Friday Night Lights: Iowa football versus Washington moved to Friday

The Big Ten, with its 18 teams, only has so many time slots that can air games on Saturdays throughout the regular season. The conference has expanded its footprint to Friday nights, and once again, the Iowa Hawkeyes are hitting the road for a Friday night Big Ten affair.

Iowa, which opens its season with three straight home games inside Kinnick Stadium, before heading to Michigan for its Big Ten opener, has another tough road game staring them down.

Iowa's second Big Ten road game, a road trip out West to take on the Washington Huskies, has been moved to Friday, Oct. 9.

The road trip comes after a home game inside Kinnick against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Oct. 3, setting up a short week for Iowa to get back on the road for its furthest trip of the season.

Iowa has played Washington just once in Big Ten play, which came in a home game during the 2024 season that saw the Hawkeyes roll the Huskies in a 40-16 blowout victory.

The schedule handed to Iowa to open up Big Ten play has proven to be an absolute gauntlet, with a trio of games consisting of a road trip to Michigan, back home against Ohio State, and then a trip to Washington on a short week.

The conference has done Iowa no favors, but this team is going to tell us a lot about who they are by early October.

Iowa Hawkeyes Football 2026 Schedule

• Saturday, September 5: Northern Illinois
• Saturday, September 12: Iowa State