UPDATE, 8/5/20: See below for updated schedule and click here for a breakdown of said new schedule. Let’s see if we make it all the way through all 10 games.
The 2020 college football season is sure to be an interesting one. For the Iowa Hawkeyes, probably more so. Aside from the ongoing questions related to athletes on campus and at practices and the potential for limited or no fans in the stands for games this season, Iowa is also dealing with a shift in its culture after the revelations about player mistreatment and inappropriate conduct by members of the staff.
The Hawkeyes appear to be using the current situation as an opportunity to grow and come together. They’ll need to in order to be successful in 2020 after losing several key contributors from the 2019 team that went 10-3 to the NFL and graduation.
The schedule in 2020 is completely unforgiving for Iowa. The Hawkeyes get an early matchup with Iowa State in week two, then get an early turnaround for a Friday night game at Minnesota in week three. The middle of the schedule features a one-two punch of road trips to Ohio State and Penn State in a stretch where the Hawkeyes play three of four games on the road.
Other notables on the 2020 schedule include the lack of a Black Friday game. The matchup with Nebraska is two weeks earlier than normal and Iowa’s series with Wisconsin will be played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. The Hawkeyes have the pleasure of hitting the road five times in conference play this year, including the aforementioned trips to Columbus, Happy Valley and Minneapolis (on a Friday), as well as Champaign and West Lafayette. That leaves just four conference matchups at home.
See the full schedule below, including Iowa’s cancelled non-conference opponents.
Original schedule:
Saturday, September 5 - Northern Iowa CANCELLED
Saturday, September 12 - Iowa State CANCELLED
Friday, September 18 - @ Minnesota
Saturday, September 26 - Northern Illinois CANCELLED
Saturday, October 3 - Michigan State
Saturday, October 10 - @ Ohio State
Saturday, October 17 - @ Penn State
Saturday, October 24 - Northwestern
Saturday, November 7 - @ Illinois
Saturday, November 14 - Nebraska
Saturday, November 21 - @ Purdue
Saturday, November 28 - Wisconsin
10 Game Big Ten Only Schedule:
The B1G SZN | #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Eh7JcEZDnn
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) August 5, 2020
As we count down the weeks and days until kickoff in Kinnick Stadium, we’ll be previewing each of Iowa’s opponents in 2020. Updated links to each opponent preview can be found here as they come available.