Iowa and Northern Iowa haven't shared a field since 2018 — Saturday, September 19 they finally run it back, with the Hawkeyes holding a perfect 7-0 series edge and a very different set of problems to sort out first.
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UNIIOWA
UNIIOWA
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Best BetIowa
Iowa's the swing-your-arms favorite here, a Power Four roster with bowl-game rhythm hosting an FCS team replacing its quarterback and both leading tacklers. Northern Iowa's only realistic path is chaos — turnovers, special teams, a slow Hawkeye start — and none of that shows up as a repeatable plan. Lay the price and move on.
Northern Iowa
+Only Power Four game brings extra juice
+Retained Jaxon Dailey, started final 4 games
−Lost starting QB Schecklman, 1,398 yards, 9 TDs
−Lost both leading tacklers from 2025 defense
−Finished 3-9 with just 1 league win
Iowa
+9-4 in 2025, won ReliaQuest Bowl
+Ferentz now Big Ten's winningest coach
+Deeper, Power Four-caliber roster overall
−Starting QB job still undecided
−Nonconference finale, could rest or rotate players
Iowa's biggest question this fall isn't Northern Iowa — it's who lines up under center. Jeremy Hecklinski, a Wake Forest transfer whose mobility fits OC Tim Lester's scheme, and Hank Brown, the more experienced Auburn transfer, are still working out the competition, and this nonconference finale before Big Ten play doubles as a live look at whichever one wins the job.
Northern Iowa arrives without answers of its own. The Panthers lost starting QB Matthew Schecklman, who threw for 1,398 yards and 9 touchdowns a year ago, and they'll lean on Jaxon Dailey — who started UNI's final 4 games in 2025 — or Drake transfer Vincenzo Gianforte against a defense backed by a full Power Four roster. That gap alone tells you plenty about how this one shapes up.
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UNI Northern Iowa
IOWA Iowa
This is Iowa's only game against an in-state program this season, and it means something locally that goes beyond the scoreboard. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 7-0, but the two Eastern Iowa schools haven't met since 2018, and UNI coach Todd Stepsis has made clear how much he wants a game like this on the schedule every year.
Iowa enters off a 9-4 season that ended with a 34-27 win over No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, a result that made Ferentz the winningest coach in Big Ten history. That kind of foundation is exactly why a trip from Cedar Falls figures to be a tune-up more than a test.
Northern Iowa Panthers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Sep 12?vs Iowa State—
Sep 5?vs Northern Illinois—
Recent form.
UNI, on the other hand, is trying to climb back into FCS Playoff contention for the first time since 2021 under second-year coach Stepsis, but the roster took real hits this offseason — Schecklman is gone, and so are leading tacklers Ryan Crandall and Tucker Langenberg, who each topped 110 stops in 2025. A 3-9 finish last fall didn't leave much margin to lose that much production.
Northern Iowa Panthers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Iowa Hawkeyes
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
There's also a heavier layer to this one. UNI tight end and Iowa City High grad Parker Sutherland died in February after collapsing during winter workouts, and Stepsis has talked about carrying his memory into this season. Whatever happens on the scoreboard September 19, that part of the story isn't going away.
