The Hawkeyes and Panthers are gearing up for their first meeting in eight years this year, so let's take a look back at the 2018 matchup.
Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season!
Since May 28, we've been counting down the final 100 days until the Hawkeyes swarm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel for their season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.
Each day of the countdown has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number. If an athlete wears No. 26 and we're 26 days away from the season opener, then that's the player we're going to be taking a look at.
But if you can already tell, this story is going to be a lot different. Today marks 24 days until kickoff, but there's no current Iowa player to write about. When that problem arises, we usually shift to a historical piece that has major relevance to the 2026 season, and that's exactly what we have today.
The Hawkeyes will have their four traditional rivalry games - Iowa State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nebraska - on the schedule this year, but there's potentially one more you can add to that list - Northern Iowa.
The Panthers have never beaten the Hawkeyes (though they came very close in 2009), but a little in-state matchup isn't the worst thing for college football these days.
The upcoming meeting on Sept. 19 will be the first between the two programs since 2018, so let's flip the dial back eight years and take a look at what happened on Sept. 15, 2018.
The Rundown
Iowa entered this game riding an emotional high, having defeated archrival Iowa State in a 13-3 slugfest at home the week prior.
An emotional wave isn't always the best thing for a football team as they prepare to take on an always-tough FCS foe, but the Hawkeyes didn't let Northern Iowa have a chance in this primetime game at Kinnick.
Iowa was forced to punt on its opening possession, but its struggling offense woke up after that. The Hawkeyes' second drive of the game looked doomed when the Panthers pinned them back at their own eight, but quarterback Nate Stanley and Co. orchestrated a 10-play, 92-yard drive that ended with Stanley finding tight end Noah Fant for a five-yard touchdown.
A pair of Mekhi Sargent scores on the ground carried Iowa to a 21-0 lead at the break, and it might as well have over right there. Northern Iowa recorded just four first downs and two turnovers by the midway point of the third quarter, and the Hawkeyes continued to score.
Sargent and fellow running back Toren Young combined for 154 yards on the ground, and Young capped off the victory with a 15-yard touchdown run that saw him tightrope the final seven yards into the end zone.
The Panthers scored two cosmetic scores in the fourth quarter to make it a 38-14 final score. Stanley had one of the best passing days of his Hawkeye career, going 23-for-28 for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
Iowa began the 2018 campaign 6-1 and appeared poised to make a run at the Big Ten title, but three consecutive losses ended those hopes. The Hawkeyes still managed to salvage the season with dramatic wins over rival Nebraska and Mississippi State in the 2019 Outback Bowl to finish 9-4 and No. 25 in the final AP Poll.
You Can Win FREE Tickets To Iowa's Season Opener!
HawkeyeRoundtable is giving away TWO tickets to Iowa's season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5!
This is easily the biggest giveaway we've ever done on this site, and it's a great opportunity for two lucky fans to experience the joy of attending a Hawkeye football game at Kinnick Stadium.
Click here to automatically become a member to enter the contest! Additional contest details can be found in our community section, too!
HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
