Iowa doesn’t beat Ohio State very often, and they didn’t last Saturday. The defense played well, but the offense left them in the unenviable position of spending 16 extra minutes of playing time on the field and that took a toll. The offense has to get better or this season could go off the rails quickly.
Washington is facing adversity of their own, coming off back to back losses by a combined total of 7 points. Jedd Fisch and his Huskies have been close enough to taste it and yet they are still 0-2 in B18 play with a ranked team coming to their house for a Friday night tilt.
On paper these teams look pretty even, so let’s get to it.
The Teams
- Iowa: 4-1 overall, 1-1 conference (No. 20 AP / No. 18 Coaches) — lone loss 31-14 to No. 5 Ohio State on Oct. 3
- Washington: 3-2 overall, 0-2 conference (unranked; opened at No. 17 in the preseason AP poll) — Big Ten losses to Minnesota (27-24) and at USC (25-21) by a combined seven points
Series History
- All-time record: Iowa leads 4-3 since 1937 — Friday is the 8th all-time meeting
- Most recent meeting: Iowa won 40-16 on Oct. 12, 2024, at Kinnick Stadium. Kaleb Johnson ran for 166 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving).
- Current streak: Iowa has won 2 straight (1995 Sun Bowl, 2024)
- Half assed internet research:
- This is Iowa’s first game in Seattle since a 17-7 win on Oct. 5, 1963.
- Iowa is 13-5 all-time in regular-season Friday games
- Iowa is 0-4 in regular season games in the Mountain & Pacific time zones under Kirk Ferentz
Coaching Staff
- Iowa: Kirk Ferentz (28th season; 213-129 at Iowa; 1-0 vs. Washington as Iowa’s head coach) / Tim Lester, OC (3rd season) / Phil Parker, DC (15th season) / Chris Polizzi, ST Coordinator (1st season)
- Washington: Jedd Fisch, HC (3rd season; 18-13 at Washington, 35-35 career) / no Offensive Coordinator listed — Fisch has called plays since 2025 OC Jimmie Dougherty left in February 2026; Kevin Cummings is titled Pass Game Coordinator/WRs / Ryan Walters, DC (2nd season; former Purdue head coach) / Chris Petrilli, ST Coordinator (2nd season)
Offense
| Total YPG | Passing YPG | Rushing YPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 390.8 | 210.6 | 180.2 | 29.0 |
| Washington | 380.4 | 271.4 | 109.0 | 26.6 |
Iowa’s offense didn’t look particularly great against OSU, or Michigan, or ISU. Thus far against P4 competition the offense has strugled to establish the run (63.3 ypg on 24 carries for measly 2.6 ypc) and while there have been flashes of brilliance in the passing game, it hasn’t been lights out. Hank Brown has performed well in low-pressure situations and less well in higher leverage ones (the game winning drive at Michigan not withstanding), but that likely doesn’t matter this week, as Jeremy Hecklinski is almost assuredly going to get the start against the Huskies (I’d be surprised if Hank plays at all).
Heck has seen limited snaps so far with middling results. However, he did lead a very efficient scording drive against OSU and yeah it was against an OSU defense sans Kenyatta Jackson – who saw limited action inthe 4th quarter, but the rest of the 1st team was out there, so it’s not nothing. I’m not sure any of us are surewhat we’re going to see from Hecklinski, so the numbers don’t really tell us much going into this game from a QB standpoint, but we can all be certain that this Hawkeye team absolutely has to find a way to get the ground game going.
Washington’s offense is in a similar boat, though they throw more than they run, but they’re not doing either in a particularly dominant fashion. Demond Williams is a mobile guy who can make splash plays when he uses his legs to extend plays, but we’re not likely to see a Blake Underwood style playbook on Friday. Williams is a pass first QB, and that could be an issue for a banged up secondary unit that’s coming off it’s worst performance of the year. He’s not untouchable and has thrown 3 INTs this season, but when Kirk calls a player (any player) “extremely dynamic”, you know that he’s got something special going on.
