The turnaround in Iowa City this season has been remarkable. After starting the year 0-2 with frustrating losses to Purdue and Northwestern, the Iowa Hawkeyes have now won their last six contests to finish the Big Ten regular season at 6-2. That puts them second in the Big Ten West division behind Northwestern and likely into the top-15 when the College Football Playoff Committee releases their updated rankings this week.
Now Iowa is rewarded with an extra home game this weekend as they’re set to play host to the Michigan Wolverines on the Big Ten’s Championship Week. The Wolverines, for their part, enter the matchup at just 2-4 after not playing either of their last two games against Maryland and Ohio State. Michigan lost their last game to Penn State back on November 28th.
Here’s a rundown of Iowa’s senior day matchup with Michigan.
Date: Saturday, December 19th
Time: 6:00pm CT
Matchup: Michigan Wolverines (2-4) at #16 Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
TV: ESPN
Line: Iowa -14, O/U 53.5
Result: TBD
History
While Iowa and Michigan have been on different paths this year, the all-time series has certainly favored the Wolverines. Michigan holds the all-time advantage over Iowa 42-15-4. Michigan won the last matchup between these two teams, a frustrating 10-3 debacle a season ago in Ann Arbor.
But that win was the first for Michigan in the series since 2012. Iowa has won two of the last three meetings and five of the last seven dating back to 2009. Despite that, the Hawkeyes haven’t beaten Michigan since 2017 due to scheduling.
Each of the last three meeting between these teams has come down to one score. We’ll see if the Hawkeyes can change that this weekend and extend their streak to seven straight wins overall and six of the last eight over Michigan.