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Kinnick Stadium and its surrounding parking lots are quiet now, but all of that is going to change in 72 hours. 

The slightly-cracked, gray parking lots will soon be flooded with thousands of black and gold tents, grills, beer cans, and footballs, a sign that we can finally christen the 2026 Iowa football season. 

Quarterback controversy or night, the anticipation for Saturday's season opener against Northern Illinois will be off the charts, as it usually is when the Hawkeyes are playing a football game at Kinnick. 

We'll have plenty of information on this Week 1 matchup over the next few days, but before we can get to that, let's play the numbers game. 

Here are some numbers know ahead of Saturday's game. 

2: An experienced Iowa defensive line tallied 26 sacks in 2025. If you do the math, that's 2.1 sacks per game – an average figure in college football. All eyes are obviously going to be on the quarterback position on Saturday, but another position to keep an eye on is the defensive line. There's a lot of turnover with this group this year, and this game is a good measuring stick to see what they're made of. 

4: If it feels like the Hawkeyes' first play from scrimmage is a run play, that's because it is. Iowa has opened the season with a run play in each of the last four seasons and seven of the last 10 years. Will that change in 2026? 

8: The Hawkeyes have been a model of consistency under longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz, winning eight or more games in each of the last 10 seasons. The only other programs to accomplish this feat are traditional powerhouses Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia. 

17.1: If you thought Iowa's 2023 offense was putrid, Northern Illinois' offense was just as bad in 2025. The Huskies lacked explosive playmaking throughout the year, and the poor offense was probably the reason why they finished 3-9. 

20: One of the reasons why Ferentz has been so consistent at Iowa is because of his defensive coordinators. Norm Parker was fantastic in his 13 seasons in charge, and the transition to Phil Parker (no relation) has been smooth. The Hawkeyes have held opponents to under 20 points per game for nine consecutive seasons – the most in the country. 

22: Ferentz is 22-4 in season openers as Iowa's head coach. His most recent Week 1 loss game in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season to Purdue, but his most recent loss in a traditional season was coincidentally against Northern Illinois in 2013. 

29.3: Offensive coordinator Tim Lester has slowly improved the Hawkeyes' offense over his two seasons in Iowa City, and the improvement was very noticeable in 2025. Iowa posted 29.3 points per game – its most since 2018. Could the Hawkeyes increase that figure to over 30 points per game this season. 

45: Week 1 hasn't always been a kind game for Iowa's offenses because they are usually trying to figure things out, but a loaded corps of running backs and pass-catchers could result in an explosive Saturday at Kinnick. The Hawkeyes largest offensive output in the last decade came exactly 10 years ago when they blasted Miami (OH) 45-21. 

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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 bradschultz@roundtable.io

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