Can the Hawkeyes make it 18 in a row against their in-state foes from Cedar Falls?
Happy prediction Friday, Hawkeye fans!
While you're enjoying the final day of your work week, we're busy finalizing our pregame coverage for Iowa football's non-conference finale against in-state foe Northern Iowa on Saturday (3 p.m., FS1).
If you're new around here, we devote the Friday before an Iowa football game entirely to our game prediction and opinions about some of the biggest happenings in college football this weekend.
We'll have your betting information for the Iowa-Northern Iowa clash later on Friday afternoon, but first things first, it's time to begin the day with our prediction for this fun in-state battle.
Keep reading to find out how we think it's going down!
Where/When To Watch
Matchup: Northern Iowa (1-1) @ No. 18 Iowa
Scheduled game time: Sept. 19 at 3 p.m.
Location: Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa
Weather: 83 degrees at kickoff with rain possible later in the game
TV: FS1
Announcers: Jack Kizer (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, Pat Angerer)
Student Radio: KRUI (Cole Krueger, Mason Nielson)
The Pick
This is a perfect tune-up game for Iowa before it embarks on a brutal three-game stretch to open Big Ten play. Past matchups against Northern Iowa always featured tense moments when Mark Farley was the Panthers' head coach (the blocked field goals in 2009, David Johnson running wild in 2014 are games that stand out) but no mater what even the most loyal UNI fans are saying right now, the truth is is that the talent gap between these two programs is as big as its been in the 21st century.
I think Todd Stepsis will return Northern Iowa to Missouri Valley Football Conference contention in due time, but he's only in year two of a challenging rebuild. Playing at Kinnick Stadium will be a fun opportunity for his group, but it's nothing more than a chance to say they got to play in one of college football's most historic venues in 2026.
Previous Iowa teams would simply go to the run game for most of the game, but that's not going to be the case for the Hawkeyes on this day because of the open quarterback battle. Hank Brown has shown flashes of being a good passer, but this is the type of game that he needs to really show he's the guy moving forward. It's also a good opportunity for Jeremy Hecklinski to return to game reps after not seeing any action against Iowa State.
I would expect Tim Lester to keep the playbook wide open because of this, which could lead to some big plays through the air. I predicted Iowa could score a defensive touchdown last weekend. That turned out to be a fail, but I think the defense is going to force the turnovers and create some short fields and possibly score a touchdown of their own.
The Hawkeyes haven't cracked the 50-point mark since they scored 63 at Illinois in 2018, but I think that drought comes to an end on Saturday.
Iowa rolls to its 18th straight win over Northern Iowa and builds some much-needed momentum for Big Ten play.
Prediction: Iowa 50, Northern Iowa 0
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