Iowa Football: The Hawkeye Home Game That Could Decide the Big Ten

You can't escape the Iowa Hawkeyes.

You can run, sure, but you can't hide. Like a sort of corn-fed, field-position-loving, defense-playing grim reaper, Iowa forces the issue time and time again.

The 2026 Big Ten race could fall victim to that. Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, and maybe even Michigan are the players in the conference race. Unless, of course, Iowa juts itself into the mix with a little Kinnick Stadium magic.

Is Ohio State at Iowa going to decide the Big Ten?

Could a Week 5 game have that much riding on it?

Well, maybe. Josh Pate looked into the six most underrated games of the 2026 college football season, which, of course, features Ohio State at Iowa.

Not only is it underrated for the Buckeyes trying to win inside Kinnick Stadium, which has been a house of horrors for ranked teams during Kirk Ferentz's tenure, but also for the impact it could have on the Big Ten.

"I'm really circling Ohio State at Iowa in Week 5. How big is the Iowa game? It's not as big as Texas; it's not the Indiana game; it's not going to USC; it's not Oregon. It's not the Michigan game.

"This is a Super Bowl moment for Iowa. They play Michigan, they play Ohio State, they play Washington back-to-back-to-back. If they win one of those three, and take care of business the rest of the way, they can be a 10-2 team.

"Now, if they can win two, Iowa is firmly in the mix," Pate said about Iowa's schedule.

Iowa has to handle business early

This is all fine and dandy to think about, but it requires Iowa getting to this matchup rather unscathed.

Iowa starts with three home games, all of which should be winnable, against Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa. Get through those at 3-0, and it sets up a massive Big Ten opener on the road against Michigan.

On paper, it's Michigan at home versus Iowa. The whole country will be on Michigan. Let's not forget Michigan is ushering in a new head coach, Kyle Whittingham, and could very easily be lured into playing a classic ugly Iowa-type game.

Beat Michigan and all of a sudden the Iowa Hawkeyes might have themselves a game against Ohio State that could give an inside track to the Big Ten but also serve as a potential ticket-punching opportunity to make their first trip to the College Football Playoff.

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