Iowa's Bowl Predictions Remain the Same Despite Loss

After beating Rutgers (3-2) (0-2) 38-28, the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2) (1-1) were beginning to find their footing on a tricky Big Ten tightrope that awaited them.

For the first time in what felt like eons, Kirk Ferentz’s team showed a real ability to consistently put up points, and commentators and analysts across the nation had begun to look at Iowa with a better outlook.

Iowa was then touted either in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl or the ReliaQuest Bowl by ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach. Schlabach had projected for the Hawkeyes to take on the No.15 Tennessee Volunteers in the ReliaQuest Bowl, while Bonagura had tipped Ferentz’s team to land in the Pinstripe Bowl against the Duke Blue Devils.

Fast forward one week later, and the feeling around Kinnick Stadium has slightly shifted after a gut-wrenching 20-15 loss to the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers. Yet the feeling from outside the program has remained largely positive, with Schlabach tipping the Hawkeyes to face No.13 (4-1) (1-1) LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl, while Bonagura keeps the Hawkeyes in the Pinstripe Bowl against the (4-0) (1-0) Louisville Cardinals.

New potential Iowa bowl opponents enter the fray — Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz talks to player during the first quarter against Iowa State in the Cy-Hawk Series at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What is the matchup history?

Iowa has squared off against the Tigers twice in their history. The first being in 2005 in the Capital One Bowl when Iowa outlasted LSU in a 30-25 Hawkeyes’ win. The next time the two squared off was nine years later in the Outback Bowl. LSU narrowly pushed past Iowa with a 21-14 win.

This season, under fourth-year head coach Brian Kelly, LSU is off to a 4-1 start with its only hiccup coming last weekend against fellow SEC school Ole Miss.

The Hawkeyes have never taken on the Cardinals, who are currently led by Jeff Brohm. Brohm was the former Purdue Boilermakers coach for six seasons until the 2023 season. Brohm went 4-2 against Iowa, including a shocking 24-7 Purdue win, when the Hawkeyes were sitting pretty as the No.2 team in the nation in 2021.

As the last two weeks have seen massive shakeups in who Iowa is projected to face, this is not set in stone by any means.

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