Iowa will open its 2026 season against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. That's the latest season-opener for the Hawkeyes since the 2015 season-opener against Illinois State.
Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season!
May 28 marked 100 days until the Hawkeyes storm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel to take on Northern Illinois, and in the blink of an eye, we're already close to the one week mark.
Reading this countdown series is highly recommended to help you pass the time until the season begins. Each day of this series will primarily feature Iowa football players wearing the respective jersey number for whatever day the countdown falls on, but today will look a little bit different.
No. 94 isn't issued to anyone on the current Hawkeye football roster, so we're going to instead focus on the date of Iowa's season-opener - Sept. 5.
The date falls on the traditional Labor Day weekend, but if Sept. 5 sounds like a late date for a Hawkeye season-opener, it's because it is. It's not uncommon for Iowa to begin its season in September, but 2026 will be the latest start date for the Hawkeyes since 2015, when they also began their campaign on Sept. 5.
Iowa opened the 2015 season against FCS foe Illinois State. You're probably thinking an FBS vs. FCS clash to begin the season isn't worth discussing in an article, but the magical 2015 season Hawkeye fans know today had to begin somewhere.
The rundown
Again, 2015 will always go down as one of the most memorable seasons in Iowa football history, but the lead up to this season was something the Hawkeyes rarely see.
The opening of an Iowa football season usually brings plenty of optimism, but 2015 brought far more tension than most. The Hawkeyes struggled from 2011-2014, never winning more than eight games or even cracking the AP Top 25. This led to Kirk Ferentz receiving the most criticism he's probably ever been dealt, and 2015 may have been his last chance to turn things around.
After the quarterback controversy of 2014, Ferentz immediately named C.J. Beathard the starter for 2015. Beathard was the quarterback the fans wanted all along, but how would he perform as the clear-cut starter?
Those questions were quickly answered against Illinois State. The Redbirds were the FCS national runner-up in 2014, but Beathard and the Hawkeyes shredded them apart early and often. Beathard, who was making his first-ever start in Kinnick Stadium, showed no nerves, recording 211 passing yards and a touchdown, while also adding two more on the ground.
Though Akrum Wadley would emerge as Iowa's top running back in 2015, LeShaun Daniels carried the unit on this day, collecting 123 yards on 26 carries. Combine all of this with a strong defense that didn't yield any points until the fourth quarter, and you have a 31-14 opening day victory.
The Hawkeyes followed this performance up with a comeback victory at Iowa State the next week. The rest, as they say, is history.
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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]
