NOTES: Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series vs. Iowa State

1ST & 10
• The Hawkeyes have won seven straight night games in Kinnick Stadium since 2022. Iowa prevailed 42-3 in the last Iowa-Iowa State night game in Kinnnick in 2016.
• The Hawkeyes are 32-11 in their last 43 rivalry trophy games.  
• Iowa eclipsed the 500-yard mark in the season-opening win over NIU, finishing with 507 yards, including 298 on the ground. The total is the high-water mark under OC Tim Lester.
• The Hawkeye defense – with seven first-time starters at Iowa – posted a season-opening shutout, while limiting NIU to 120 yards of total offense, seven first downs and forcing two turnovers. The Huskies didn’t get their initial first down until the 4:10 mark of the third quarter and didn’t eclipse 100 yards until late in the fourth quarter.
• Iowa has 10 shutouts since 2018, which is tied with Penn State for the most in FBS over that timeframe.
• Fourth-year RB Kamari Moulton had a career-high 183 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries in Week 1 against NIU.
• Splitting duties… Iowa’s quarterback battle featured five drives apiece by fourth-year Hank Brown and third-year Jeremy Hecklinski.  
• Eleven players made their first career starts in Week 1 against NIU.
• Bogeyman excitement… third-year wide receiver Tony Diaz had seven receptions (on 13 targets) for 84 yards with one touchdown in his Hawkeye debut against NIU. They were the most yards by an Iowa wideout since 2024.
• Iowa has had 14 consensus All-Americans in the College Football Playoff era – the fourth-most in the country. Iowa is the only school in the nation to have a unanimous consensus All-American every year since 2021.
• Iowa’s defense has ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense in each of the last 11 seasons.  
• The Hawkeyes have allowed fewer than 20 points per game in nine consecutive seasons. Alabama has the second-longest streak nationally, allowing 20 or fewer points in four straight seasons.
• Iowa has sold out 29 consecutive games in Kinnick Stadium.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday’s game will mark the 73rd meeting in the series where Iowa holds a 46-25 advantage (Iowa’s win over the Cyclones in 2023 was vacated). The series began in 1894 -- a 16-8 Cyclone victory. 
• Iowa is 25-15 all-time against Iowa State inside Kinnick Stadium. The Cyclones have won the last two meetings in Iowa City, winning 10-7 in 2022 and 20-19 in 2024.
• The last eight meetings in the series have been decided by 10 points or fewer. The last four matchups have been one score games and three of the four have been decided by a field goal or less.
• Head coach Kirk Ferentz is 13-12 all-time against Iowa State, including winning 10 of the last 17 meetings, dating back to the 2008 season. 
• The teams did not meet between 1935-1976, or 2020. The teams played 43 straight seasons from 1977-2019 before the Big Ten announced in 2020 that it would not play nonconference games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Iowa held a 29-14 advantage in the series from 1977-2019. 

UNDER THE LIGHTS
Saturday’s game is the 28th night game inside Kinnick Stadium. Iowa is 20-7 under the lights, which includes a seven-game winning streak. 
• Iowa won 27-0 over Nevada in 2022, 26-16 over Michigan State in 2023, 42-10 over Wisconsin and 13-10 over Nebraska in 2024, 34-7 over UAlbany, 47-7 over UMass and 25-24 over Penn State in 2025. 

OFFENSIVE ERUPTION
Iowa’s offense erupted for 507 yards of total offense in the season opening 40-0 victory over Northern Illinois on Sept. 5 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes rushed for 298 yards and had 26 first downs in the win.
• The unit had 251 yards in the first quarter and 372 yards in the first half – the most in an opening half since 2019 vs. Middle Tennessee State (358).  
• Iowa rushed for 298 yards on 38 attempts, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. The 298 yards are the third-most rushing yards during the Tim Lester tenure. The Hawkeyes have 13 games with 200+ rushing yards under OC Tim Lester.
• The Hawkeyes’ 507 yards in Week 1 are most during Lester’s Iowa tenure. The 507 yards of total offense was the most by an Iowa offensive unit since 2019 (644 vs. Middle Tennessee State).

SPLITTING DUTIES
Iowa’s quarterback battle between fourth-year Hank Brown and third-year Jeremy Hecklinski spilled into Week 1 in the season opener against Northern Illinois. 
• Brown earned the start and he led the offense on three touchdown drives on his first three possessions. Iowa scored 27 points and had 283 yards in his five offensive series. He completed 12-of-20 attempts for 129 yards and one touchdown.
• Hecklinski guided the unit to seven points, 154 yards and one touchdown on five series. He was 7-of-16 for 76 yards and one touchdown.
• Brown, an Auburn transfer, played in three games in 2025, completing 11-of-21 passes for 107 yards with one touchdown. In two years at Auburn, the Tennessee native went 38-of-64 for 510 yards with seven touchdowns.  
• Hecklinski, a Wake Forest transfer, played in two games as a Hawkeye last season, completing the only pass he attempted and rushing for a touchdown. During Iowa’s 2026 Kids’ Day on Aug. 15, Hecklinski completed 17-of-25 attempts for 205 yards and five touchdowns.

