Trap Game? Could Indiana Be in Trouble Saturday at Iowa

Indiana had as impressive of showing as any team has had as it dismantled Illinois, but not a tough test awaits in a trip to Iowa

Sep 20, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti watches his team prior to the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Indiana's 63-10 win over Illinois this past Saturday was perhaps the most impressive win by any team in college football this year. The Hoosiers didn't just beat the formerly ninth-ranked Fighting Illini, they broke an entire sideline's spirit by the whooping they put on them Saturday night.

Time will tell if Illinois can regroup as a tough test awaits them against USC this weekend, but things don't get any easier for Indiana, either. Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers now have to hit the road for the first time this fall as a trip to Iowa (3-1) awaits.

Curt Cignetti Needs to Guard Hoosiers from Saban's Rat Poison

Legendary head coach Nick Saban used to warn his team about what he called "rat poison" following a big win. That's when significant praise would come from the media or the fan base, and the threat of it going to the players' heads was real, helping to cause a letdown soon after.

Curt Cignetti is once again the darling of the college football world after Indiana secured its biggest home win in generations. Now he has to get the Hoosiers to play at a high level again against an Iowa team that almost certainly won't make life easy.

Iowa's Defense Remains (Mostly) Elite

Sep 19, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Jaxon Rexroth (12) celebrates with teammates after intercepting a pass during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The letdown after a huge win, along with Saban's rat poison, are logical reasons to be concerned with Indiana's trip west, but the fact they're playing a very good football team is another.

Iowa enters Saturday's game with a 3-1 record with the only loss being in the final seconds at unbeaten Iowa State. The Hawkeyes are allowing just 14.5 points per game this season and are holding opposing offenses to just 233.5 yards per game through the first four.

The good news regarding those numbers is what Rutgers was able to do last Friday night against the Hawkeyes. Despite the loss, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completed 24 of 40 pass attempts (60%) for 330 yards, good for 8.3 yards per pass attempt.

If he was able to do this, what is Fernando Mendoza going to be able to do against the Hawkeyes?

First Road Game Concerns for Indiana?

With Indiana football, the hiring of Curt Cignetti almost instantly washed away decades of filth that plagued the Hoosiers.

Before Cignetti's arrival at Indiana, the Hoosiers won just one of their previous five first true road games of a season by beating Rutgers 37-21 in the Covid year of 2020.

That list includes:

2023: 44-17 loss at Maryland
2022: 45-24 loss at Cincinnati
2021: 34-6 loss at Iowa
2020: 37-21 win at Rutgers
2019: 40-31 loss at Michigan State

The good news?

We know now that UCLA and former head coach DeShaun Foster were a disaster from the start, but Cignetti's first road trip as Indiana's head coach went swimmingly as the Hoosiers rocked the Bruins in Rose Bowl Stadium last year, 42-13, in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated.

Iowa's Home Field Advantage - Does it Matter?

Fans do the wave after the first quarter during the Iowa Hawkeyes football game against the Albany Great Danes Aug. 30, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A quick look at Iowa's recent records on their home field says that Kinnick Stadium is an incredibly difficult place to go play. The Hawkeyes are 13-2 at home over the last two years and have won six or more games there in three of the last four seasons.

However, Iowa hasn't beaten a ranked team at home since knocking off No. 4 Penn State in early-October of 2021.

Nick Shepkowski's Game Prediction:

Like it or not, first road games of the year present challenges of their own. This one is coming against an Iowa team that is probably being overlooked by much of the nation because of that early loss to Iowa State.

I expect Indiana to have trouble starting this game, unlike last Saturday against Illinois. However, think of how the Hoosiers played last November at Michigan State. I don't think they'll run off 47 straight points and win by five touchdowns, but I do expect Mendoza and company to overcome some early struggles and cruise to 5-0.

Score Prediction: Indiana 31, Iowa 17