Conference expansion ended Iowa football's annual matchup with Michigan years ago, but the next chapter between these two longtime Big Ten foes is just about to begin. 

For the first time since 2019, the Hawkeyes and Wolverines will duke it out in Ann Arbor. That contest ended with a 10-3 Michigan victory, and the 2026 meeting (2:30 CT, CBS) could be heading towards another defensive slugfest. 

We'll have a lot more to preview about this matchup in the coming days, but for now, here are some numbers you need to know before Saturday's clash at the Big House. 

5: If it feels like Iowa always opens Big Ten play on the road, that's because it has. Saturday's contest in Ann Arbor will mark the fifth consecutive season the Hawkeyes will open league play on the road. The last Big Ten home opener for Iowa was back in 2021, when it bested No. 18 Indiana in the season opener. 

12: Michigan is a team that wants to establish the run game to spark its offense, but that hasn't been the case so far this year. The Wolverines rank 12th in the Big Ten with 443 rushing yards. Quarterback Bryce Underwood (156 yards) is Michigan's leading rusher. 

13: That's how many points Iowa's defense has allowed this season, with all of the points allowed coming against Iowa State in Week 2. That's the fewest number the Hawkeyes have yielded through three weeks since 2022, when Iowa's stout defense held South Dakota State, Iowa State, and Nevada to a combined 10 points in the non-conference. 

27: Linebacker Cam Buffington was expected to be one of the top players on this defense this year, and so far so good through three weeks. Buffington's 15 tackles against Iowa State were a career-best, and the large figure has helped him record a team-best 27 tackles in the non-conference. The 27 tackles rank 21st nationally and fourth in the Big Ten. 

37: The Hawkeyes are averaging 37 points per game, which is the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten. 

175.7: Michigan also ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten in passing so far. The Wolverines struggled to move the football in their first two games, and the struggles have led to them posting a league-worst 175.7 passing yards per game. Michigan also ranks dead-last in total yards per game, averaging 323.3. per contest. 

268: Despite bringing in three new offensive lineman (including a new center in Cael Winter), Iowa's offensive line hasn't missed a beat in 2026. The Hawkeyes have yielded just one sack (it came against Northern Iowa) and keep plowing holes for their running backs. Iowa has averaged 268 rushing yards per game, which is the 10th-best mark in the nation. 

500: The Hawkeyes have continued to show progress under offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Last weekend's 55-0 drubbing of Northern Iowa certainly produced some new heights for this offense, but here are a few numbers we missed after the game. Iowa has tallied 500+ yards in its wins over Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa, and that's the first time the Hawkeyes have done that twice in a single season since 2006, when Drew Tate was under center. 

2016: Iowa's last victory over Michigan was the infamous 14-13 triumph a decade ago at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes have lost the last four meetings since, including Big Ten Championship Game defeats in 2021 and 2023. 

2021: Iowa's dismal losing streak against ranked opponents ended with a 34-27 victory over No. 14 Vanderbilt in the 2025 ReliaQuest Bowl, but its drought of beating a ranked team on the road is still waiting to be ended. The Hawkeyes' last road victory over a ranked team came in 2021, when it beat No. 9 Iowa State, 27-17. The last Big Ten road ranked win? A 40-10 beatdown of No. 20 Northwestern in 2015. 

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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]