Kirk Ferentz’s 28th season opens with three straight home non-conference games and then hands Iowa something the program hasn’t seen in 72 years: Michigan and Ohio State on back-to-back weekends. Seven games at Kinnick Stadium, a Friday night trip to Seattle, and a Black Friday finale against Nebraska round out a schedule with more locked kickoff times than most.
One correction worth noting: the Washington game moved to Friday, Oct 9. It was originally announced for Saturday, Oct 10, and several schedule sites still list the old date.
Games That Will Decide Iowa’s Season
| Sept 12 vs Iowa State | The Cy-Hawk Series under the lights on NBC — just the third primetime meeting in Iowa City, after 2002 and 2016. Iowa has won only one of the last four. |
| Sept 26 & Oct 3 | At Michigan, then Ohio State at home. It’s just the fourth time Iowa has played both in back-to-back weeks, and the first since 1954. The season likely turns here. |
| Oct 9 at Washington | A Friday night West Coast trip with an 8 p.m. Central kickoff — meaning a 6 p.m. local start and a very late flight home before a short week. |
| Nov 27 vs Nebraska | The Heroes Game on Black Friday at 11 a.m. on CBS, at Kinnick. For a bowl-bubble team, this is the one that sets the postseason destination. |
How the Schedule Sets Up
Three home non-conference games is a gentle open, though the Cy-Hawk game is never comfortable. Then the schedule delivers its verdict early: Michigan on the road, Ohio State at home, and a Friday night at Washington in a span of 14 days. Iowa could plausibly be 5-1 or 3-3 leaving that stretch. The bye on Oct 17 is well placed, and the back half is where a Ferentz team typically makes its money — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois are all winnable, and the Black Friday finale against Nebraska closes at home. Nine or ten wins is realistic if the Ohio State game breaks right; for the postseason picture, here’s how the College Football Playoff works under the 12-team format. The nine-game Big Ten slate reflects the NCAA FBS shift toward deeper conference scheduling.
The Bottom Line
Seven home games, the Cy-Hawk under the lights, Michigan and Ohio State back-to-back for the first time since 1954, and Nebraska on Black Friday morning — Iowa’s 2026 schedule front-loads the difficulty and gives Ferentz a navigable November. Bookmark this page; times, networks, and results are updated throughout the season.