DOMINANT DEBUT
The Iowa defense passed its Week 1 test with eight new starters. The Hawkeyes limited Northern Illinois to 120 yards and seven total first downs en route to a season-opening shutout – the 19th of the Kirk Ferentz era.
• Iowa limited the Huskies to 22 yards in the first quarter and 24 in the first half. NIU didn’t pick up its initial first down until the 4:10 mark in the third quarter (which came via penalty) and didn’t eclipse 100 yards until late in the fourth quarter.
• The 120 yards are tied for the sixth fewest allowed under Ferentz, while the seven first downs are tied for the seventh fewest.
• Iowa has 10 shutouts since 2018, which is tied for the most in the nation in that span (with Penn State).

STINGY, STINGY, STINGY
Iowa’s defense was stingy at the line of scrimmage in the Week 1 win over NIU with three first-time starters on the defensive line. The Hawkeyes allowed just seven rushing yards in the game – the fewest since 2018 against Northern Iowa (6 yards).  

GETTIN' AFTER IT
Seven members of the Iowa defense tallied at least a half of a sack as the Hawkeyes tallied six sacks in the season-opening victory in Week 1 against Northern Illinois.  DE Joseph Anderson (1.5), LB Julian Manson (1.0), DE Chima Chineke (1.0), LB Landyn Van Kekerix (0.5), LB Preston Ries (0.5) and DE Drew Campbell (0.5) tallied their first career sacks, while DL Bryce Hawthorne (0.5) and DE Kahmari Brown (0.5) tallied their first sacks as Hawkeyes. 

TURNOVER TRACKER
Iowa forced a pair of turnovers in Week 1 against NIU – via a Deshaun Lee interception and a forced fumble by Brice Stevenson.  The Hawkeyes are 76-5 since 2012 when winning the turnover battle.
• Lee’s pick was the fourth of his career.

NO COOP, NO WEJ... ENTER EJ
Second-year wide receiver Evan James showed off his lightning speed in his Hawkeye debut in Week 1, returning a punt 77-yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. It was the 15th longest punt return for a touchdown in Iowa history.
• James had three punt returns for 108 yards in Week 1 against NIU, averaging 36 yards per return.  He was one of seven players nationally to return a punt for a touchdown in Week 1.
• Iowa has had at least one punt return for a touchdown in each of the past four seasons.

THE KICKERS
• Second-year Caden Buhr went 2-for-3 in field goal attempts in his first career action Week 1 against NIU. He connected from 34 and 45 yards (while missing from 53). 
• North Dakota State transfer Eli Ozick handled the kickoff duties, where he had three touchbacks among his eight kickoffs.
• Ozick was a second-team AP FCS All-American and a first-team All-Missouri Valley kicker in 2025. He converted 16-of-18 field goals with a long of 54 during the season. In two seasons, Ozick has made 19-of-23 attempts, including 3-of-6 from 50+ yards.

AUSSIE HAWKEYE
Second-year punter Boston Everitt averaged 43.7 yards on three punts in Week 1 against Northern Illinois. Everitt, a native of Hope Island, Australia, continues Iowa’s Australian pipeline, following Tory Taylor and Rhys Dakin.
• Simpson College transfer Tanner Philpott is the most experienced punter on the Iowa roster, after earning AFCA second-team All-America and AP third-team All-America honors in 2025. The Waukee, Iowa, native averaged 43.9 yards on 40 punts, ranking third in Division III. He had 16 punts downed inside the 20 during the season.

ALONE AT THE TOP
Kirk Ferentz is in his 28th season as Iowa’s head football coach, where he is the longest tenured active head coach in college football and all-time winningest coach in Big Ten Conference history. Ferentz broke the record during the 2025 season, passing Ohio State’s Woody Hayes atop the prestigious list. He currently has 210 career victories.
• Ferentz has 133 Big Ten wins, which rank third all-time, trailing Hayes (153) and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler (143). 
• Ferentz won his 200th career game at Iowa State in 2023. He is the 27th coach at an FBS institution to reach the 200-career win milestone and the 99th coach across all divisions. Former Hawkeye head coach Hayden Fry finished his career with 236 victories.
• Ferentz has 11 career bowl game victories -- the most as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

STAFF CHANGE
The Hawkeyes have three new coaches on the 2026 coaching staff in special teams coordinator Chris Polizzi, running backs coach Jay Norvell and quarterbacks coach Billy VandeMerkt (Polizzi and VandeMerkt were analysts in 2025).
• Polizzi is in his fifth year on the Hawkeye staff, as he was a graduate assistant with the program from 2012-14.  He has two decades of collegiate coaching experience, most recently serving as the defensive coordinator at Tulsa from 2023-24. 
• Norvell, a former Hawkeye defensive back and captain of the 1985 Rose Bowl team, joins the staff as running backs coach. Norvell, who has four decades of coaching experience, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Hayden Fry (when Kirk Ferentz was the offensive line coach). He coached in the NFL for six seasons and was a head coach at Nevada (2017-22) and Colorado State (2022-25).  
• VandeMerkt was elevated to quarterbacks coach in the offseason following the 2025 season.