Iowa Could Get Boost with Well-Timed Bye Week

Coming into the 2025 season, while the Iowa Hawkeyes might not have been expected to win one of the toughest conferences in football in the B1G. They were, at least, anticipated to compete with the upper echelon of the league. Given multiple key roster additions and a semi-favorable schedule, at least in the latter half of the year, it felt like head coach Kirk Ferentz and his group were ready to break the program's recent trend of general mediocrity.

Yet now, sitting just above .500 at 3-2 (1-1 in B1G play) with two headlining injuries to those aforementioned key roster additions - namely, TE Addison Ostrenga and QB Mark Gronowski - the Hawkeyes are gearing up to face two top 10 teams in their next four games.

While those bouts, against seventh-ranked Penn State and second-ranked Oregon, respectively, will be at home, the other two games laced in-between them are both on the road. Basically, it's a four-headed gauntlet coming up for Iowa. Tackling such a schedule coming off a conference loss is perhaps the worst possible timing.

But, at the same time, the bye week couldn't possibly be timed better, either. Not only will the extra seven days off give Gronowski time to recover from his injury - which, according to offensive coordinator and QBs coach Tim Lester, is still "cloudy" - but the team will benefit from ample time to prepare for what is, by all definitions, a must-win on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers in week 7.

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Badgers (2-2, 0-1) have struggled mightily against high-level competition so far this season. After opening on two straight wins against weaker non-conference opponents, Wisconsin has dropped both their last two games, each by double-digit margins.

The former of which, against Alabama, was a 38-14 rout. While Iowa isn't exactly elite competition, they certainly err closer to Alabama than Miami OH, who Wisconsin shut out in their season-opener this year.

While Iowa can't necessarily be expected to topple top 15 teams, as close as they came with the Indiana Hoosiers, winning the B1G games on either side of matchups like those will ultimately determine their season's ultimate value.

Currently ranked ninth in the conference, there isn't much room for trophy-bound hopes for the Hawkeyes at this point. Even so, after finishing 8-5 (6-3) last campaign, Iowa may be able to match those efforts and produce a bowl win.

Given the injuries and subsequently shattered expectations, perhaps fans, as much as they hate to do so, may have to settle for a "good enough" tally once again.

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