Iowa
Iowa’s Two Keys To Victory vs. Penn State
Sitting at 10-2 (1-0), the Big Ten grind starts now. Head coach Jan Jensen knows her Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off an extremely embarrassing loss, but at the end of the day it was to the No. 1 team in the nation.
Iowa has dropped two of their last three which contributed to them falling to No. 14 in the AP Top 25. They were previously as high as No. 11, but their 74-69 loss to No. 10 Iowa State didn’t help as they tried to enter the Top 10.
With a win over No. 7 Baylor earlier in the year, Iowa knows they have what it takes to get the job done. Now, they just need to take care of business against a Penn State school that is 7-5 (0-1).
ESPN Analytics is on Iowa’s side as the Hawkeyes are given a 96.8% chance to win. Seeing as this game is played at Carver, it certainly helps their chances of getting back on track with an extremely difficult schedule ahead of them.
1. Limit Turnovers
As simple as it sounds, Iowa turned the ball over 26 times against the Huskies. Seeing as this was their most recent game played, even though it was back on December 20, that is a number that continues to be brought up.
Jensen and company were extremely disappointed with their performance, but there’s no reason to lose hope after losing to the Huskies. That was their fourth Top 25 win of the year as they’re one of the most dominant No. 1 seeds in quite some time.
Now, Iowa just has to recover. They are about to enter the gauntlet that is their B1G schedule and they can’t let a pair of losses get to them. AP voters kept them ranked for a reason, and on paper, Iowa should have no issues taking control of this game against the Nittany Lions.
2. Get Everybody Involved
Iowa is at their best when everyone is contributing. No matter how good Ava Heiden or Hannah Stuelke are, this is still a team game. Neither are ball-hogs, far from it, but the Hawkeyes seem to put together complete performances when four or more girls end the game with double digits.
So far this season, Heiden has struggled against top opponents. She’s only a sophomore, so it isn’t too alarming to see her minutes dip significantly against Iowa State and UConn. That said, it would sure be nice to see her lead the way against PSU and drop 20+ for the third time this season.
Don’t forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!
When it comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes 2026 football season, it doesn’t get much bigger than Ohio State coming to Kinnick Stadium.
No one knows at this stage where the Buckeyes will be come Oct. 3, but Iowa has a chance to make an early impression against a team that is no stranger to winning the big one.
Iowa’s B1G schedule couldn’t get off to a worse start as they head to Michigan and then welcome the Buckeyes to Kinnick.
Hopefully for Iowa’s sake, their first three games against Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa are enough to get them prepared. If not, things could get ugly.
ESPN Believes Ohio State is Iowa’s Biggest Opponent in 2026
The Michigan game will certainly be a test, but hosting the Buckeyes is a different animal. That gives the Hawkeyes an advantage like no other, and if there was ever a time to give OSU a run for their money, it’s in Iowa City on Oct. 3.
“The Hawkeyes haven’t faced Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium since 2017, when Nate Stanley threw five touchdowns as they stunned the Buckeyes 55-24. An early October win over Ohio State could propel Iowa into the Big Ten title and playoff conversations,” Jake Trotter wrote.
To put things into perspective, Indiana and Oregon were the other two teams that had the Buckeyes listed as their defining game in the 2026 season. Shockingly, Iowa was actually selected against a team, that being Minnesota. Seeing as that’s for the Floyd of Rosedale, it makes complete sense.
Iowa Can’t Let Regular Season Opportunities Go To Waste
Last year was seemingly the Hawkeyes’ first time to actually make the College Football Playoffs. They came up short as their losses to No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Indiana, No. 9 Oregon and No. 17 USC all added up. Sure, those were by a combined 15 points, but that doesn’t matter, as it’s bad enough that a three-loss team made the playoffs.
Iowa ended with a bang as they took down No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, 34-27. Now, all eyes are on either Jeremy Hecklinski or Hank Brown. One of those men will have a chance to make their first B1G start at the Big House in Michigan.
It doesn’t get any tougher than that, as Iowa is immediately putting their new QB into deep water. They’ll have three games prior to that to get up to speed, but other than that, it’s go time as OSU awaits after their trip to Michigan.
Don’t forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!
MANCHESTER, Iowa — The state of Iowa lost a titan of the prep coaching world this week. Former Kee High School baseball coach Gene Schultz died on Monday at the age of 80.
Schultz spent 45 seasons as the baseball coach at Kee, helping turn the program into an Iowa dynasty. He won 9 State championships (not counting 2 fall titles, which the IHSAA doesn’t recognize in the record books), and took the Hawks to 19 State tournaments, which is also the most in Iowa history.
His 1,754 wins are not only the most in Iowa history, but the most of any high school baseball coach in the country.
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