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I'm notoriously a bad golfer, but one of my favorite things about the sport is the mulligan. 

For those that are unfamiliar with the sport, a mulligan simply means you get a do-over. This is not allowed in professional golf, but if you're an average Joe like me, you're free to use as many as you want during a laid-back scramble with your buddies. 

But is there such thing as a mulligan in journalism? Most mistakes in this industry are career-altering, but there's one exception to that – when you write game-by-game predictions for a football season. 

With 5-1 Iowa enjoying its bye week, I thought it would be a good time to predict the rest of the 2026 regular season. It can't be considered a do-over at this point in the year, but considering I predicted the Hawkeyes to be 3-3 overall and winless in Big Ten play by their bye week, I'd say it qualifies as such. 

Everything is out in front of Iowa if it can win out, but is that going to actually happen? Here's how I see the regular season playing out. 

Oct. 24 @ Minnesota 

Location: Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota 

Though Kirk Ferentz is just 3-4 coming out of a bye week since the 2021 season, there are two key factors working with him when he takes his team to Minneapolis. First, Minnesota is also coming off a bye, so it's not like Iowa will have to worry about being rusty.

Every Hawkeye fan reading this article knows the second reason: Ferentz has owned Gopher head coach P.J. Fleck. Though he's had success against archrival Wisconsin, Fleck is just 1-8 against Ferentz, and the lone win came in controversial fashion in 2023.

Every year is different, but I just can't seem to shake the fact that Iowa always finds a way to get it done against Minnesota each year. The Hawkeyes have outscored the Gophers 72-17 the last two seasons, and while I don't think a shellacking happens this year, Iowa takes this one by double digits.

Prediction: Iowa 31, Minnesota 20 

Oct. 31 vs. Wisconsin 

Location: Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa 

If you thought Iowa's combined margin of victory over Minnesota was bad, its margin over Wisconsin is even worse. The Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings over the Badgers by a combined score of 79-10, including a 37-0 shutout victory last season. 

But those were different Wisconsin teams. It's still too early to completely declare Luke Fickell's job safe, but he's done a nice job making the Badgers competitive this year. The offense isn't great, but it's been salvageable enough to win football games.

I think Wisconsin makes this an intense four quarter Halloween football game, but Iowa is playing at Kinnick Stadium. That's going to be the difference here. 

Prediction: Iowa 20, Wisconsin 17 

Nov. 7 @ Northwestern 

Location: Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois 

This is where things get interesting. Iowa fans would've called you crazy declaring this the biggest game of the Hawkeyes' remaining schedule, but as it stands right now, that is exactly the case. 

Northwestern's decision to hire Chip Kelly as its offensive coordinator was a major win. The Wildcats haven't been perfect offensively, but quarterback Aidan Chiles is beginning to show signs of the player Michigan State thought it had a few years ago (Northwestern coincidentally just beat the Spartans in East Lansing on Saturday). 

There are going to be plenty of Iowa fans inside the beautiful new Ryan Field, but they aren't going to be happy with the result of this one. This feels like the game where the Hawkeye defense has a road stinker, and the offense just makes one too many mistakes to win.

Prediction: Northwestern 28, Iowa 17 

Nov. 14 vs. Purdue 

Location: Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa 

Purdue looked like one of the worst teams in the Power Four a few weeks ago, but Barry Odom and this coaching staff deserve a ton of credit. The offense is absolutely clicking on all cylinders, and the defense is improving by the week, too. 

The Boilermakers have historically been a thorn in Iowa's side in recent years, but the Hawkeyes aren't going to overlook them after a tough loss in Evanston. Phil Parker's defense will stifle Purdue with a few turnovers, and Iowa's quarterback (whoever it's going to be by this point) will connect on a few deep passes to help the Hawks pull away with a comfortable win. 

Prediction: Iowa 30, Purdue 13 

Nov. 21 @ Illinois 

Location: Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois 

Outside of the three-game gauntlet to begin conference play, I pegged this game in Champaign as Iowa's toughest game. It turns out I was dead wrong with that prediction as well. Illinois was expected to take a small step back after losing several key contributors from a team that won 19 games over the last two seasons, but the Fighting Illini have been dreadful this year. 

Switching to a 3-3-5 defense really killed Illinois' defense, and that's what ultimately is the difference here. Iowa won't light up the scoreboard on what figures to be a chilly day at Memorial Stadium, but it will do more than enough to win this one. 

Prediction: Iowa 27, Illinois 10 

Nov. 28 vs. Nebraska 

Location: Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa 

Nebraska started the season strong, but what will it look like by Thanksgiving weekend? 

Nebraska isn't a bad team, especially if quarterback Anthony Colandrea keeps doing damage with his legs, but until the Huskers come to Kinnick Stadium and out-tough the Hawkeyes, I can't pick Nebraska to win. The Huskers will have the ball late with a chance to win this game, but the Iowa defense comes up with the clutch stop to secure a win on Senior Day and keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. 

Prediction: Iowa 23, Nebraska 19 

FINAL RECORD: 10-2 (7-2) 

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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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