The 2020 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

during the

2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 151st season of college football in the United States, organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level, the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Fo ...

. The Hawkeyes played their home games at

Kinnick Stadium Kinnick Stadium is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Iowa Hawkeyes football, Hawkeyes football team. Opened in 1929 as Iowa Stadium to replace Iowa Field, it currently holds u ...

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

, and competed in the West Division of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. They were led by 22nd-year head coach

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the Universi ...

. On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference canceled all fall sports competitions due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. However, on September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24. The Hawkeyes compiled a 6–2 record, all in conference games. The team was set to face

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

, but the game was canceled after Missouri had to withdraw due to COVID-19 issues. Junior defensive lineman Daviyon Nixon was named Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and was a unanimous First-team All-American.

Schedule

Iowa had games scheduled against Northern Iowa, Iowa State, and

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the

. , Michigan and Missouri were canceled due to COVID-19.,

Roster

Rankings

(*) Big Ten Conference members were not eligible for the Week 2 of the AP and Coaches Polls and Week 3 of the AP due to not having a scheduled season at the time.

Game summaries

At Purdue

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Northwestern

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Michigan State

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Iowa's first win over Michigan State since 2012, and the Hawkeyes' largest in the 48-game series, gave

his 163rd win as coach, passing

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

in total wins as a Big Ten head coach. The Hawkeyes dominated in all three phases of the game and gave Spartan quarterback Rocky Lombardi a long day, intercepting him three times.

At Minnesota

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Iowa has won eight of the last nine meetings in this series. The Hawkeyes dominated the Golden Gophers, winning for the third straight time in Minneapolis, to keep Floyd of Rosedale in Iowa City for a sixth straight year.

At Penn State

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Iowa earned their first win over Penn State since 2010, forcing four turnovers in the process. The victory gave

his 100th Big Ten win – just the 4th coach in conference history to achieve the feat – and Penn State their first-ever 0–5 start in the program's 134-year history.

Nebraska

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Iowa was victorious for the sixth straight time – and seventh in eight meetings – against Nebraska. In this back-and-forth game, turnovers in the fourth quarter hurt the Cornhuskers, as they fumbled twice in the last 10:17. The second of which was forced by Chauncey Golston to keep the Heroes Trophy in Iowa City. Senior Keith Duncan kicked four field goals in a game for the fourth time in his career, joining Nate Kaeding as the only Hawkeye kickers to achieve the feat.

At Illinois

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Iowa hasn't lost to Illinois since 2008. This was their seventh straight victory in the series and have won 12 of the last 13 overall. Illinois jumped out to a 14–0 lead early but the Hawkeyes put up 35 unanswered points and controlled the line of scrimmage from that point on having the ability to both run and pass the ball effectively.

Wisconsin

Iowa won at home over Wisconsin for the first time since 2008 to recapture the bull. After a slow start on the snow-covered field in the first half, the Hawkeyes put up three touchdowns in the second, and were able to stop the Badgers on several fourth down attempts.

Michigan

Iowa was looking to avenge a loss in Ann Arbor from previous season, but it was announced on December 15 the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Wolverines program. Michigan hasn't won at

since 2005.

Vs. Missouri (Music City Bowl)

Due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Tigers' football program, the Music City Bowl was canceled, ending the season for both the Hawkeyes and the Tigers. Had the game been played, it would have been the first meeting between Iowa and Missouri in a decade. If Iowa had won the game, it would have given

his 10th bowl win, which would have tied

for first all-time in Big 10 history.

Awards and honors

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{Iowa Hawkeyes football navbox

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 and played their first ...