ADVANTAGE: Push (especially with Hecklinski under center)
Defense
| Total YPG Allowed | Passing YPG Allowed | Rushing YPG Allowed | PPG Allowed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 288.6 | 186.4 | 102.2 | 12.6 |
| Washington | 303.4 | 192.0 | 111.4 | 18.4 |
The numbers definitely tilt the advantage here toward the Hawkeyes, but there’s a lot of early seaon bias in those stats. Iowa is still ranked in the top 10 in scoring and red-zone defense, but they did just allow OSU to put up 484 yards last week. Even if you give them an exception on OSU’s score off the strip-sack, they did not play particularly well in either phase against OSU. Thankfully, Washington is not OSU, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous.
Minnesota was able to sack Demond Williams 7 times a few weeks back, so we know that their OLine isn’t the best that we’ll face this season and I don’t think too many folks are concerned at Iowa’s ability to stop the run, but let’s be honest, with Zach Lutmer fighting injuries (and cramps) all season, DeShaun Lee tweaking his hip and losing time against OSU, and Tyler Brown being out for “quite some time”, our secondary is in a tough spot. This is where we are really missing Koen Entringer, and the Hawks are going to need an underclassmen to step up in a big way this week.
Washington’s defense isn’t a worldbeater, they’re right around 66th in total defense (65th against the run, 67th against the pass), but they are opportunistic and they are pretty good at forcing turnovers (7 INTs in 5 games). They’re also going to be at home, in a pretty raucous environment, at night, and hungry to get that first B18 win of the season after two very close losses. It’s fairly safe to assume that Friday night’s game is unlikely to be a blowout.
ADVANTAGE: Iowa – though I think it’s closer than the statbook would have you believe.
Special Teams
| Punt Avg | FG% | Kick Return Avg | Punt Return Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 43.2 (net 41.4) | 77.8% (7-9) | 49.7 | 14.7 |
| Washington | 47.7 (net 43.0) | 77.8% (7-9) | 20.1 | 6.7 |
Caden Buhr hit both his FGs against OSU, Eli Ozick turned every kickoff into a touchback, and Boston Everitt is looking like he is way ahead of schedule. There wasn’t much opportunity in the return game against OSU as they only punted twice and booted every kickoff through the endzone. Special teams has definitely had an impact this season, but it’s been feast or famine, and last week was leaning toward famine.
Washington has a punter worthy of an Iowa fan’s respect in Hunter Green (47.7 ypp avg with a long of 64 yards), but that’s about it. Their kicker, Tyler Robles, hasn’t missed a PAT, has missed two of his 9 FGAs and has a long of 48 yards, so he’s not to be dismissed but not winning any awards.
If Washington can turn KOs into touchbacks and get enough hangtime on punts, the differential in kick/punt return average may not matter much.
ADVANTAGE: Iowa – this is very close and hinges almost entirely on whether or not Iowa actually has opportunities to return kicks/punts.
Position Questions
- QB (Iowa) — Hank suffered an AC joint sprain against OSU and has been limited in practice this week. Given that this is a short week in front of a bye, one has to assume that Hecklinski will get the nod (and the 1st team reps this week). Unless Hecklinski falls apart in practice I cannot imagine a scenario where you’d throw Brown out there at anything less than 100%
- SS (Iowa) – with Tyler Brown out and Anthony Hawkins not playing all that great (Iowa’s lowest rated defender via PFF – yeah, I know), could we see Marcello Vitti move into a more promenent role ahead of the buy with a chance to win the job outright? Hawkins is listed as the starter on the DC, but given that he was benched in favor of Xavier Styles after getting thrown into the blender by Jeremiah Smth, I think it’s safe to say that this position is very fluid atm.
Numbers to Watch
- 9 – Hank Brown / 10 – Jeremy Hecklinski, Iowa QB – Brown’s shoulder is the week’s biggest variable (see Position Battles). Hecklinski led the lone touchdown drive Saturday, capped by a Braeden Jackson 2-yard run and Hecklinski’s two-point pass to Reece Vander Zee.
