Three season-defining swing games for Iowa football in 2025

The 2025 schedule for the Iowa Hawkeyes is manageable. The road trips are sparse, and they are against teams that Iowa can hang with and win against. The home games are selling out rapidly, and the Hawkeyes host their toughest opponents in a hostile Kinnick Stadium.

Which of those games will define the 2025 season, though? What games can Iowa win to change 2025 from a good year, as is the norm, to something special and possibly even a College Football Playoff appearance to break down that barrier?

As the calendar has turned to August, the same month that the Iowa Hawkeyes return to action with their season-opener at home against UAlbany on Saturday, August 30th, check out what three matchups can change the entire complexion for the 2025 season.

Week 2: Iowa Hawkeyes at Iowa State Cyclones, Saturday, Sep. 6

You know. I know. We all know it. It's the Cy-Hawk. This year sees Iowa head to Ames and Jack Trice Stadium seeking revenge on a 2024 loss that saw them blow a 13-point lead and left them stunned by a Cyclones' game-winning field goal.

This year, the matchup has a new level of talent at the quarterback position. Iowa State brings back the extremely talented Rocco Becht, while this will be the first real test for Iowa transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski.

After Iowa State won 11 games last year, they have visions of the College Football Playoff this year. This game will pit two talented teams against each other early in the season and will be a measuring stick for which of these teams could have a special year.

With Iowa's early-season schedule, a win in this game could set the Hawkeyes up for a 3-0 start before Big Ten conference play begins.

Week 5: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Indiana Hoosiers, Saturday, Sep. 27

It's Iowa's Big Ten home opener, and it is against an upstart program that stole the show in college football last year. The Indiana Hoosiers shocked the world with an 11-win season under head coach Curt Cignetti in his first year at the helm.

Iowa gets the Hoosiers in Kinnick Stadium and also catches them during a bit of a gauntlet. Indiana plays the Illinois Fighting Illini the week before, a game that will be a very telling Big Ten matchup, and gets Oregon two weeks later. Can the Hawkeyes sneak in a win and knock off Indiana in between?

The location of this game figures to be vitally important. Kinnick Stadium will be rocking as this opens up Big Ten play and is going to be the first real chance to have an impact on a game. If Iowa manages Iowa State in Week 2 and finds a way to handle Indiana in Week 5, the dreams and visions of grandeur may be allowed to start.

Week 8: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Penn State Nittany Lions, Saturday, Oct. 18

This one is the big one. If Iowa can manage the two previously mentioned games, they have a very realistic shot of entering this game with a blemish-free record or just one loss. Anyone getting flashbacks to 2021? Who remembers how that one went? Petras to Ragaini late, anyone?

This is the game Iowa has not been able to figure out over the last few years. Iowa has beaten up on the Big Ten bottom feeders, but their matchups against the top of the conference have gone rather poorly, if we can speak candidly.

Can Iowa win? It's in Kinnick Stadium. It could be a night game. It could have the makings of a special, unforgettable evening. But let's say Penn State comes out on top. If Iowa can at least hang in this game, the precedent has been set that a close loss against a top contender is not going to derail the season.

But who has fun thinking about close losses? If the Hawkeyes sweep this slate of three games, Iowa fans may want to start looking at flights and hotels around Christmas time for the College Football Playoff.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Three swing games Iowa football's 2025 success hinges on