The 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a 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 into 12 col ...

during the

2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018. The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended ...

. The Hawkeyes played their home games at Kinnick Stadium in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the tim ...

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) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. They were led by

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current 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 ...

in his 20th season as head coach. Iowa began the year with six wins in their first seven games, with their sole loss during that span coming in their conference opener against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The Hawkeyes rose to 18th in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

, but lost three consecutive games to knock them from the polls. They ended the regular season with two more wins to finish tied for second in the West Division with a conference record of 5–4. They were invited to the

2019 Outback Bowl The 2019 Outback Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2019. It was the 33rd edition of the Outback Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by Outback Steak ...

, where they defeated

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. Iowa finished with a record of 9–4 and were ranked 25th in the final AP Poll, their first ranked finish and highest win total since 2015. Quarterback

Nate Stanley Nathan Stanley (born August 26, 1997) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Early years Stanley attended Menomoni ...

led the team in passing with 2,852 yards and 26 touchdowns, good for second in the Big Ten Conference in the latter category. The Hawkeyes featured two standout

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

s, with

Noah Fant Noah Fant (born November 20, 1997) is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2019 NFL ...

and T. J. Hockenson both earning first-team all-conference honors. Hockenson was awarded the

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, a ...

as the nation's top tight end. Iowa became the first school to have two tight ends chosen in the first round of an NFL Draft when Hockenson and Fant both were both selected in the first 20 picks of the 2019 NFL Draft. Defensive end

A. J. Epenesa Andrew Jared Epenesa (born September 15, 1998) is an American football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa, and was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2020 N ...

led the Big Ten in both sacks and forced fumbles. He was joined on the all-conference first-team by

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

Amani Hooker Amani Corvelle Hooker (born June 14, 1998) is an American football strong safety for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa. Early years Hooker attended Park Center Senior High School in B ...

, who was named the Big Ten's Defensive Back of the Year.

Previous season

The Hawkeyes finished the 2017 season 8–5, 4–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They received an invitation to the

Pinstripe Bowl The Pinstripe Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game that is held at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City. First played in 2010, the game is organized ...

where they defeated Boston College.

Offseason

Recruiting

Position key

2018 commitments

The Hawkeyes signed a total of 23 recruits.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Schedule

Source

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

Northern Illinois

*Source
Box Score
After a slow start, the Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on three straight possessions en route to a 30-point second half. The win was the 144th for head coach

, making him the all-time winningest coach in Iowa football history. After an opening drive 3 and out for the Hawkeyes, NIU blocked the punt and had the ball at the Iowa 20. However, a missed field goal swung momentum back to the home team. The only first half points came on a 33-yard field goal from Hawkeye kicker Miguel Recinos. After a slow 3rd quarter, Heisman hopeful

threw his first touchdown of the year, a 1-yard pitch-and-catch to tight end

. On the ensuing drive, running back Ivory Kelly-Martin barreled in on a 3rd and goal play to make it 17–0 going into the 4th quarter. After another short field, Toren Young found pay dirt on a 6-yard effort, and it was 24–0 Iowa. After a great punt by Colton Rastetter, NIU got the ball inside their own 1 yard line. on 2nd down, the Hawkeyes forced a safety, and after getting the ball back off the safety punt, backup quarterback Peyton Mansell got his first career touchdown on a quarterback sneak. After Iowa put their 2nd team defense in, the Huskies marched down the field in an impressive 11 play, 75 yard drive to put some late points on the scoreboard. Iowa shook off the slow 1st half and routed NIU 33–7 inside of Kinnick Stadium during the annual Gold Game.

Iowa State

*Source
Box Score