The Hawkeyes will take on rival Wisconsin on Halloween this year, so let's take a look back at the last three times Iowa has played on this spooky holiday.
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 squad based on jersey numbers. If someone wears No. 63, then we're going to take a look at that said player.
The key word here is primarily. Iowa doesn't issue a jersey number for every player in the countdown, so when that happens, we're going to go the historical route and find an angle that directly relates back to the 2026 season.
Today's piece is going to be a spooky one - literally. The Hawkeyes will play on Halloween this season against rival Wisconsin, marking the first time Iowa has played on All Hallows' Eve since 2015.
In honor of Halloween football returning to Kinnick Stadium this year, let's take a look back at the last three times the Hawkeyes have played on this spooky celebration.
2020 vs. Northwestern
The most recent matchup on this list also happens to be the lone loss of the bunch. The COVID-19-shortened 2020 season will always go down as one of the most bizarre seasons in college football history, and Iowa wasn't an exception to that.
The Hawkeyes opened the Big Ten-only schedule with a loss at Purdue, but came back to Kinnick Stadium with the hopes of evening their record. Things looked good early on, as Iowa raced out to a 1`7-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
But that's when things unraveled. In a game that would ultimately foreshadow his career as Iowa's starting quarterback Spencer Petras completed just 26 of his 50 passing attempts and threw three fourth quarter interceptions. This allowed Northwestern to rally back and secure a 21-20 upset victory and drop the Hawkeyes to 0-2.
Iowa would recover to finish the season 6-2, but the loss kept the Hawkeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game.
2015 vs. Maryland
There's a lot of Hawkeye fans out there that can probably recite the entire 2015 season by memory. Iowa was well on its way to a special season by Halloween 2015 and was heavily favored against a bad 2-5 Maryland team.
The Hawkeyes didn't have their best offensive performance, but they didn't need to. C.J. Beathard threw for 183 yards with no turnovers, while the running back trio of Akrum Wadley, LeShun Daniels, and Derrick Mitchell Jr. each tallied one touchdown.
The game's highlight came on the defensive side of the ball, though. With Iowa already holding a commanding 24-7 lead in the fourth quarter, All-American cornerback stepped in front of a screen pass and took it 88 yards for the dagger touchdown.
King recorded eight interceptions that season, and the Hawkeyes finished 12-2 (a perfect 12-0 regular season) and reached the Rose Bowl for the first time in 25 years.
2009 vs. Indiana
Whenever someone brings up Iowa football on Halloween, there's a pretty good chance this game will come up. Just like they did in 2015, the Hawkeyes entered this 2009 contest undefeated.
The similarities end there, however. While the 2015 Hawkeyes had little trouble beating Maryland, that wasn't the case in 2009. This Iowa team was known for barely winning games against mediocre competition, but its incredible luck seemed destined to run out when 4-4 Indiana built a 24-7 first half lead.
The Hoosiers were driving for another touchdown late in the second, but a ridiculous pick-six by the late Tyler Sash helped shift the tide and carry the Hawks to a 42-24 comeback victory.
Iowa would go on to finish 11-2 and capture an Orange Bowl title that season, but this game is also famous for another reason - it was the birthplace of "Hawkeye Elvis" an Iowa-themed Elvis Presley costume worn by attorney and Hawkeye fan Greg Suckow for 15 years.
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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]
