logo
Iowa football Big Ten home opener among ESPN's top conference games

Iowa football Big Ten home opener among ESPN's top conference games

USA Today6 days ago
As the 2025-26 college football season approaches, ESPN released an article featuring the top 10 Big Ten games of the season, with one particular Iowa football matchup involving an upward-trending conference opponent.
While the beginning of the season features many high-profile matchups in both conference play and non-conference action, ESPN has listed Iowa's Sept. 27 game against Indiana from Kinnick Stadium as one of its top matchups.
Indiana is fresh off one of their most successful seasons in program history in 2024, where the Hoosiers finished with an overall record of 11-2, an 8-2 conference record, and qualified for the program's first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in head coach Curt Cignetti's first season.
While ESPN did not provide much of an explanation as to why they chose the Sept. 27 game against the Hoosiers over the other impactful matchups on the Hawkeyes' slate, the clash between both former Big Ten West division foes will be Iowa's first significant challenge of the season and be a precursor for their ability to compete against the conference's top programs later on.
The article also took a deep dive into each Big Ten program's outlook for the upcoming season, identifying Iowa's need to win close games with its consistently stingy defense, as the strength of its newly improved offense is still unknown.
With six games projected within one score and visits from Penn State and Oregon (you know Iowa will scare at least one of them), close games will make the difference between potential CFP contention and finishing 7-5. But it's almost comforting knowing exactly what the Hawkeyes are going to look like regardless. - Bill Connelly, ESPN
The Hawkeyes open their 2025-26 campaign on Aug. 30, when FCS-level UAlbany visits Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on FS1.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UFC Fight Night Whittaker vs. De Ridder: Time, how to watch UFC from Abu Dhabi
UFC Fight Night Whittaker vs. De Ridder: Time, how to watch UFC from Abu Dhabi

USA Today

time20 minutes ago

  • USA Today

UFC Fight Night Whittaker vs. De Ridder: Time, how to watch UFC from Abu Dhabi

Robert Whittaker will face Reinier De Ridder face off in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, July 26. Whittaker enters the ring with a record of 27 wins and 8 losses. He aims to turn things around in his first fight of 2025, following his last match, which ended in a first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in October 2024. On the other hand, De Ridder has a record of 20 wins and two losses and is currently on a four-fight winning streak, and will be considered Whittaker's toughest test to date. This fight will mark De Ridder's third of the year, following victories over Kevin Holland at UFC 311 in January and Bo Nickal at UFC Fight Night in May 2025. Here is how to watch UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder on Saturday from Abu Dhabi: UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs De Ridder: Predictions, odds, how to watch UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder will take place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, July 26. How to watch UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder coverage starts at noon ET on ESPN, ESPN+ and Disney+, with the main card beginning at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+ and Disney+.

Where James Franklin ranks in ESPN college football coach ranking
Where James Franklin ranks in ESPN college football coach ranking

USA Today

time20 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Where James Franklin ranks in ESPN college football coach ranking

Penn State head coach James Franklin is entering his 12th season at the helm of the program, and he may be facing the most pressure yet after bringing Penn State to the cusp of an appearance in the national championship game last season. The Nittany Lions are predicted to be a Big Ten heavyweight with a legitimate national title aspirations as they look to take the challenging next step as a program Franklin has been harping about for years. No matter what you think about Franklin entering the 2025 season, the numbers do back up the idea that he is among the best in the game. And according to Bill Connelly of ESPN, the numbers have Franklin ranked as one of the four best coaches in college football in 2025. Connelly's mathematical formulas, used to rank just about everything you can imagine in college football, have calculated Franklin to be the fourth-best active college football coach for the upcoming college football season. Two ranked ahead of him, Ohio State's Ryan Day (no. 1) and Georgia's Kirby Smart (no. 3), have national championships to their name. The other, Josh Heupel of Tennessee (no. 2), is questionable if not laughable. Even if you rank Heupel ahead of Franklin, is he really the second-best coach in the sport? Probably not. While a small handful of active head coaches currently own national title rings (Clemson's Dabo Swinney joins Day and Smart and may have the Tigers ready to roar back to the national title conversation soon enough after year's ACC championship and playoff appearance), the tenure of Franklin is a bit of a complicated one when determining his success. Penn State has consistently been one of the winningest programs in the country since his arrival, but Franklin's jarring record against top-ranked teams is an unavoidable narrative that is increasingly more difficult to combat even for Franklin's biggest defenders. Arguing that Franklin has been a bust for a head coach is ill-advised as he has taken Penn State to a Big Ten title and wins in the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl (twice), and Cotton Bowl, and has helped[d produce some incredible talent for the NFL. But it is also fair to suggest Franklin has failed to getting Penn State to the elite level the program is striving for. After so many years and shortcomings against the same hurdles in the same fashion, the case has been made. But maybe in 2025, Franklin will finally break free of that narrative once and for all. Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava says his transfer was about family, not money
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava says his transfer was about family, not money

USA Today

time20 minutes ago

  • USA Today

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava says his transfer was about family, not money

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava spoke about many things, including his transfer from Tennessee, at Big Ten media days on Thursday. Iamaleava has been surrounded by NIL controversy for college football fans. It has been a long journey since he received his big $8 million dollar NIL deal with Tennessee initially. His long path ultimately led to a transfer from the Tennessee Volunteers to the UCLA Bruins in the spring. Many reports were made stating that the transfer was about money, but Iamaleava wanted to set the record straight when asked at media days. "Just false stuff about whether it was a financial thing or not," Iamaleava said to reporters at the Big Ten media days. "My driving factor to come back home was my family and I hope that every Tennessee fan understands that it was really one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. But I had to do what was best for me and my family and ultimately, I wanted to come back home and be closer to my family." The 6-foot-6-inch signal caller was born in Long Beach, Calif., alongside his brother and fellow Bruin quarterback, Madden Iamaleava. Alongside his younger brother, Iamaleava has two other sibling collegiate athletes in California: Long Beach State volleyball middle blocker Matt Iamaleava and Cypress College volleyball libero Nicaylah Iamaleava. According to UCLA, Nico Iamaleava also has a history of playing volleyball for Long Beach Poly High School and was "ranked by some volleyball analysts as the top high school volleyball prospect in the country," according to

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store