- 33 – Cam Buffington, Iowa LB – Team-high 44 tackles (8.8 per game, 26th nationally, 4th in the Big Ten) with 3 TFL; a key piece in containing a mobile quarterback.
- 6 – Zach Lutmer, Iowa S – Captain with 31 tackles and back-to-back 10+ tackle games (12 at Michigan, 11 vs. Ohio State). Left the Ohio State game with what Ferentz believed was cramping; confirmed available Friday. Anchors a safety room without Tyler Brown (out) and likely Ty Hudkins (questionable).
- 1 – Demond Williams Jr., Washington QB – 110-of-163 (67.5%) for 1,327 yards, 8 TD and 3 INT, plus 191 rushing yards and 2 TD; Ferentz called him “extremely dynamic.” Coming off 15-of-26 for 198 yards and a TD at USC, where his strip-sack fumble was returned for the go-ahead score. Threw for 3,065 yards and ran for 611 in 2025.
- 7 – Alex McLaughlin, Washington S – Leads the Huskies in tackles (33), TFL (4.5) and interceptions (2), and is tied for the team lead in sacks (2.5). Northern Arizona transfer was UW’s 2025 Defensive MVP and honorable mention All-Big Ten.
Injury Report
Iowa statuses from Ferentz’s Tuesday (Oct. 6) press conference; Washington from secondary tracker. Recheck against the Big Ten availability reports (Wednesday–Friday and two hours before kickoff).
- Hank Brown, Iowa QB — Questionable. AC joint sprain suffered vs. Ohio State; Ferentz said he is “really limited” in practice. Hecklinski starts if he can’t go.
- Tyler Brown, Iowa SS — OUT. Re-aggravated hamstring strain at Michigan; Ferentz said he’ll be out “for a while.” Anthony Hawkins and Xavier Styles are the next options at safety, with Marcello Vitti a possibility.
- Ty Hudkins, Iowa S — Questionable. Ferentz: “I don’t think we can count on Hudkins.”
- Zach Lutmer, Iowa S — Available. Exited Ohio State game (cramping, per Ferentz).
- Deshaun Lee, Iowa DB — Expected to play. Tweaked his hip vs. Ohio State but has been practicing.
- Landen Hatchett, Washington C — Expected to play. Fourth-year starting center hasn’t played since Nov. 8, 2025 (wrist, two surgeries); missed Minnesota and USC, but Fisch said the staff would be “shocked” if he doesn’t play.
- C. Christian, Washington S — OUT. Achilles (listed Oct. 3).
- Jayden Limar, Washington RB — OUT. Upper body (listed since Sept. 7).
- Q. Carr, Washington RB — OUT. Undisclosed.
- C. Moss, Washington WR — Questionable. Undisclosed (listed Sept. 20; status may be stale).
Lines
As of: Oct. 7, 2026
- Point spread: Washington -3.5
- Over/Under: 41.5
- Moneyline: Washington -154 / Iowa +128
I’m not a fan of Friday night college football, I’m even less a fan of Friday night football games featuring the Iowa Hawkeyes that are played in the Pacific time zone (even if it means that I get two saturdays in a row where I don’t have to arrange the entire day around an Iowa game). Kirk Ferentz is 0-4 in the regular season west of the Central time zone, and our last two trips to the coast started well, and ended poorly. The Huskies are backed into a corner atm, they’re playing for their season, which makes them dangerous. Iowa needed to come out of this 3 game stretch at least 1-2 and winning in Ann Arbor turned their trip into Seattle into the real swing game of the year. Win this game and you have a chance to finish 5-1 and still be in the discussion to make the playoff, lose and you have to be perfect against, what appears to be, a pretty strong B18 West (well, aside from Purdue – and even they took out Illinois).
I’m not sure what’s going to happen Friday night, but I am definitely hoping that this team can succeed where others Iowa teams have failed and steal a win on a short week with 15 days off as a reward.
As always, GO HAWKS!!!
