One of the bigger complaints from Hawkeye fans under Ferentz has been the lackluster non-conference games. One game is usually a MAC team that occasionally turns out to be sort of good.
Iowa then usually schedules a delicious cupcake in the form of an FCS opponent – this year it is Conference USA’s Middle Tennessee, an FBS team.
With only three non-conference games on our schedule now that the Iowa football team plays nine against Big Ten foes, the final game is reserved for our in-state friends at Iowa State.
This is a game, on the surface, that pretty much never decides anything beyond how much noise will be surrounding our head coach.