Iowa football vs. Oregon: Who wins? Final score predictions

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The biggest game of the season for the Iowa football team is almost here, as a huge matchup with Oregon is on the horizon.

The Hawkeyes are freshly ranked, placing 20th in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday. Their opponent this Saturday, the Oregon Ducks, are ranked ninth and has one of the best rosters in all of college football. This will be an extremely tough test for Iowa, but it’s also a huge opportunity for the Hawks to prove themselves as legitimate College Football Playoff contenders.

A win over the Ducks would vault Iowa into the top 15 next week and set itself up to win and get into the playoffs. It would also end an 11-game losing streak against ranked teams, which dates back to 2021. There’s a lot on the line for the Hawkeyes when they take the field at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Do they have enough to pull the upset? Or will Oregon come on the road and continue to roll?

Hawkeyes Wire predicts Iowa vs. Oregon

Riley Donald: This is going to be a four-quarter fist fight. This isn’t hyper-speed Oregon. Dan Lanning is okay getting into a brawl, and that’s what this will be. The weather is an intriguing wrinkle. It tilts things Iowa’s way and makes this an incredibly intriguing game.

I think both defenses flex their muscles, but Iowa gets just enough ground game, and we witness LeVar Woods paint his Mona Lisa of special teams play to get Iowa into short fields. The defense gets the turnover at the right time, and the Hawkeyes find vengeance on the Indiana game that was in their grasp with a program-changing, season-defining win over Oregon, with a late field goal from Drew Stevens that etches him into Iowa lore.

Iowa 24, Oregon 23.

Josh Helmer: In typical Kirk Ferentz fashion, Iowa is a team that just continues to get better and better with each passing week. The Hawkeyes hung tough and nearly stunned Indiana back on Sept. 27 before Mark Gronowski exited late with an injury.

Now, Iowa has another golden opportunity at Kinnick Stadium to end its drought against ranked opponents as it welcomes in the Oregon Ducks. The weather seems like it could be a big-time helper here, too.

This very well might be the spot where Iowa breaks through and captures that signature victory that has eluded the program over the past few seasons. But, Oregon has a lot on the line, a head coach in Dan Lanning that wins a bunch and talent across the board.

Iowa gives Oregon a true scare, but Dante Moore and the Ducks escape a soggy Kinnick on Saturday with a big road victory to stay in the Big Ten and CFP hunt.

Oregon 27, Iowa 23

Scout Springgate: Iowa 30, Oregon 24. Given the nearly two-week-long and well-deserved hype that this matchup has received from the media and fans of both teams, Saturday will be another classic early November “meat and potatoes” type of game, with the weather expected to be cold and nasty.

While that style of play may be ideally beneficial to Iowa, the psychological impact it could have on Oregon may be far less dramatic than originally perceived.

What this game will truly boil down to is who claims the advantage at the line of scrimmage. If Iowa can win battles at the line to wither force defensive pressure or secure pass protection/run blocking, the Hawkeyes should be able to mount an upset victory.

Iowa 30, Oregon 24.

Zach Hiney: Iowa 21, Oregon 20. On paper, Oregon is the better team. On film, Oregon is the better team. But there’s something about this game that has me feeling frisky. I don’t know if it’s the home atmosphere at Kinnick Stadium, the shady weather predictions, or the travel across country for the Ducks. Or maybe I’m drinking the Iowa Kool-Aid a little too much right now. I just have a gut feeling that Iowa will find a way to win this game.

It won’t be pretty for the Hawks. It rarely is. But they’ll find a way to muck the game up and bring Oregon down to play at Iowa’s pace. It’s the only way Iowa can win this game. If it becomes a track meet, the Ducks will run away with this one. I think Iowa plays its game, keeps it close into the fourth quarter, and makes a big play or two at the end to win it. This will be your prototypical Kirk Ferentz game, and the Hawkeyes keep their playoff hopes alive with another magical moment at Kinnick.

Iowa 21, Oregon 20.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football vs. Oregon: Who wins? Final score predictions

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