Big Ten Football: Wisconsin favored over Iowa, other league lines

Iowa-Nebraska is a newer rivalry, but it's made up for lost time pretty quickly. There isn't much love lost between the neighboring-state fan bases. It's a Black Friday game that's already become an annual tradition the Big Ten went out of its way to protect moving forward in the new-look, 18-team league. Iowa enters the final game of its regular…

The Iowa Hawkeyes got back into the win column a week ago when they emerged victorious over the Northwestern Wildcats 10-7. It was a game that never really felt like Iowa would lose until the final minutes. The Hawkeye defense was up to its typical boa constrictor business while the offense squandered opportunity after opportunity and tripped all…

Iowa and Northwestern meet Saturday for the final time as Big Ten West foes before the conference scraps divisions in 2024. What is expected to be a low-scoring affair -- the over/under sits at just 31 total points -- will be played in a rather unique setting as the Hawkeyes and Wildcats invade Wrigley Field, the longtime home of Major League…

The Chicago Cubs had 24 games with at least 10 runs scored during the 2023 MLB regular season, the franchise's most such games since 1935. The Cubs play their home games at historic Wrigley Field, and the park will host a Big Ten football matchup Saturday between Iowa and "home team" Northwestern. It's quite possible neither offensively challenged…

The inevitable has happened. Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is done, or at least he will be at the end of the season, as the school announced Monday that Ferentz won't return next year but will remain with the program through the Bowl Season. It's the only logical conclusion that could be reached as the Iowa offense has once again proven…

Or it will be, after the end of the current college football season. Brian Ferentz, the embattled offensive coordinator for the Iowa Hawkeyes' football program, will no longer serve in that capacity after the end of the season, the university announced Monday afternoon. In a statement to media, interim activities director Beth Goetz said the…

I'll have college football season previews for all Big Ten teams and Notre Dame as we lead up to the 2023 campaign. Today's teams have some potentially fascinating seasons ahead of them. Iowa has been seemingly stuck in the past for a while, but even their "down" years still get them to 7 wins. On the other hand, Wisconsin picked up one of the…

You know what that means, Iowa football fans. This is the day commemorating the targets set for Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz by the athletics director who no longer works at the school, Gary Barta. The Designated Performance Objectives for the 2023 season include an average of at least 25 points per game and a minimum of seven wins,…

The magic number for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz to keep his job may seem like a pathetic benchmark, but that would be a full 95 points more than Iowa managed to score last year. In the 2022 season Kirk Ferentz found a fan base that had stuck with him for decades suddenly questioning his judgement and accusing him of nepotism as he stuck by…

MINNEAPOLIS - Kirk Ferentz will be the first person to say he does not "know anything about gambling" and is "not advocating" for it. But the 24th-year Iowa head coach gave a little retrospective gambling wisdom after his team won its fourth straight Big Ten game following a three-game losing streak. "I'd guess if you put 10 bucks on us four weeks…

It's gameday for the Wisconsin Badgers football team. Coming off a Big Ten win against Maryland a week ago, the Badgers head to Iowa City for a Week 11 matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game represents a significant opportunity for Wisconsin to clinch bowl eligibility and keep their slim chances for a Big Ten Championship berth alive. As we do…

The Iowa Hawkeyes are officially headed in the right direction. Or at least they have been the last two weeks. After three straight losses in the month of October, Hawkeye fans found themselves wondering where this season was headed. But fast forward two weeks and Iowa is right back into the thick of things thanks to a pair of wins over…

Week 10 saw some surprises as No. 2 Ohio State struggled to get off the ground in a rainy road game at Northwestern, ultimately sputtering its way to a 21-7 win, and Michigan State showed signs of life in an upset of then-No. 14 Illinois. That result dropped Illinois to 21 in the latest CFP rankings and loosened the Fighting Illini's hold on the…

LINCOLN - Iowa and Wisconsin are doing Iowa and Wisconsin things in November. Of course they are. You knew the more-bizarre-than-usual offensive struggles of Iowa would dissipate a bit once Michigan and Ohio State took their turns at the Hawkeye buffet. And whatever internal strife formed between new Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh and…

Iowa welcomes in the Wisconsin Badgers with the two teams sporting identical marks overall and in Big Ten play. There's plenty of Big Ten West implications potentially at stake. The Hawkeyes enter off a performance that has inspired hope within the Iowa fan base. Kaleb Johnson just picked up weekly Big Ten honors, tight end Sam LaPorta is earning…

The Wisconsin Badgers and Iowa Hawkeyes renew their rivalry this weekend in the 96th meeting between the two schools. Last time these two teams met Wisconsin put together a dominating defensive performance en route to a 27-7 victory at Camp Randall. This week the Heartland Trophy Game travels to Iowa City where both teams are looking to keep their…

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Kaleb Johnson has a mix of a warm personality coupled with a 19-year-old's perspective and the correct level of short sentences when he speaks in public. Iowa's true freshman running back cracked the 200-yard barrier in the Hawkeyes' 24-3 win at Purdue on Saturday. When he walked into an interview tent outside his locker room,…

Iowa (4-4, 2-3) travels to West Lafayette to take on Purdue (5-3, 3-2). Let's take a look at how these teams stack up: Purdue Coming off a tough loss at Wisconsin, Purdue reached the much-needed bye week. Several Purdue players are fighting knicks or injuries and a week of rest might be the recipe for a charge into the final month of the regular…

IOWA CITY, Iowa - America loves an underdog, except when it comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Whether it was Colin Cowherd's weekly "Fake I.D." diss track in 2015 or the overwhelming blasts today, Iowa tends to receive the brunt of criticism that evades many programs. Cinderella stories turn the NCAA Tournament into March Madness. If Iowa were a fairy…

Considering Kirk Ferentz went 0-for-4 against Iowa State in his first four years as Iowa's head coach, reaching career victory No. 200 against these very Cyclones would feel fitting. Because Ferentz's coaching career has been defined by a patient approach, sustained success and remarkable perseverance. Ferentz enters Saturday's 2:30 p.m. matchup at…

IOWA CITY - They couldn't find a ball. After all of this - a sports wagering investigation, devastating injury after devastating injury, an offensive coordinator told he won't be coming back next season, a comeback win on Senior Day to clinch the Big Ten West title - the Hawkeyes couldn't find a game ball to give head coach Kirk Ferentz. "First of…

IOWA CITY - Every position group on Iowa's football team has talking points and/or goals for the upcoming game. The defensive line unit had three leading up to the Wisconsin game, and sophomore Deontae Craig shared the last one with reporters after the game: "Slumpbuster." Iowa had been in a near decade-long slump against its opponent on Saturday.…

IOWA CITY - At Big Ten Media Days in late July, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz talked about football. But he also talked about other things. News stirred leading up to the event at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Iowa defensive lineman Noah Shannon was originally supposed to attend Big Ten Media Days but ultimately backed out due to his involvement in…

For 25 years as Iowa's head coach, Kirk Ferentz has been a master at finding motivation for his team in almost any situation. Get blown out on the road and come home to face a No. 2-ranked team? Hello, 14-13 upset of 2016 Michigan. Get off to an 0-2 start with program turmoil and about to face a team that just beat Michigan? Hello, 49-7 onslaught…