Three Reasons Why Iowa is a Trap Game for the Oregon Ducks

With just four games left on the No. 6 Oregon Ducks regular season schedule, coach Dan Lanning and crew won't have a cake walk to wrap up the final stretch. In fact, one of arguably Oregon's toughest matchups directly follows their week ten bye: a road game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes, currently tied with Oregon and the USC Trojans as the No. 4 school in the Big Ten with a conference record of 4-1, is 6-2 overall, with losses to only No. 2 nationally ranked Indiana (the team handing Oregon it's only loss of the season so far) and their rival Iowa State on the road early in the season.

So, with Kinnick Stadium on the horizon, here's three reasons the Iowa Hawkeyes might be a trap game for the Ducks.

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) skips into the endzone for a touchdown against the Minnesota Golden Gophers Oct. 25, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kinnick Stadium is a Notoriously Tough Environment

When it comes to Big Ten road environments, few are as tough to play in as Iowa's Kinnick Stadium. Iowa is currently 4-1 for home games on the season. Since 2021, Iowa has gone 26-7 for games played at Kinnick. From 2008-2021, the Hawkeyes under current head coach Kirk Ferentz were 5-1 against AP ranked top-five opponents at home.

Prior to the beginning of the 2025 NCAA D1 regular season, USA Today's Paul Myerberg and Blake Toppmeyer ranked the top 25 college football stadiums. Kinnick was No. 24, and Autzen was No. 4.

"It's also home to the best new tradition in the sport: Since 2017, players and fans turn at the end of the first quarter and wave to the patients at Stead Family Children’s Hospital. “The Hawkeye Wave” is already an indelible part of the college football fabric," Toppmeyer and Myerberg wrote.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore throws a pass before the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Wisconsin Badgers on Oct. 25, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa Brings an Intense Defense

Throughout a dominant and still undefeated season, Iowa gave Indiana arguably their toughest game, holding the closest loss margin against the Hoosiers.

The Hawkeye defense held the Hoosiers, led by Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback Fernando Mendoza, under their seasonal average yards per game in passing and rushing, which means Iowa could pull a similar scheme with the pass-heavy Oregon offense. Iowa currently ranks No. 7 in the nation for opponents' yards per pass, limiting teams to an average of 5.7 yards a play.

Even at the end of the Hawkeyes matchup against the Hoosiers, Iowa forced Mendoza to take a safety to preserve the game for his team, showing Iowa found a way to hold one of the best teams in the country to making sacrificial decisions all the way to the final buzzer.

Currently, the Hawkeyes rank No. 2 in the nation for opponents' yards per play (3.9 average yards), No. 3 in opponents' yards per game (243.1 on average), and No. 5 in opponents' total points per game (14.0 average).

Junior defensive back Koen Entringer, sophomore defensive back Zach Lutmer, and senior linebacker Jaden Harrell (if he's healthy after sitting out the Minnesota game) are all names in the Iowa defense that might become a problem for the Ducks.

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Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Zach Ortwerth (48) runs for extra yards after a catch during a football game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers Oct. 25, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa's Offense Runs Differently

When football fans think of the Hawkeyes, defense first followed by a rushing offense is key. In fact, Iowa holds a record of 71 straight games without a quarterback passing for 300 or more yards, the longest streak of any Power Four Conference team. The Hawkeyes are 49-22 since this streak started.

In fact, starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes, Mark Gronowski, only has 946 yards passing on the season. However, Gronowski boasts the second highest season rushing yards on the team currently, with 313 off 76 carries.

For the Ducks' defense, which is currently No. 125 in the nation for opponents' rushing the ball (58.22 percent), the Hawkeyes' run first mentality and big body offensive line may become a problem to contain.

Look for running backs Kamari Moulton (435 yards off 82 carries on the season), Xavier Williams (249 yards off 38 carries), Jaziun Patterson (216 yards off 39 carries), and Nathan McNeil (134 yards off 29 carries), to become problems for Oregon's defensive line and linebackers.