Ferentz won't name a starting QB for opener
Kirk Ferentz still won't pick between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski before Iowa hosts Northern Illinois, going with what he calls a pitch count as the Hawkeyes open the season at Kinnick Stadium.
Ferentz still won't name a starter, calls it a 'pitch count'
Kirk Ferentz said this offseason the quarterback competition could carry into the season, and it has: with Iowa's opener against Northern Illinois arriving today, he still hasn't picked between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. Asked how he'd handle it, Ferentz described something close to a pitch count: "If you have a three-and-out, try to give a guy an opportunity to get his feet on the ground and play a little bit," he said, according to Hawk Fanatic. He added that the "batting order" would get sorted at Friday's practice, which is about as much certainty as Hawkeye fans are getting before kickoff.
Both quarterbacks will play at Kinnick this afternoon. Brown and Hecklinski are still listed with an OR on the depth chart, with no separation between them since spring practice, per On3's Pete Nakos. Hecklinski arrived at Iowa after throwing three total snaps as a freshman at Wake Forest in 2024; Brown started twice at Auburn in 2023 and 2024 before transferring in last year. Whoever wins the job is replacing Mark Gronowski, who quarterbacked Iowa to 9 wins last season, according to ESPN — a bar both newcomers are auditioning against in real time.
The one certainty at Kinnick this afternoon is who both quarterbacks will be throwing to. Texas-Rio Grande Valley transfer Tony Diaz has been described to On3 as a "freak show" who "does something absolutely ridiculous every practice," and Iowa believes the transfer is an instant-impact player regardless of who's under center. CBS Sports' Mike Renner has gone further, calling Diaz the best FCS wide receiver since Travis Hunter, according to Dear Old Gold — one more reason today is worth watching beyond just finding out who's taking snaps.
Last time out, Iowa finished last season with a bowl win in Nashville
The last time Iowa actually played a game, it beat Vanderbilt 34-27 on New Year's Eve to close out last season. That capped a finish that saw the Hawkeyes beat Michigan State 20-17, run past Nebraska 40-16, and then hold off the Commodores in the bowl game — a group of results that came after November losses to Oregon (16-18) and USC (21-26).
None of that carries over to 2026, record-wise — Iowa opens this season at 0-0 like everyone else — but it's the shape of team Ferentz is bringing back: capable of grinding out close ones, and finishing the year playing its best football. That's the version of the Hawkeyes a fan should picture walking into Kinnick on September 5, whichever quarterback is holding the ball.
Northern Illinois brings a top-25 pedigree at quarterback and not much else
Northern Illinois hasn't opened a season against an AP Top 25 opponent since 2006, and it's doing it on the road with a first-year starter at quarterback. Taron Dickens, a transfer from Western Carolina, threw for 3,508 yards, 38 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions on 74.2 percent passing last season and is expected to win the Huskies' job outright, according to Yahoo Sports. He'll have Telly Johnson Jr., who ran for 712 yards at 5.7 yards a carry, and leading receiver DeAree Rogers, who caught 46 passes for 506 yards, both back alongside him.
The rest of the roster is where it thins out fast. Northern Illinois returns almost nothing on defense, with lineman Jay'Shon Thomas — 21 tackles and 2 sacks a year ago — described as the unit's headliner, per that same preview. It's still a program capable of an upset; the Huskies beat a top-five Notre Dame team on the road in 2024, and interim head coach Rob Harley is ushering the program from the MAC into the Mountain West this season, which gives Saturday's opener some stakes even at a lopsided number.
Iowa opened as a 31.5-point favorite at home
Iowa kicks off this afternoon vs. Northern Illinois at Kinnick, and the market isn't treating it as a coin flip: the line opened at Iowa -31.5, with the total set at 45.5 — a number that reads low-scoring for a spread this size, a hint the board expects Iowa's defense to keep a lid on things as much as its offense to pile up points.
It's a strange way to christen a season that's opening with an unresolved quarterback competition, but that's the gap between a AP Top 25 program and a Huskies team replacing almost its entire defense. Whichever of Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski gets the first at-bat, Saturday is built to be a low-stakes way to find out.