CBS ranks Iowa football schedule among nation's toughest stretches

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Before most people buy their Halloween candy this year, the college football world will know just how good Iowa football is in 2026.

The Hawkeyes enter the new season with high expectations, looking to build and improve upon a nine-win 2025 campaign. Even with a new quarterback under center, excitement about the potential of Iowa this season is palpable. That excitement will either be ratcheted up or dead in the water by the time mid-October rolls around.

Iowa wasn't done any favors by the schedule makers this year. Following three nonconference games to open the season, the Hawkeyes will immediately be thrown into the Big Ten fire with a trio of challenging games.

A road trip to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan on Sept. 26 is followed by a home matchup with Ohio State on Oct. 3. Six days later, the stretch ends with a West Coast road game against Washington on Friday, Oct. 9.

Iowa's 'brutal' start to Big Ten play​

That three-game stretch is pivotal for the Hawkeyes in 2026. And it's also one of the most difficult stretches of games for any team in the county. CBS Sports ranked it as the second-toughest stretch in all of college football, just behind Northwestern's games at Oregon, versus Iowa, and at Ohio State.

CBS analyst Brad Crawford had the following to say about the Hawkeyes' tough run of games:

There's almost no stylistic relief from week to week for Iowa's defense -- just three straight heavyweight fights against national brands we're projecting to be among conference title contenders. Iowa has to deal with one of the nation's most physical rosters in Ann Arbor to close September, before hosting Ohio State inside Kinnick Stadium. That gives Kirk Ferentz's squad a puncher's chance, but Ohio State's speed advantage creates matchup problems few teams can solve. Iowa's two wins over Ohio State since the turn of the century both came in Iowa City (2004, 2017). Iowa travels cross-country to face Washington after that, a difficult turnaround against a high-powered offense in Seattle, where crowd noise and travel fatigue become major factors by midseason. - Brad Crawford, 247Sports

Crawford joined CBS Sports HQ host Claudia Bellofatto to share some additional thoughts on the three-game stretch.

"Kirk Ferentz has been super steady at Iowa, and he's the nation's longest-tenured coach, but this schedule is pretty unforgiving for him in 2026... This is a really tough ask for Iowa, a team that hasn't been very good offensively the last few seasons. At Michigan, Ohio State, at Washington. Good news is, the second half of that schedule is pretty favorable, but, man, at Michigan, Ohio State, Washington is a brutal stretch for the Hawkeyes," Crawford said.

If the Hawkeyes can survive this tough stretch, things could be looking up. That's no easy task, though, as all three teams that Iowa opens up Big Ten play against have postseason aspirations.

It's a challenging, but not impossible, run of games for Iowa. Kirk Ferentz has shown the ability countless times to raise the floor of his Hawkeye teams. He'll need to do it again in 2026 if Iowa wants to improve on last season's success.

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 Zach on X: @zach_hiney

This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: CBS ranks Iowa football schedule among nation's toughest stretches

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