The 2026 Iowa football season is still 103 days away, but that's early enough for sportsbooks to start setting betting lines for college football games. 

The Hawkeyes' first two games of the season - Northern Illinois on Sept. 5 and Iowa State on Sept. 12 - both have early betting lines attached to them along with futures and win totals. 

Looking to make some early bets or just curious what the oddsmakers are saying about your Hawkeyes? HawkeyeRoundtable.com has you covered. 

Here's your summer Iowa football betting guide: 

Regular Season Win Total:  7.5 (FanDuel) 

To Make College Football Playoff: +900 (Draft Kings), +700 (FanDuel) 

To Win National Championship: +1200 (Draft Kings), +17500 (FanDuel) 

To Win Big Ten Championship: +6000 (Draft Kings), +4000 (FanDuel) 

Based on these lines, it's clear that the oddsmakers aren't expecting a memorable season from this Iowa team. If there's one thing that bettors have had success with when betting on the Hawkeyes, it's on regular season win totals. Iowa's consistency under head coach Kirk Ferentz usually results in eight or more regular season wins. 

Should the 2026 Hawkeyes reach the eight-win plateau for the third consecutive season, it would make a lot of people very happy. A lot would have to go Iowa's way for it to make its first-ever College Football Playoff berth, but considering the Hawkeyes have been knocking on the door for years, it can never be completely ruled out. 

Draft Kings has not released its official college football win totals. It will be listed on this article when announced. 

Sept. 5 vs. Northern Illinois 

Draft Kings has the Hawkeyes as a whopping 29.5-point favorite in their season opener against Northern Illinois. This will be the first matchup between these two programs since 2018, when Kirk Ferentz passed Hayden Fry to become the winningest coach in Iowa football history. 

Though the Hawkeyes have won nine out of the 10 games in the series history, the Huskies have been a thorn in Iowa's side for many years. The Hawkeyes needed a 23-yard touchdown run from Damon Bullock to win the 2012 meeting, and NIU responded with a shocking upset win at Kinnick Stadium the following year. 

Seventh-year head coach Thomas Hammock left the program in the offseason to become the running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks, leaving the job to interim man Rob Harley. 

It wouldn't be surprising to see Iowa win this game by three or more touchdowns, but with so many unanswered questions right now, the total of 29.5 seems a bit high. 

Sept. 12 vs. Iowa State 

FanDuel lists Iowa as a very early 12.5-point home favorite against in-state rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes have won 14 of the last 22 matchups in this rivalry series, but the Cyclones have won three of the last four, including the last two contests at Kinnick Stadium. 

A lot of questions need to be answered in the coming months, but this line feels pretty accurate in late May. Iowa has no idea who its starting quarterback will be, but Iowa State lost most of its entire roster after Matt Campbell left for Penn State. New head coach Jimmy Rogers has his work cut out for him in Ames, and leaving Iowa City with a victory will be a very tall task. 

Looking for some cool Hawkeye swag to wear during the summer months? Look no further! HawkeyeRoundtable.com will be giving away prizes to lucky members throughout the summer and all you have to enter is follow these very easy and quick (under a minute) instructions to join. 

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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]