Iowa
Iowa vs. Illinois State odds: Early point spread released on Hawkeyes, Redbirds
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Iowa’s opener received a stunning twist less than a week out from kickoff. However, the Hawkeyes are still a sizable favorite over their first opponent of the season in Illinois State.
Per FanDuel, Iowa, the No. 25 team in the nation, is a 23.5-point favorite (-115) over the Redbirds on Saturday. The over-under for the game between them is set at 41.5 points.
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How to watch Illinois State vs. Iowa
Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Channel: Big Ten Network
Location: Kinnick Stadium (Iowa City, Iowa)
Iowa and Illinois State will be the opening game of the weekend on the Big Ten Network. Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Oregon, and Washington will be on the channel throughout the day as well.
More on Illinois State vs. Iowa
The only other meeting for this pair came back in the opener back nine years ago 2015. Iowa won 31-14 behind 341 yards of offense in a balanced attack by QB CJ Beathard and RB LeShun Daniels Jr..
Again, though, this game is going to be more different than anyone was expecting a week ago with the suspension of the Hawkeyes’ head coach in Kirk Ferentz. He along with one of his assistants in Jon Budmayr will serve the one-game punishment this weekend. It will be the first time in his tenure of over a quarter century that he won’t be on the sidelines for Iowa with Seth Wallace set to be their interim against Illinois State.
Beyond that, Iowa once again looks to be among the top teams in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes return most of their roster from 2023 that went 10-4 and played in the Big Ten Championship. There was still quite the difference between their two sides of the ball with their defense finishing fourth in the country by allowing only 14.8 points but their offense finished second from last nationally by scoring just 15.4 ppg..
Still, with much of the defense back and a new offensive coordinator, Iowa wants to be one of the teams in the mix for the College Football Playoff.
As for Illinois State, they enter their 15th season this fall under Brock Spack. He has become the school’s all-time winningest coach in that span with an overall record of 95-65 (.593). That includes their 6-5 finish from 2023.
This game will be unlike any other in this century for Iowa if for no other reason than Ferentz not being present for it. Still, the Hawkeyes plan to be alright without him in this opener against the Redbirds as they remain over 20-point favorites in Vegas.
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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