclimated, but as soon as conference play starts, things heat up quickly.

The Hawkeyes travel to Ann Arbor to visit the Big House, marking the seventh straight season Iowa begins Big Ten play on the road, before welcoming Ohio State for a home matchup and then heading to Seattle to face Washington. Only then, do the quarterbacks get a bye week.

Those three weeks in Big Ten action will showcase where the Hawkeyes truly stand offensively, particularly after taking a step forward last year.

Some new firsts in the Kirk Ferentz era

Twenty-eight seasons into a head coaching career makes it feel nearly impossible to have a first-time experience. Sure enough, that’ll be what happens at the start of conference play.

Along with it being a major test for the eventual QB1, 2026 will be the first time Iowa plays Michigan and Ohio State in back-to-back games since 1954 — making it just the fourth time in Hawkeye history.

In addition, the trip to Washington will be the first time the Hawkeyes and Huskies spar in Seattle since 1963, when Iowa won 17-7. Iowa and Washington have met seven times before, including the Huskies’ debut season in the Big Ten — when the Hawkeyes won 40-16 in Iowa City.

With the conference’ decision to play a 13-week schedule, it means some unique matchups were created. This is part of that uniqueness. Yes, it might mean this is one of — if not the toughest — three-game conference stretch Ferentz has to navigate.

And it being a first certainly adds to that element.

Welcome back to the Big Ten West

For those college football traditionalists out there, hopefully seeing the back half of Iowa’s schedule brought some nostalgia.

The Hawkeyes get the old West Division for the back half of the season, playing against all six former division programs following the bye week. That includes a trip to Northwestern, where Iowa will see the brand-new Ryan Stadium, and a border battle against Illinois, who the Hawkeyes haven’t seen since 2023.

It also makes a rivalry out of the second half of the season. All three conference trophy games are played after the bye week. Purdue and Northwestern hold some hostility toward the Hawkeyes as well.

It’s a bit of familiarity for Iowa, and it could bode well for the Hawkeyes in fighting for a potential CFP appearance.

But it’s January. There’s still more on-field questions to answer before worrying about securing a postseason bid.

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