3 Keys to Victory: Michigan Football vs Iowa
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After experiencing nearly every emotion possible while watching a football game, Big Ten play is finally here. No. 18 Michigan escaped the non-conference slate unscathed, and No. 17 Iowa comes to Ann Arbor for the final of four consecutive home games to start the 2026 season. The Hawkeyes are also the second of currently six ranked matchups this season for the Wolverines, with Michigan winning the first one against Oklahoma.
Looking to start the Big Ten schedule with a win, here are this week’s keys to victory for Michigan.
Minimize the penalties
The goal in any game is to have zero penalties when all is said and done. Although that’s incredibly unrealistic for any team, the Wolverines are a team that has hurt themselves time and time again with penalties.
Michigan is the 36th-most penalized team in college football right now, averaging eight per game, but also has the 16th-most penalty yards with an average of 71.3 per game. The Week 2 performance against Oklahoma was the worst of the three with 11 penalties for 90 yards, but it was probably the most impressive win of the bunch considering the caliber of opponent — 90 penalty yards alone would be good for sixth-worst in the nation.
Saturday’s game against Iowa is going to be a defensive showdown, and any penalties given up on either side of the ball, and especially special teams, could completely alter the game.
Win the field position battle
Through three weeks, Michigan has done a masterful job with the field position battle. Last week against UTEP may have been the only outlier with two early-game turnovers to put the Miners in great field position. Aside from those two drives, the position battle was well maintained.
Arguably one of the biggest keys to Michigan beating Oklahoma was punter Cam Brown and the punting unit’s ability to pin Oklahoma within the 20-yard line six times and were inside the one yard line. With quarterback John Mateer already struggling to get anything going offensively, to have to march 99 yards down the field seemed a near impossible task.
Michigan finding the same success in the punt game and limiting turnovers to give the Hawkeyes worse field position could be half the battle to coming away with a win, and much of the mantle will fall on special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs and his unit to produce when they’re called upon.
Run the damn ball
I feel like a broken record talking about the run game in this series, but running backs Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter still haven’t reached their full potential. The expectations were so high for this group, yet the production has been mildly underwhelming.
Hiter had a better game against UTEP than his first two weeks, carrying the ball 11 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a great game against the Sooners from a receiving perspective with three catches for 41 yards; Marshall also had a season-high 12 carries for 59 yards. The two have combined for four rushing touchdowns, but three came against the Miners last week.
When all is said and done, neither have to be weekly 100-yard rushers like Justice Haynes was for the first half of last season and Marshall was for the second half. But at a minimum, Hiter and Marshall should each be averaging more than 50 yards per game — even if quarterback Bryce Underwood is utilizing his legs — especially against an Iowa team that’s going to require Michigan to get the run game going if it wants to find any semblance of a rhythm offensively.
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