Though the weather outside remains more than warm enough to take the family on a boat trip to Coralville Lake, those considering making that decision may want to take one more long look at the calendar. 

One short glance at the calendar will reveal that this Saturday is Sept. 5, which means it's finally time for Iowa football to return to the gridiron after an eight-month absence. 

So if you're thinking about venturing to the lake this weekend, put those plans on hold until next summer because Iowa City's usually-quiet community is about to increase by 70,000 black and gold-cladded Hawkeye fans. You're not going to be able to drive very far with that many people filling the roadways. 

Failed weekend activities aside, let's start discussing what you all came here to read about - football.

While last year's Iowa team was filled with veteran talent across the board, the opposite is happening in 2026. The Hawkeyes rank near the bottom of the entire nation in returning production on both sides of the ball, but it's once again about the "next man up" mentality in Iowa City.  

Iowa feels like it has the horses to be a tough out in the Big Ten yet again this season, but the evaluation period has long passed. There's only five more days to go until the ball is teed up, which means this coaching staff is going to have some tough decisions to make over the next few days as they fill out their Week 1 depth chart. 

This is both a pun on Jeremy Hecklinski's last name and a general question. Iowa has been always quick to point out just how close this race between Hecklinski and Hank Brown really is, but the Hawkeyes are going to have to make a decision at some point. 

According to Kirk Ferentz, Brown held a slight lead over Hecklinski up until the 18th or 19th fall camp practice, which coincides with Hecklinski's impressive performance at Kids' Day. 

Iowa fans have called for Hecklinski to start ever since, but Ferentz and Co. were never going to make this decision based on one practice anyway. There's a good chance both are going to see substantial snaps against Northern Illinois because of the lopsided predicted outcome, but Ferentz hinted that he would prefer to name a starter before the game instead of using it as a trial run for the new quarterback. 

The Hawkeyes' depth chart should be released later this afternoon, so we'll see if we get more clarity. 

Iowa shouldn't have any trouble beating the Huskies, but if there's any unit defensive coordinator Phil Parker is devoting the bulk of his attention to, it's probably the men in the trenches. 

The Hawkeyes are going to have a major advantage at the line of scrimmage, but there's so many moving parts on this defensive line right now. It's probably a safe bet to give Bryce Hawthorne a sack or two, but Iowa is going to have to show that it can put pressure on a mobile quarterback like Taron Dickens to give its fans some optimism before Iowa State comes to town. 

It's going to be HOT in Iowa City on Saturday. Early 10-day forecasts call for the game to be played in the mid-to-upper 80s (easily in the 90s on the field, though). Anyone who knows a thing or two about the sport of football knows that's not ideal temperatures for players wearing black jerseys and heavy pads. 

Yes, the heat is always a factor during the early portion of the home schedule, but it's very important to consider. Players are still getting in game shape, which results in more cramps and fatigue you'd normally see late in the season. That can trickle down to the play-calling, which is already conservative because of the unwillingness to show anything on film, but it's hard to see Tim Lester calling many explosive plays in the second half and just get his guys out of the game healthy. 

Man, doesn't it feel good to have football back? Covering the offseason is a secondary season in itself, but like all of you, the actual games are the reason why we enjoy our jobs. Every new season brings new opportunities for Iowa, but 2026 is one of the more-interesting campaigns because of the talented, but unproven youth on the roster. 

Let's have a season, folks. 

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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]